Gonzaga vs BYU | 2021.3.9 | NCAAB Game

so many stars out on the court on both sides but for gonzaga the three wooden award finalists no teams ever had that happen since we went to this era in the last decade of the wooden award being whittled down to a list of 15 this late in the year byu has its hands full but matt arms 7-3 the opening tip won for the cougars and byu has the first possession of this west coast conference championship game one of the things that seth greenberg was saying in the studio was hey good offense alleged a good defense and a big part of that tonight is valuing the basketball 21 turnovers last night for byu they cannot afford to do that they need a lot of that from matt harms tonight a big game from him would go a long way the few moments where gonzaga has i mean it's hard to even say struggled this year but size at times can at least bother the zags and we know matt harms has size jalen suggs went to the basket got knocked to the floor missed the layup and here comes byu you want to play fast you want to play with tempo but you want to be deliberate and sure with your passes if you're byu yeah you've already referenced the turnovers they were so sloppy with the ball last night got away with it in an overtime win they will not get away with that tonight [Music] shot clock winding down brandon averitt dribbling into traffic can he get a shot up well he got one up there but he hit nothing shot clock violation dave there's mark pope and you and i we remember meeting mark pope when he was assistant at byu before he left and went to utah valley before coming back and taking over the program just so impressed with his demeanor his approach his connectivity with his players player development so many guys have gotten better under mark pope as an assistant and as a head coach andrew nemart hits the three and gonzaga is on the board mark fews already a defensive stance at least he was over on the sideline this game means a lot to coach few he wants this wcc championship that's a byu turnover what can you say about what mark few has been able to accomplish 14 times wcc coach of the year he's led this program to the first ever final four back in 2017. they're experiencing their first undefeated regular season they've been number one since the start of the season have navigated their way through the pandemic remaining undefeated pittsburgh wide open three in and out byu got away with one there ill advised to leave number 24 in white wide open like that from beyond the arc maybe the best pure shooter in college basketball he was a little cold last night gideon george calmly hits the three byu they need matt harms and they need some of those outside shots to go down [Applause] out of bounds yeah gideon george remember that game up in spokane that was kind of his first i don't want to say break out of performance because he had some in the non-conference but in conference play he was one of the guys that brought a lot of energy in a night that was very disappointing for byu and spokane remember they took that game on 48-hour notice they were supposed to play pepperdine in usd and also the next thing you know we're all up in spokane calling the game but gideon george was aggressive and assertive in that game nice move by brandon averitt to score the bucket so byu off to a good start and gonzaga throws it away it was tip though out of bounds tipped so no turnover after that game that you're referencing where byu got their doors blown off in the opening minutes up in spokane mark pope very candidly told us afterwards our guys were not ready for that big stage for that moment sean they look a little bit more ready here tonight they have been much more comfortable playing with poise at both ends of the floor so yeah he's an issue for them david the two games that he's had against byu's averaging 20 points per game he had 24 in the game on february 8th well you and i were on the call for that one alex barcelo 3 no rebound controlled by ayahi i thought jalen suggs i said it that night in provo looked like the number one pick in the draft kiss for another three that one well short so corey kissberg so far in las vegas little cold shooting suggs with the shot fake and kicked it back out good recovery by byu now suggs on harm shoots over top airball ayahi right there and missed the putback huh i would like to see jalen suggs attack matt harms off the bounce that's where your your advantage is going to be your speed not shooting over the length freshman caleb loner has been a big reason why byu's gotten better as the season's gone on he does have that range missed the three passed up the three went right into harms but shot was affected ball goes out of bounds off the cougars [Music] so that sends us to our first timeout cougars with after she celebrated the buzzer beater she had to go back to the bench where she'd been most of the game sitting next to her trash can because she had the stomach bug or whatever she and so many of her teammates had it decimated their roster and she's made her only basket of the game the game-winner with .6 seconds left cory kissberg is just so unusual to see him miss open looks like we have these last couple nights well i've been really impressed with byu at the start of this game pin assertive that's remember alex barcelo had a ton of success at home attacking the paint off the bounce and even though he got a little bit deeper than the logo area i think that's where he can find a lot of success in this game first half against byu and provo he was shooting threes and missing him second half he went to work inside the lane now some sort of collision treven nell off the byu bench i don't know if need a knee contact something like that he gets up a little gimpy the big key too is when you're efficient offensively and yeah it's it's one of those knock knees situations off ball as anton watson was rolling but dave i want to go back to one of the reasons why gonzaga is struggling a little bit is they're taking the ball out of the net they're not getting stops and when you run good offense and this is what seth was talking about before we came on air when you run good offense and you take high percentage shots and you're able to finish it's it takes