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Gonzaga Basketball: Why Bulldogs can reach the Final Four in 2019

By Brayley Crowe

SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 25: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs cuts down the net after their 83 to 59 win over the Xavier Musketeers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 25, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MARCH 25: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs cuts down the net after their 83 to 59 win over the Xavier Musketeers during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at SAP Center on March 25, 2017 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 20: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs tries to get around Ryan Luther #10 of the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the game at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 20, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 20: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs tries to get around Ryan Luther #10 of the Arizona Wildcats during the second half of the game at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 20, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

1. Bigs Continue to Dominate

If you have followed Gonzaga basketball at all this season, you know that the Bulldogs’ frontcourt is arguably the strongest in all of college basketball. If you have not, then you almost certainly still have heard of Rui Hachimura, the Zags’ six-foot-eight-inch forward from Japan. However, you somehow may not have heard of Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga’s transfer big man from San Jose State, who has been a dominant figure on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court.

This season, Clarke has averaged 16.5 ppg, second on the team, 8.4 rpg, first on the team, shot 69.3% from the field, No. 4 in the nation, and blocked 3.09 shots per game, No. 3 in the nation. His 99 blocks this season absolutely obliterated the previous single-season record at Gonzaga. Clarke already won Defensive Player of the Year in the WCC and is one of four finalists for the same award nationally.

Clarke and Hachimura electrified the court copious times this season, as the duo blocked, dunked and shot the Zags to dominance across the WCC, key non-conference wins and a Maui Invitational title. Hachimura leads the Bulldogs in scoring this season with 20.1 ppg, ranks second on the team in rebounds with 6.6 rpg and shoots 60.9%. He also averages nearly one block per game. Clearly, regardless of which end of the court the two are on, opposing teams have their hands full with such skill. Oh, and both are top-15 finalists for the Wooden Award, making the Zags one of only two teams with multiple players on the list at this point.

When the Bulldogs dethroned the Duke Blue Devils in Maui back in November, Clarke and Hachimura, along with Zach Norvell Jr. (I’ll get to him soon), shined bright against Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and company. The duo combined for 37 points on 58.3% shooting, grabbed a combined 12 rebounds and rejected nine(!) shots. In a nail-biting win over in-state foe Washington, Clarke and Hachimura scored 36 points and snagged 18 rebounds.

Despite it being in a losing effort, when the Bulldogs fell to Tennessee in Phoenix in December, the two scored 42 points on 16-30 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds. When Gonzaga demolished Saint Mary’s, another NCAA Tournament team, by 48 points, this incredible frontcourt recorded 42 points on a mind-blowing 73.9% field goal clip, pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.

As for the Zags’ worst loss of their three this season, a 13-point surprise to the same Saint Mary’s team in the conference tournament final, the two did not put up the excessive numbers they tend to. With just 25 combined points and only 14 combined shot attempts, the biggest pieces of the Bulldogs were unable to propel a win.

What could make this ferocious frontcourt even scarier? Insert Killian Tillie, the highest-scoring returning player from last season, coming off the bench for either one of these players. Last season, Tillie averaged 12.9 ppg with 5.9 rpg and 58% field goal percentage, which rocketed his NBA Draft potential. When Florida St. bounced Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen last season, the Frenchman was out with a hip injury. This season, Tillie has again fallen victim to injuries, leading him to only play in 11 of the Zags’ 33 games. In these 11 games, Tillie has averaged 6.2 ppg and 4.1 rpg, while shooting 40% from three, an impressive stat for a 6-foot-10-inch player.

Whether paired with Hachimura, who can excel in the paint and the midrange, or Clarke, who is nearly invincible within a few feet of the rim, Tillie can help to stretch the low-post play out behind the arch. Tillie returned to the court for the first time since early February in the WCC Tournament, where he averaged seven points and 3.5 rebounds in 13.5 minutes, which may be all the Bulldogs will need from the junior to propel them to college basketball glory.