San Francisco Basketball: 2018-19 keys for the Dons to beat Gonzaga

3. Be ahead or don’t be down double-digits by halftime

It has been over 1000 days since Gonzaga has lost to anyone in the WCC not named BYU or Saint Mary’s. In fact, it’s very rare that any of the other seven teams even threaten the Bulldogs in the second half. On Thursday, Pacific managed to score just 36 total points in a battle that was never in doubt after the first eight minutes.

But Coach Few’s teams don’t usually run over the Dons in San Francisco. Even though the Bulldogs have won their last six games in War Memorial, most of them have been competitive throughout. That includes an overtime loss in 2015 that the Dons were up by 17 points midway through the second half, before Domantas Sabonis and his 36 points allowed Gonzaga to steal the win.

Don’t expect this veteran savvy San Francisco team to bow down after the first Gonzaga run, but the explosive offense that they have will constantly test the Don’s will at times. If the Bulldogs get a double-digit lead, is it over?

That’s why San Francisco needs to stay within striking range in the first half. With what’s expected to be a raucous environment in the gym, the Dons can put some high pressure on Gonzaga late in the game if they can keep it close. The Bulldogs are experienced too and have won plenty of times at BYU and Saint Mary’s as well in hotly contested WCC battles.

One other thing that Gonzaga does well is not letting up leads themselves in conference play. Coming from behind is not a good game plan for the Dons, so the halftime score of this game will be a big indication of how much of a chance San Francisco really has in the game.