them out of transition naturally you're able to get back they got to take the ball out of bounds and then they're trying to attack you because no team in the country scores faster more beautifully in transition than gonzaga suggs i think he got run into but i guess he's okay because he's on the move here got fouled by barcelo [Applause] teams have gotten beat up in this tournament haven't they saturday night we saw some gruesome stuff blood spurting all over the court last night there were bodies flying that up why do you keep bringing up marcus and shin it's my lasting memory so far of this wcc tournament i've never seen so much blood on a court that's more memorable than barcelo's reverse layup last night or colby ross hitting the shot to send it into overtime okay maybe not more memorable but close okay who had a great tournament last year he was the wcc tournament mvp last year hit the three to put gonzaga ahead now the rebound gideon george didn't know how open he was but he did manage to finish the activity being aggressive gideon george now finding his way in the scoring scoring column twice first offensive rebound of the game for byu again for three what makes gonzaga so difficult dave is there's on any given night it could be a different player they literally have four to five guys in this this lineup there's four guys on the floor that could score 20 points i know anton watson has done it but i'm not going to put him in that category i think that's fair anton watson's good role player for this team he's harassing richard harward nell got free though and he answers with a three of his own they need to get him going from the outside because he can really punish him desperate had his pocket pick johnson flips it to averitt gonzaga got back here's harward in the lane scores maybe this one will go down no i i can't remember a rougher start to a game for corey kissberg than this one at least in the last couple of years 0 for 403 from beyond the arc while he's disjointed and not connecting byu is playing beautiful basketball right now they are playing confident they are playing as a team understanding exactly what they need to do in order to be successful here tonight what a great pass from suggs to watson he caught byu sleeping on the inbound play just threaded it in there and watson drew the foul those are little things in a championship game we often talk about both these teams are really well schooled in the out of bounds place and executing and trying to manufacture some points out of bounds hudson gets the first free throw to go and jalen suggs i mean so often we see that quarterback instinct he was a great high school basketball player we know that he was one of the great high school quarterbacks in the country as well second free throw no good gonzaga gets point off that brilliant pass favorite went baseline here's nell three good another one for byu well byu has come to play tonight and if you're tuning in thinking well is this going to be another gonzaga blowout and byu looking like they're not going to let that happen jalen suggs from way outside great job by jalen suggs but i am just so impressed with mark few's team i mean mark pope's team right now the ball movement that we've seen the last couple of possessions i want to go back to the previous possession if we can because i think any great offense one of the things you always try to do is get the defense to chase a couple dribble hand-off actions and watch you drive baseline now you got two you got two stepping the ball here and i got three you get three steps in the ball that means there's multiple options that are open and if you're a shooter on the outside get your feet set line it up and knock it down really good pass from spencer johnson who made the big defensive play last night for byu and their overtime win i mean cougars are no slackers when it comes to offense maybe not in the the category of gonzaga offense snell makes the second of three free throws jalen suggs found him shooting a three but byu is a very good offensive team dave you have to you know when we look at the the categories and this year offensively gonzaga as we mentioned off the top the kind of the alabama of college football to college basketball you know so efficient could hurt you in many ways but that doesn't mean there weren't other great offenses and i really think that the development and growth of this byu team has really impressed me in particular last month this season oh did you just see what drew jimmy did behind the back pass to anton watson for the layup why not behind the back he can do it all drew timmy was just superb last night against saint mary's he's had a great year in his own right national player of the year candidate himself [Music] good defensive yay here's barcelo late shot clock harms he does have range outside the big man hits the three [Music] that's not even nine minutes but byu very encouraging start and mr missed it arms grabbed the defensive board average was a little loose that time but didn't give it away george against watson a tough shot off to the side i think that's one you got to give it up and if you want to try to get it back and repost and reestablish position that'd probably be a better way to go back and forth we go april pulls up for the three in transition that's confidence right there dave fleming byu has come to play tonight byu is not afraid of number one of the first half 26-19 mark pope's team has had a remarkable year a lot of reasons why sean you did describe some of them just a few moments ago so much talent loss from last year's team and then not only that this year changing course mid-year i mean they have changed their rotation pretty dramatically as the season's gone on and caleb loner has been a big part of that i mean he just makes so many winning basketball plays for byu timmy goes to work drew timmy up and under that was pretty good defense between harms and loner right now it has 67 shootings so far in this game they have not been sped up or disrupted at all by gonzaga at the defensive end four different byu players have already made a three in this game [Applause] johnson to harness for the dunk beautiful offense beautiful spacing and that's the role that chris burgess