Gonzaga Basketball: 2019-20 keys for road matchup at Saint Mary’s

1) Dominate the interior

Do what you do best, right?

Gonzaga has one of the most dominant frontcourts in the entire country with Filip Petrusev, Corey Kispert, Drew Timme, and – perhaps most importantly – Killian Tillie, who is expected to play Saturday after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.

Simply put, the Zags do not win if their best players don’t play well. That said, it’s even more important that they dominate down low against Saint Mary’s because, well, the Gaels simply aren’t very good in that area.

Since losing Mattias Tass for the season, they don’t have anyone in their rotation taller than 6-8. Gonzaga has three  – Petrusev, Tillie, and Timme – along with another who is right there (Kispert, 6-7).

That size differential has shown itself throughout the season. Gonzaga ranks 32nd nationally in offensive rebounding and 16th in defensive rebounding. On the flip side, Saint Mary’s ranks a lowly 227th in offensive rebounding. They also rank among the nation’s worst teams in block percentage (310th) and interior defense (201st).

If Gonzaga does struggle down there for some reason, the Gaels will have succeeded in making the game much more even by pushing it out to the perimeter, where they are much better.