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

2) Consistency from the backcourt

That brings us to our next point. Gonzaga’s guards are going to have to show up – at least defensively – to try to slow Saint Mary’s attack.

That starts with Jordan Ford, who leads the Gaels with 21.0 points per game and spearheads everything they want to do offensively. Their guard-heavy attack ranks in the top 10 in the country in efficiency thanks to their stellar three-point shooting (40.6 – 2nd nationally) and ability to take care of the ball (11th nationally in turnover percentage).

Gonzaga’s backcourt has the ability to handle them, though whether they’ll be able to or not remains to be seen.

The trio of Joel Ayayi, Admon Gilder, and Ryan Woolridge has the size to bother Saint Mary’s shooters, and all have flashed the ability to carry Gonzaga offensively – Ayayi has five games with at least 15 points and eight with at least five assists, Gilder has scored in double figures in nine straight games, and Woolridge leads Gonzaga in three-point percentage.

That said, they can be a bit sporadic from time to time. They combined for eight turnovers and just for assists against San Francisco last weekend and have all had games in which they scored one point or fewer. Their defense has been inconsistent as well.

This group has played at a level higher than some thought they would this year (myself included), but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. And they don’t have to be against Saint Mary’s, but they do have to be good.