was talking to us about he wants matt harms to do that he's so much more successful on the roll you can see harms is impacting some of these zags aaron cook off the bench is in dem hart i thought it had a layup but didn't shoot it because harms was in the neighborhood [Applause] cook goes all the way to the basket missed the layup he got right to the rim and missed it [Applause] i'll go right back to that screen and roll action try to see if you can get matt harms on that roll again not very often this year has gonzaga at any point in any game trailed by nine points that's the lead for byu right now johnson three good another byu players knock down a shot from the outside and dave if we took those last two possessions and showed you what byu did they did run the exact same play except for this time the defense kind of pinched in a little bit to help on harms that created a little bit more of a run out that was a fly and it wasn't called and i do think that was the right non-call and now are they giving matt arms a flop warning yeah they gave him the flop but dave let's go back to these last two possessions i'll show you what i was talking about now this is the first one side on ball screen roll finish nobody else is over on that side of the court right this time see how hard nem hart had to pinch in because harms was on the roll and that opened up johnson on the outside that's great execution for byu so far in this first half up by 10 even after that last drew timmy dunk arms out harvard third time all season long the gonzaga has trailed by double digits byu just keeps scoring and that that was the point that you've made that seth and lafonzo were making before the game you got to run good offense to keep gonzaga from doing what they love to do that entry pass got right to timmy near the rim he draws the foul you're forcing gonzaga right now to play in the half court because of your success in the half court gonzaga has zero fast break points in this game dave amazing part of that is byu valuing the basketball we mentioned the 21 turnovers last night so far two turnovers in the first half for byu [Applause] second free throw for timmy that one was too strong he has struggled at times this year he's shooting 68 he shoots a ton of free throws we'll see if gonzaga can get him going at some point but the zags on defense here where they've really struggled in this first half david another tough shot but that one falls down attack in the middle of the paint attack the middle of the paint that logo area has been very effective for teams if you're able to get there when you have shooters you can space the floor find a seam and attack great pass sucks to a yaya [Applause] is so good his court vision and awareness is a leap it's different but barcelo left him in the dust there we don't see that happen very often alex barcelo answered on the byu and cougars just continue to score they're at 37. they're suggs right back at byu wow if you like offense this is a game for you these two are going back and forth in the first half last night what'd we say in the second game the overtime game if you like fouling and free throws it was the game for you timmy draws the foul if you don't if you don't foul there drew jamie's going to finish you know just as we thought dave we're talking about offensive efficiency a team with football style stanford cal and then we have one of the semifinals on friday pac-12 tournament presented by new york life starts tomorrow how about usc's evan mobley today announced that he was the pac-12 freshman of the year defensive player of the year and overall player of the year what a sensational season it's been for one of the top nba prospects in all of college basketball evan mobley and the usc trojans i think they're going to be a heart out in the ncaa tournament just based on their length it's it's hard to replicate their length of the tallest team in college basketball they really get after you defensively the key is going to be their car play and taj edi has been really good as the league meanwhile byu shooting 75 percent they've had seven different players already score in this first half they've made six straight shots from the field just red hot in this first half against number one undefeated gonzaga we talked about mark few and he said you know try to keep the competitive edge they put themselves in situations where they're trailing how do they respond you know we mentioned only the third time it was at sanford at st mary's at home against santa clara and now tonight the three times that they've trailed by double digits well i thought he could have just gone and dunked it instead he just shot it right through another made bucket for byu that's seven field goals in a row made a yahi three good he has been the best offensive weapon here in the first half for gonzaga go back to harms if you can right now jalen suggs is guarding matt harms down low they never got the ball to him but instead they did that they chucked it in from way outside they're shooting 70 percent from beyond the arc they're seven attack timmy goes to work against harms even without a whistle scored imagine what that building would be like dave oh boy if the fans were there if the byu rock and the kennel were all there in attendance i mean that place is rocking usually but this one but the way this game has started man it would be buzzing it would be electric right now it has the feel of one of those games where this time of year champ week tournament time all your friends start texting calling you watching this game the buzz in the actual arena barcelo wow go figure that's the shot that ends the streak for byu and nobody stops jaylen suggs he just goes all the way to get to the free-throw line in the blink of an eye to your point we've been in this arena so many times covering these games and i couldn't help but watch the players as they were warming up and we were preparing from our locations you're in san francisco i'm in connecticut and watching these teams warm up how different the feel of that arena is and how they're trying to ignite energy for themselves and they have to turn the key even for a champ i mean this is the reality that's the arena right before the game there's nobody