Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys to beating West Virginia in Jimmy V Classic
By Ian Mumm
Gonzaga Basketball can take down its 2nd consecutive top-15 team on Wednesday against West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic.
If the preseason #1 ranking wasn’t enough explanation of how good this Gonzaga Basketball team could be in 2020, a comfortable early-season win over #6 Kansas and a dismantling of Auburn should speak for themselves.
The Bulldogs are playing as well as any team in the nation and haven’t skipped a beat since losing three of their top scorers from last season: Filip Petrusev, Ryan Woolridge, and Killian Tillie. However, the turnover at the upper end of the roster has not caused any setbacks for the Zags and in fact, has allowed for several stars to emerge.
Senior Corey Kispert, who was 2nd in scoring in 2019, is averaging 24.0 PPG and has nearly doubled his production with increased opportunities. Sophomore forward Drew Timme was the last major piece of Gonzaga’s rotation a year ago but has become an enormous part of the team’s offense in 2020.
Timme leads the team with 26.5 PPG and injected a lot of frontcourt versatility and mobility for Coach Mark Few. The final piece of the Bulldogs 3-headed monster, freshman guard Jalen Suggs, has significantly taken the pressure off of Timme and Kispert with his ability to penetrate the defense and finish at the rim.
The trio is largely responsible for the team’s 96.0 PPG so far this season and quickly putting defenses on their heels. The combination of talent from top to bottom is already plenty for Bulldog opponents to worry about, but the Zags are the 6th-most efficient team in the nation scoring the ball as well.
Although the team is allowing nearly 80 PPG (78.5 PPG), their offensive consistency has helped to offset the ‘middle of the pack’ defense and operate more along the lines of a ‘bend don’t break’ mindset.
Gonzaga’s next opponent, #11 West Virginia, is a much tougher defensive opponent for the Bulldogs’ offense than they’ve previously faced this season. Bob Huggins Mountaineers, A fringe top-100 defense, hold teams to 67.0 PPG and score 75.7 PPG so far this year. An early look at West Virginia in 2020 suggests the program has exchanged some of their defensive prowess in 2019 for an upgraded offense, despite featuring nearly the same roster.
The Mountaineers feature one of the top frontcourt duos in the nation with Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe again this season, but it’s been the backcourt that has stepped up the earliest in 2020. Guards Miles McBride, Taz Sherman, and Sean McNeil each average double-digits in scoring and have created a more dynamic roster offensively for Coach Huggins.
West Virginia is hoping to stay undefeated and knock off the top team in the nation, and will certainly have its hands full, but what are the key aspects of this matchup Gonzaga must capitalize on to keep them at bay?