Gonzaga Basketball: 5 takeaways from 2022-23 non-conference campaign

5. Is Gonzaga’s defense good enough to make a Final Four run?

There wasn’t any question about how good the Bulldogs would be offensively. They’re once again a top-10 scoring offense, averaging over 85 ppg. And thanks to Timme, they rank in the top 3 in shooting from inside the arc. But without Chet Holmgren and his shot-blocking ability, how would the defense look?

Statistically, Gonzaga has been average. They give up nearly 72 ppg and don’t do anything special in any particular category. The Bulldogs gave up 90 points to Alabama and 84 each to Purdue and Xavier. But they also allowed just 63 points to Michigan State and 64 to Baylor.

This is a team that has a pair of quality defenders in Sallis and Watson, which will be an advantage against opponents with one specific player to stop. They were weak against teams that can shoot early on in the season but have improved in the past few weeks. And while Timme still isn’t a fantastic individual defender, he’s been okay for the most part without being a clear weakness.

Overall, Gonzaga’s defense has been solid but certainly can use improvement going forward and there are some talented guards in the WCC they can work on it against. The good news is that every other team in the country has clear weaknesses and the Bulldogs’ offensive strength will always keep them in games. Let’s see what they do in the next couple of months, starting with Pepperdine on Saturday.