there you have to self-ignite yourself whether it's byu or gonzaga where how do you start your engine can you imagine that place split 50-50 with these two great fan bases how loud it would be we've been there when they take the floor and you can't even hear it's a perfect venue for this conference tournament the orleans arena and these two schools in particular they show out in support they do some pressure from gonzaga and it almost forced the turnover byu got lucky and then it turned into a wide open look for trevendell the pressure's not working though because they're getting wide open the shots from the the outside i mean they're they're slicing it up they're not turning over they're being sure with the basketball and they're getting a high quality look the ie3 came up short loner tracks down the loose ball every time you think gonzaga here they come byu and and it's happened on this end of the floor they're 45 with almost five minutes still to go in the half and this is like almost a perfect offensive half of basketball so far harward gets doubled and almost fell to the ground they blow the whistle call a foul i think about the makeup of a team to pull up pull off an upset like this but one you've got to be able to score the ball against this gonzaga team you cannot play slow you you cannot be in effect inefficient at the offensive on the floor you have to be able to score the ball byu's doing that you have to value the ball you can't turn it over only three turnovers so far here in the first half for byu and then defensively what that allows you to do is get back and set up and force them to have to play in the half court and get them out of transition only three fast break points for gonzaga here in the first half jalen suggs had to go to the bench he's got two personals now and he's been along with a yay the two best on the floor for the zags so that hurts dell missed it and out of bounds off of b.y.u so probably sean probably the last 4 10 of this first half without suggs on the floor his aggressiveness and his ability to turn the corner and attack outside of joel ayahi he has been the most efficient player for gonzaga here in the first half this is where having andrew and emhard though does help that will help too corey kissbert nightmarish start for him in this game something on the court so they stopped playing there is the life from corey kissberg who's got a case for the national player limited their turnover right now gonzaga not dominant normally it's the zags we're talking about nearing 50 points instead it's byu they're well on pace to score a hundred tonight in this game and as the guys were talking the studios we've been talking about anything and everything byu has wanted to find in the half court they've been able to get just an amazing half of basketball for byu on the offensive side they've got the ball here gideon george back out to brandon avery i mean gonzaga is on pace to get close to a hundred in this game they've shot the ball 50 from the field even with some uncharacteristic misses and they're down by eight over the top harward caught then had it knocked away gideon george was there and they call a foul against harward man richard harward just couldn't gather because he had a layup he would have gathered on that it would have been an easy finish for him the defense left him all alone timmy on the bench right now jalen suggs on the bench right now [Music] anton watson going baseline got cut off [Music] watson will shoot the three i think byu will live with that shot rebound cougars one of the things that byu's done a good job is they're taking away the movement off the ball you're not seeing any of those typical bat goal cuts that we've seen there's a good catch finish plus a foul anton watson couldn't wrestle the ball away and this time richard harwood wasn't messing around harwood played well in the two games against gonzaga this year averaging about seven points and four and a half rebounds per game just posting up underneath and it's just too deep of post position anton watson's got to do a better job of forcing him a little bit higher up that lane if you allow him to catch that deep and allow him to have pin you on the outside and have his target hand going to the rim very little that the help side defense is going to do to help you out there harvard completes the three-point play harms comes in and mark pope really wants to do this i mean he wants to keep both players fresh he wants to keep him pumped up like harvard looks going to the bench there wants to keep him out of foul trouble it's a it's a committee at that center position for mark pope's team yeah he didn't take the three ben pulls up for a long two that was not a great shot i don't think not a great possession i mean there's no movement i mean what makes gonzaga great at the offensive end of the floor is their movement off the ball and getting ball reversal and attacking the high post and watching guys cut behind the back line of the defense you're not seeing any of that right now dave they're guarding arms down low at least with them hard which is interesting harms gave it up even though manhard was on him jackpot's winded down they haven't been able to get him the ball are they going to shoot now one up and it goes that kind of half for byu i mean that's the kind of shot that makes you think is this going to be the night we've seen it before we left team to beat gonzaga was byu it's over a year ago it was in provo in front of maybe the loudest crowd that i've ever heard in college basketball drew timmy back on the floor and immediately gets a bucket so those are some differences from that game that you referenced but i'm glad you did it because it is worth pointing out that the last team to beat the zags in late february 2020 91 to 78 was byu there's a whistle and i think that's against hemhart down low i mean gonzaga the way they're guarding right now often a guard is trying to push harms off the low block they're trying to front the post down low and they're using guards with it right now and then trying to pinch in with help what a problem when they're pitching with their help though they're leading shooters available that was interesting admit jalen suggs with his two fouls