Busting Brackets
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All eyes on Gonzaga Basketball as they start the 2021 NCAA Tournament

By Jacob Stevenson

Mar 9, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Suggs (1) poses with the most valuable player trophy after the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game against the BYU Cougars at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Suggs (1) poses with the most valuable player trophy after the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game against the BYU Cougars at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Gonzaga Basketball Drew Timme James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Gonzaga Basketball Drew Timme James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Feed Drew Timme

Drew Timme who scores 18.7 points per game and grabs 7.1 rebounds is one of the best players in college basketball and one of the best two post scorers. He should be an all-American this season and is a huge part of why Gonzaga has been so successful.

The Zags like to push in transition and if that’s not their get something in the secondary break. In their half-court offense, they like to run continuous ball screens with duck in’s. If that’s not there they swing it around the perimeter feed the post and place inside and out. Timme is a huge part of that. Appalachian State and Norfolk State don’t have the interior defense to stop Timme.

Even against subpar competition Appalachian State ranks 202nd in the country in 2-point defense where Norfolk State ranks 83rd in the country in two-point defense while playing in Kenpom’s 2nd worse league in the country. Both teams are pretty small as well, Appalachian State is the 284th tallest team in the country where Norfolk State is 221st. He should be fed early and often, against better teams later in the tournament.

The Zags are gonna need Timme to be more consistent for the free-throw line. If Norfolk State wins that would be a great place to start they rank 330th in the country in free throw rate.