Chet Holmgren’s two-way impact
There are varying interpretations as to how effective Chet Holmgren was against Memphis. He finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and four blocks against the Tigers but only had one field goal that wasn’t an alley-oop. He also had foul issues and struggled with the size of Jalen Duren and Deandre Williams inside.
But on the other hand, he was a game-high +18 when he was on the court and Memphis only took the lead when Holmgren got his second foul. His defense, limiting to Duren to six points on 3/11 shooting, was also needed. As a team, Memphis was 10/21 on layups against Gonzaga’s size. If Arkansas, an even worse shooting unit does that, it’ll be hard for them to win.
But Holmgren will need to step up offensively because hoping Timme goes for 30 isn’t a guaranteed gameplan. Arkansas doesn’t have a ton of size if Vanover doesn’t play so if both Gonzaga forwards get it going, there’s little the smaller team can do to stop them.
One area when the projected top-5 NBA Draft pick needs to improve is from the three-point line. On the season, Holmgren is shooting 40% from deep. However, he’s just 6/29 in the past eight games. He has to make opposing teams pay when they slide off of him, especially in transition when he runs to the line.
Arkansas doesn’t have someone that can match up with Holmgren outside of Toney, who still loses about five inches. The freshman has struggled against top-tier competition but defensively is difficult to scout for. He very well could get at least five blocks on one end; if he can get at least three made three-pointers as well, that could be enough for Gonzaga to get the win and move on.