is back in the game i'm sure with firm instructions all right you got a minute don't commit your third foul favorite three no two strong long rebound though gideon george there to get the loose ball nell will pull the trigger on the three it was perfect right out of his hands you could tell it was going down as he had a good first half he has been outstanding here in the first half dave he's got 15 points four or five from beyond the arc and the quality of shot in which he's gotten they've been clean looks they've been far too clean and you have to have awareness here george stops there's a close out there but it's late and there's a lot of space and bevenell is feeling it right now he'll come out 15 first half points for him they only had five points first pepperdine in the entire game including overtime byu i mean as impressive as that win was they survived the buzzer beater from colby ross to get that game to overtime byu looks like a totally different team tonight the second free throw their best basketball season dave has been right now in the last month it really has been just as it was a season ago you've said it many times over these last couple years under coach pope where his teams just get better and better as the season goes on that's a pretty good quality to have in my opinion arms swarmed inside but they blow the whistle call a foul it'll be just the fifth against gonzaga what that will do is i mean the byu [Music] can shrink the rest of this first half a little bit not still not quite all the way to where the shot clock is off but just a six second differential [Music] barcelo gave it up johnson down the lane behind the back to caleb loner and then he threw the ball i think off the back of the backboard out of bounds [Music] i'm talking about freedom of movement though with the offensive side byu has had freedom of movement this entire first 20 minutes he was cutting better now they're cutting better dave they're shooting better obviously because the quality of shot they have is better here we go kiss for three that one well short and it was that kind of half for gonzaga what a half on the other side for the byu cougars well all the talk of undefeated all the talk of how dominant and when it wanted gonzaga did not make them speed up gonzaga did not let make them feel them at the defensive end of the floor and they were not disruptive at all so the question becomes now dave as we look at all these great numbers and individual performances if you're the nation's number one team if you've gone undefeated all year long this is the first time they've ever been in this situation how do you respond here in the second 20 minutes well that's just a glimpse a very quick bucket off the dish from nem hard to drew timmy so gonzaga on the board first as we start the second half the lead is 10. wouldn't you have loved it been in the locker room for the zags just to feel i mean they have not been in this position in a long long time just to feel what it was like with this group of zags players who have played so brilliantly all season long marcelo suggs was on top of him george three too strong loner though went high for the offensive rebound harms is he gonna take it yes is he gonna make it no [Applause] jalen suggs all the way right into the seven footer and then lost the ball saved it to kiss bird three good from the corner he needs to get going you're talking about a first-team all-american a national player of the year candidate corey kissberg you have the leadership of this team it's your time to shine here in the second half the vcc player of the year an all-time great zag george thought loner was open that was a good recovery by nemhart to knock it out of bounds and jalen suggs falling out of bounds for kisper ready shake off the first half start the second half and build some confidence from there barcelo shoots the three that one was way off the mark and kissberg grabs the board the zags want to run drop pass to a yay for three that one in and out no good loner snatches down the rebound [Music] the closest game gonzaga has played all season long was the 87-82 win over west virginia whatever the game since then has been by double digits 22 in a row they've won by double digits they're trailing by double digits it's nine but with the half trailing by double dudes this year they're gonna call a foul against harms reaching in from behind after suggs tried to get it into drew timmy harms didn't like the whistle good news is fouls weren't really a huge issue for either team and nobody had more than two suggs had two in the first half nell had two and harward had two here's kissberg another look and he hits another one corey kisper is getting hot that's bad news for byu and we've seen him be able to turn it on in big moments this season remember the game at virginia he absolutely exploded from beyond the arc he looks like a guy who took that first half personally arms one on one against timmy arms switch to the right hand rebound to yay well they're asking loner because kisford's playing the four right now they're asking loner to guard him and he can't guard him corey kissberg is another one oh my goodness he talks about leadership from the middle he might be verbally from the middle right now as far as his leadership in that side that locker room but his play so far here in the first three minutes of the second half has been out front and center for the gonzaga bulldogs he was named to sports illustrated's first ten years only four bigger halftime deficits they lost all four of those previous games of course this is a different gonzaga team but maybe tonight's the night but they come from down big at halftime and turn it around they're down three right now i want to start here to the second half cory chessbert coming out on fire it was drew timmy on that first possession they scored really quick all of a sudden they're starting getting back to their rhythm of how they want to play arms rushed that one he had a great look but just kind of shot putting it up there so the zags have a chance with a three to tie the game they were down 10 just a moment ago and they're calling arms for another foul he locked arms with timmy that's 11-2 start here very quickly in the second