Busting Brackets
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Gonzaga vs USC will be a battle of elite strengths in Elite 8 matchup

By Jacob Stevenson

Feb 18, 2021; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Joel Ayayi (11) gets a rebound during a game against the St. Mary's Gaels in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2021; Spokane, Washington, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Joel Ayayi (11) gets a rebound during a game against the St. Mary's Gaels in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs moved on to their 3rd Elite 8 in four years by beating Creighton 85-63. Drew Timme was the Zag’s leading scorer with 22 points and was 10-14 from the field. On defense, Creighton’s offensive strategy was to double the post with Andrew Nembhard and Joel Ayayi’s man and dear them to shoot. That didn’t work for the Bluejays, Nembhard and Ayayi scored 30 points, went 12-22 from the field, and 6-15 from three.

I thought going into the game for Creighton to have a chance they would need to be hot from three. Outside of Marcus Zegarowski who went 3-7 from three, the rest of the team went 2-16 witch isn’t good enough to beat a team like Gonzaga.

Now, Gonzaga takes on a USC team that has handly beat Kansas and Oregon in their last two games to reach the Elite 8. The Trojans are an excellent defensive team that has the best two-point defense in the country. They are led by Evan Mobley, who figures to be a top 2 pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He and brother Isaiah ” who is the older Mobley are their front-court players.

Tahj Eaddy the transfer from Santa Clara is their best guard and was 2nd team all Pac-12. Drew Peterson the transfer from Rice is a 6’8 guard and has the ability to handle the ball. While Isaiah White who transferred from Utah Valley has been shooting well from three as of late.

This will be an interesting matchup, USC has been pretty much a zone team recently. Their zone completely took Oregon out of rhythm and because of their size Oregon had a difficult time getting the ball inside. With Gonzaga wanting to play through ball screens and the post it’s gonna be interesting to see how they attack the zone.

Next. Preview and prediction for USC vs Gonzaga. dark

USC is a very good team that has been inconsistent this year because of their three-point shooting. In their last two games, the Trojans have shot 21-35 for three and I think at some point there is gonna be a regression. But the matchup between the best offensive two-point team of all time and the best defensive two-point team in the country will be fascinating.

With that being said, I think you can expect a great game but the Zags pull it out.

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