Creighton Basketball will attempt to pull off massive upset vs. Gonzaga

Slowing Down the Pace

If Gonzaga’s game against Oklahoma proved anything, it’s that anyone who tries to run with Gonzaga will lose to Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are fourth in KenPom’s Adjusted Tempo. They play fast and get a lot of points in transition. Playing a game with a ton of possessions only increases the chances that Gonzaga pulls out a win.

Their gameplan is centered on the idea that they are statistically better than every other team in the country when given more possessions to work with. More possessions result in more shots, and Gonzaga is an elite unit as far as shooting is concerned.

This might be counterintuitive to some, but Creighton will have a better shot at winning if they take a page out of Tony Bennett’s book and slow down the pace of play as much as possible. The Bluejays are also a very good shooting team, and fewer possessions for both teams increases the likelihood that they can hit more shots than the Zags.

Despite their No. 143 Adjusted Tempo, Creighton does have the shooters and athletes to play a transition game with Gonzaga. They could probably keep the game close for a while. But thus far, no team that has tried to run with the Bulldogs has come close to beating them.

Oklahoma even outshot Gonzaga from a percentage standpoint – the first team to do so this season – and still lost by 16 points. The Bluejays should try something different and slow the pace down to limit offensive possessions.