half but there's one thing we know about gonzaga they can throw a lot of points up there quick too and it's not like in the first half that they were trying to be disruptive and not allow the pace of the play to go it was just that byu was able to score at such a high clip that gonzaga was consistently having to go against their half for defense kissberg who's known as a three-point shooter he's actually great inside the arc that was a rare miss for him from close range down low timmy got a hand on the ball and ultimately suggs came over and stole it away quick pass to kissberg jimmy against harm i think he stepped out of bounds he scored the basket but wipe it away because he stepped out first and got the ball a little bit too low on the block actually was surprised he's set up to go that way good call stepped out of bounds he was so deep beyond the backboard he didn't have any room to play and really gather and go up that's a good defensive possession actually by matt hall full court pressure from the zags here suds got popped with the loner screen freshman on freshman [Applause] taking some shots in this game arms out of hardwood in not as much happening on the offensive end in these early minutes of the second after byu that's for sure johnson knows he's got to get one off and they call an offensive foul a push-off before the shot of the zags three for three is cory kisper went in the paint even against gonzaga is a victory now we'll see if that holds up over the full course of the game but gonzaga just destroys teams typically in the paint it's not all just low block moves from drew timmy they score in the paint with their charge with their big bend with everybody cut off there that was pretty good defense a lot of blowout wins for gonzaga this year even against their very best opponent suggs draws the foul they have not played a lot of close games maybe in a way this is going to be good for gonzaga to get tested the way the byu is testing him but you know that the zags players want to keep that undefeated record intact and they try to avoid talking about it and they try to push it off but now it's very real i mean look if they lose this game they're still being one seed they may not be the number one overall seed though in the ncaa tournament changes your path a little bit made just one of two they have done an excellent job though dave erasing that deficit that they had at halftime it's a one possession game with under five minutes in that first five minutes dominated by the zags the lead was as big as 14 now a steal by timmy the big man will bring the ball up himself finds the trailer nemhart now kissburg wide open again three no [Applause] biggest zags lead has been two they've hardly led in this game barcelo air ball my goodness what's happened to the byu offense target is pressure is starting to mount on them because gonzaga is applying that pressure their defense is obviously picked up their intensity is picked up at that end of the floor timmy falling to the ground tried to save the possession couldn't do it barcelo free throw line good [Applause] emhart's going to try to take it all the way he will with the left hand i didn't see a lot of that in the first half dave made basket and running off of it [Applause] with a very quick answer for the nation's number one team getting pushed by byu in the west coast conference championship game it has been a terrific game so far and barcelona throws it away nem hard steal kiss for to the open court kissberg foul [Applause] two free throws to try to tie the game for corey kiss for player of the year in the west coast conference three turnovers in the first half for byu they have four already in the first six minutes of the second half and the turnovers start leading the offense that's where gonzaga can really put it on you quickly and they can go on these runs that kind of separate themselves now they haven't separated themselves because of the deficit but here we are with an opportunity for corey kissberg to step to line and try to tie this game almost automatic 89 free throw shooter by the way sean was talking about if the upset were to happen tonight could gonzaga fall off the number one overall seed you'll find that out and everything bracketology this sunday will find out the whole field seven eastern the bracket actually revealed during sports center with reese and the guys going selection by selection that starts at 5 15 eastern on sunday then reese j lafonzo seth and dicky veal break down the whole bracket at seven with that bracketology special yeah you feel like shawn the number one scenes are locked nothing's gonna change maybe the order will change but those four teams you think are locked in yeah i don't think i don't think anything's going to change then this week i really don't i think those teams have separated themselves this year [Applause] david i think that went off whose foot did that go off of i guess at yae's he hustled after the ball it's out of bounds only one second on the shot clock though for byu awareness hopefully for byu sake that they're communicating here [Music] that would be a shot clock violation it showed one second it was less than one second that was the world's fastest second that goes down as byu turnover all the good things that mark pope's team was doing in the first half have disappeared gideon george will check back in the lead is a race gonzaga has a chance to take the lead here getting george numbers don't jump off the pace in the first half but he was vital in their success defensively suggs had his shot blocked and then harvard landed right on top of him here's a quick three nell no he made almost everything in the first half but that's what you're talking about gideon george there for the offensive rebound and he'll shoot free throws activity you know in the intensity in which you play with for giddy and george when he's out on the floor that energy becomes infectious and it starts at the defensive end and bleeds over to the offensive end regaining a possession for byu here and an opportunity as he just did to regain the lead so gideon george was hardly playing in the first games of the season has grown his role he really talented players still relatively new to basketball