No. 1 Gonzaga vs No. 16 Virginia: 5 storylines for major matchup

The best off the bench

Just how deep Coach Bennett is willing to go versus a top-25 team was supposed to be answered on Dec. 9, 2020, when the Cavaliers faced off against Michigan State, and then it was going to be answered versus Villanova, unfortunately, both games were canceled.

The Virginia Cavaliers can only play the teams that are put in front of them, in order to do so, this season Coach Bennet has been playing nine players, since Kody Statmann’s (11 mpg) last game on Dec. 1, 2020, double-digit minutes.

Mark Few, who has Gonzaga playing their fourth top-16 team, has been playing eight players nine minutes or more. One player who is not in that group is redshirt freshman center Oumar Ballo, who in his own right could be the biggest factor for the Bulldogs.

With just Drew Timme able to fill the center position, Ballo would be extremely valuable on the defensive end. Ballo had an opportunity to prove his worth versus Iowa, but during his nine minutes on the court, he was ineffective in stopping Player of the Year favorite Luka Garza in the post.

If Bennett continues to start Trey Murphy, Gonzaga will, by far,  have the most talented player coming off the bench in Andrew Nembhard (9.7 ppg), who could have transferred to a lot of teams and be a starter.  There is no question of the talent Gonzaga possesses and there can be an argument made that they have the best seven-player rotation in Division I, the storyline that is yet to be written is if seven is enough to get them through March.