Gonzaga Basketball: 3 keys for Round of 32 matchup with Memphis Tigers

Keep it in the Halfcourt

In the losses to Duke and Alabama, and for the first 30 minutes of the Georgia State game, Gonzaga was dreadful in transition defense. If they are terrible in transition again it is going to be a huge advantage for Memphis who love to run and are at their best when they are able to get out and run and play extremely fast. When you slow the Tigers down and force them to operate in the half-court, they become very disorganized and have a huge problem getting good shots.

Gonzaga is another team that likes to run and run a lot, and usually, when they are running, and they are out in transition they are unbeatable. They do it the best and they do it well, however, in the recent weeks Memphis has been great in transition and they have the athletes and the team who can make enough shots to keep this game way too close.

I’m sure it is just worry as Gonzaga has proven time and time again that if you run with us we will run you off the floor. The one thing that we don’t always see but is still there is that the Bulldogs are a team capable of beating you multiple ways, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

They are great and running and prefer to run, that is when they are at their best and can score in the upper 80’s, and in this game, they will likely run while on offense. Defense is where they need to keep the game in the half-court, Memphis likely isn’t going to be prolific enough on offense to score with Gonzaga but they can keep it interesting for far longer than Georgia State could.

If Gonzaga can make their baskets in transition and then set up their defense in the half-court and force Memphis to make plays that are going to be an advantage for the Bulldogs. If they slow it down, there may also not be enough time for Memphis to get anywhere close to the number of possessions that Gonzaga will take. This game is going to be won on the defensive end, we already know the Bulldogs are going to score.