Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for Bulldogs to defeat No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers

Make at least 8 three-pointers

If there’s any potential weakness to Gonzaga’s offense, it’s the lack of collective three-point shooting on the roster. An elite performance against Iowa boosted their overall percentage to 34%, which is middle of the road nationally. It can be a bit misleading though, as there are only two real shooters among the main rotation.

Corey Kispert is one of the best pure shooters in the county, making 17/37 from deep for a 46% rate. Jalen Suggs leads the team with 50% on 12/24 shooting, with 7/10 coming from the Iowa win alone. The rest of the team outside of Dominick Harris’ small sample size has been dreadful. Guards Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Cook, and Joel Ayayi are a combined 7/41 from deep (15%), while forwards Anton Watson and Drew Timme are just 2/12.

If the Cavaliers can chase Kipsert off the three-point line and hope that Suggs isn’t hot, the Bulldogs may not make more than 4-5 in this game. And while Gonzaga is one of the best teams in terms of 2-point field goal shooting (55%), Virginia’s own defense is suited to cause problems and lower their percentages.

But the ACC team is vulnerable from deep on defense. In the loss to San Francisco, the Cavaliers gave up 13 made three-pointers. And even against Kent State, the number allowed was nine. The best way to beat the pack-line defense of UVA is to shoot over it. And if the cast outside of Kispert can get hot and make some threes of their own, the Bulldogs’ odds of winning will be much higher.