you can see the potential for him he made him both it's a two-point lead for byu he made a lot of big shots in the first half here's nem hard three no loner great rebounder for a freshman one of the best young rebounders i think in college basketball and a mismatch on the ball too yeah no kidding see if byu can take advantage of it averitt kicked it out to george no well they never got the ball inside to one of those mismatches though gave it up that's a sloppy turnover averitt three off iron suggs passed up the three he'll take it this time so those shots that were falling down one after another after another in the first half not falling here in these last couple minutes the pace of this game slowing down a little bit dave harvard against watson this time a yeah he came over and harvard passed out of it here's nell he'll go all the way to scoop it in and that's a byproduct of a success in the first half shooting the ball so well from the outside guys running at him well balanced looked to attack off the bounce that time ayahi thought about the three without drew timmy on the floor and he's at the scorers table looking to check in there's really not anybody that they can play through on the block yeah it's a good point it opens the whole floor up when he's on the floor when he's not the offense does look a little bit different for the zags a frustrating night for the number one team in the country they was likely going to move to number one if they were able to get that win they did not byu knocked him off they match up with them tonight as the number one team in the country undefeated in the wcc tournament they've seen their lead shrink dramatically here to start the second half but still in control up by four timmy back in the game matt harms is back in the game and he played good defense against the all-american candidate drew timmy there forced the miss a byu ball 11 minutes to go in this wcc championship man byu very sloppy with the ball and give gonzaga credit ramping up the ball pressure big time ultimately the zags do commit the foul there's a couple things you can mention why is byu not as efficient at the offensive end of the floor right now why ball pressure and they're being felt as far as ball pressure goes and they're initiating their offense a little bit further out than they were in the first half in the first half they got to their operational area with ease in the second half it hasn't been that way george went right by cory kissberg who got tied up fell down george puts it in and then flexed on him too well you're going to take down the number one team in the country undefeated gonzaga you better have a little confidence sucks that one was way short they're calling is that a double foul there's a double foul on george and kissbert that's a direct reflection of what we just saw at the other end of the floor remember it was george that scored i said he just flexed on him you know corey gisbert's not gonna like it and watch the finish he pushes off a little bit on it flexes on it stares at him bring him back to the other end of the floor things getting saucy here this in a second saucy in las vegas in the wcc championship hey look i'm not going to say these are two program mark few a little confused by that last double foul call byu with the possession arrow they get the ball that's how you sort it out [Music] let's see how this plays out now well i me too because in those first couple minutes of the second half i thought well here come the zags and they're just gonna blow the door byu it hasn't been as pretty but they are definitely hanging around average passed up a three shot clock winding down brandon averitt against the big man got to get a shot off nell does no good rebound timmy jaylen suggs shot rejected by harms the defensive player of the year in the conference just swatted that one away the defensive transition though was outstanding on this possession watch first first help side defensive player that picks up steps the ball in transition second one's rotating over harms comes over as the third rotation and blocks the shot excellent job defensively awareness of where the ball is and making sure you're staying in front of it oh what a nifty play andrew nemark faked the pass the defense went the other way and nemard was wide open look at the ball pressure though the ball pressure a lot better they are there on the catch they are not allowing byu to be comfortable yeah almost like byu was going to take advantage of it and ultimately i guess they did gideon george another important play by him he's stepping up for the cougars i think he's been a big part of why this run hasn't really taken off for gonzaga good job drawing the contacting into the free-throw line by drew timmy and how about the last possession that you mentioned at dave pass fake watch what happens all right that just opens up everything for you the pass fake is a lost art in the game of basketball we're so keen on dribbling and trying to break down someone's ankles you know sometimes there's a little pass fake everybody forces and shifts the defense over just a little bit allows you to finish most games missed free throws not that big of a deal dave they're a big deal in this game tonight they are now timmy this has become an issue for him he's four of six from the field he's two of six at the free-throw line he missed him both the lead is still six barcelo nifty little move but then couldn't finish with the jump shot rebound carrums around guess who comes away with a loose ball gideon george the second he checked into the game he is an energy giver out on the court yes barcelo count the basket with a foul what a response from byu it was 11 to 2 to start the second half and it's now 18-14 with an opportunity to get to the free-throw line here and add more to it barcelo with a strong finish every one of those sean that goes down every single basket increases the chances that maybe just maybe we could have a major major upset tonight we're under nine minutes to go em hard it through traffic almost lost it spencer johnson playing pretty good defense emhard found away though somehow within all that to score he's playing a heck of a game and he's got 11 now problem is it's really been the