Gonzaga Basketball has a difficult matchup against the Oregon Ducks in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. How can the Bulldogs pull out the win?
When the brackets were released for the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis, Gonzaga Basketball was the biggest beneficiary. They drew the non-power conference team in the event (Southern Miss) and had a huge advantage on paper. That advantage played its way onto the court, with the Bulldogs beating the Golden Eagles, 94-69. Corey Kispert led all scorers with 28 points, while reserve guard Joel Ayayi went off for a career-high performance of 21 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Yet still, Gonzaga Basketball isn’t in a happy mood right now. They came into the game not having senior forward Killian Tillie, dealing with knee issues from the plane ride to the Bahamas. Then in the game, starters Anton Watson, Ryan Wooldridge and Admon Gilder all the left the game with various lower-body injuries. All four players are key rotation pieces and as of this article being written, each is at best questionable to play on Thursday against the Oregon Ducks.
It looked for a while as if Seton Hall would be the opponent for the Bulldogs, having a 16-point second-half lead after a barrage of three-pointers from Myles Powell. But led by senior Payton Pritchard, the Ducks slowly came back before taking a late lead and eventual 71-69 exciting win. Pritchard led the team with 16 points, one of four Oregon players in double-figures.
Considering the injuries, this is a complicated game to preview. Even if the guards are able to play, they’ll have to utilize Ayayi for a big amount of the game, likely dealing with Pritchard. In fact, don’t be surprised if head coach Mark Few uses a good amount of zone to protect both the injured and healthy players going on back-to-back nights.
As for other important keys, here are a few that I know will impact the game.