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

Battling Backcourts

Yet another storyline that would have been concluded if Virginia had been able to play Michigan State or Villanova, is the one where it is revealed if the Virginia backcourt can match up with big athletic guards. While 5’9 Kihei Clark did not start two games in early December, he was put back in with the starters for the most recent game. Clark’s match-ups versus Rocket Watts and Collin Gillespie would have prepared him for perhaps the toughest of the match-ups Jalen Suggs.

Clark who is pictured above challenging the shot of 6’1 Markell Johnson will have an even more difficult time guarding 6’4 Jalen Suggs, 6’5 Joel Ayayi, or 6’5 Andrew Nembhard. Even if Clark’s backcourt teammate 6’5 senior guard Thomas Woldetensae guards Suggs, 6’3 Reece Beekman might have to log significant minutes in place of Clark.

It will not be solely on the defensive end that the Gonzaga backcourt will provide challenges for the Cavaliers. As seen versus Iowa the bigger Gonzaga guards made life uncomfortable for the Hawkeyes backcourt. Not only was it difficult for the Iowas guards to penetrate and kick, but the constant challenging of shots resulted in Jordan Bohannon and CJ Frederick shooting just 1-8 from beyond the arc.

Battling bigger guys for 30-35 minutes will take a toll on the Cavaliers backcourt, which makes the storyline of Gonzaga being able to score from deep all the more important. If the threes are dropping for the Bulldogs Coach Bennett’s pack-line defense will have to be more of a traditional man-to-man thus putting more pressure on his backcourt to guard the bigger ball-handlers.