five starters they've got almost no production off the bench when i say no they've only got three points off the bench everything is coming from their starting five times george got fouled as he started his move so no basket fouled away from the bucket it was a good point you made i mean that it's been a major difference in this game look we know as talented as gonzaga is they're not that deep of a team but byu is using their depth their bench to great effect tonight here's barcelo gave it up trying to get it into harwood instead george cut off by kissberg shot clock at five nell three no rebound timmy swallowed it up but look at the defensive transition getting back for byu yep we haven't seen a lot of those easy run-outs past past layup thugs three the freshman [Applause] if gonzaga wants to win this game dave it's going to be at this end of the floor can they get enough stops can you sustain and get three stops in in consecutive possessions it's two i think suggs came over and affected that he went way up in the air now casper walking foul count the basket chance for a three-point play and that's the danger see that's where it comes down to defense and that's what gonzaga is going to have to do in the ncaa tournament wisconsin team in the final four ended their hopes of an undefeated national championship season those are the only teams since indiana's 1976 national championship undefeated winner that have come into the ncaa tournament with an undefeated record gonzaga can join that list with a win tonight but sean farnham they're down one with 7 30 to go a couple stops in a row i think it's gonzaga's ball i think it was off brandon well i don't know maybe not that was the initial call i thought was off avery now they're gonna give it to byu they're giving it to byu uh dave to your point more even more exclusive how about being number one at the start of the season and being number one entering the ncaa tournament and never relinquishing that there's only been three teams to do that that unlv team that you mentioned the duke team in 91-92 and then that kentucky team in 2014 and 2015 in the last 43 years of college basketball literally you're talking about some of the all-time great teams in the history of this sport history on the line tonight johnson three here comes suggs with the great outlet pass ayahi with the catch george got back and blocked it but they're going to count the bucket what a pass from jalen suggs and that layup with the goaltend call will put the zags ahead by one we haven't had any of these opportunities quarterback finding his wide receiver ayahi is as good as anybody reading that he has no chance to get a rebound he's a very good rebounding guard but if he does if he knows he doesn't have a chance he's going to release early and when he releases early that gives him a step or two when you have a quarterback like jalen suggs you find it you drop it in on a dime that pass sugg somehow got a hand on it man is he quick on the defensive end the first time the zags have led since it was 13 to 11 69 68 with under seven minutes to go an unbelievable the climb back into this game and every time gonzaga has made a run though byu has responded now they finally have relinquished the lead how does byu respond see if they can do it again [Applause] timmy helped out harms went to the basket and they found him but he missed the layup matt arms has missed a couple of those in this game suggs three rebound who loose ball ayah he found his way to the basketball and now they're gonna call nell for the personal foul [Applause] offensive rebounds have been extremely limited [Applause] for gonzaga a lot of free throws now as you take a look at the number of fouls here in the second half gonzaga can manufacture points here just by being aggressive if he makes this one sean this would be the biggest lead of the game for gonzaga and there it is up by three pressure's been effective byu's just not been in rhythm it hasn't forced a lot of turnovers nell who's been so good now has four personal fouls stays on the floor different level of of intensity at the defensive end of the floor here in the second half though dave totally different and sucks swats it away man more great defense from jalen suggs who i thought sean had an argument to be the defensive player of the year in the conference so good with his hands so quick whether it's jumping passing lanes or that time elevating up with the bluff alex barcelo the leader of this byu team no here comes kissbert and gonzaga on the move byu got back again it's uh whips it into yay who got knocked off balance and i maybe lost sort of the geography of where he was on the court here's nell three goes down big shot to tie the game and a time-out i think b-y-u took it great job finding treven nell who was lights out in the first half from sean farnham to get the upset accomplished you got to value the basketball and you have to avoid fouling and sending gonzaga to the free-throw line in the second half remember the first half i said hey they only turned the ball over nine percent of their possessions it's been 19 so far here in the second half and they're fouling and it's in the double bonus the rest of the way for the bulldogs that could be a huge factor drew timmy goes to work against matt arms quick decisive and on balance great move by drew timmy he's got 12. it's been a relatively quiet game for him he's hardly missed a shot from the field arms loner just tapped it out to nell open corner three not this time and a good defensive board from timmy timmy sets the screen for denver three no the b1u has done a really good job boxing out at their defensive end of the glass and making sure that gonzaga doesn't get a lot of second chance opportunities four and a half minutes to go matt harm's down low trying to make his move suggs came over to help suggs couldn't get there in time at least not to affect the shot of harms who scores to tie it again this is sensational byu their ability to find the answer he's got that change of gear where he can just slow down and speed up when high off the glass zags back up by two back and forth we go in las vegas in a championship game as great as kissbert has been from the outside to start the second half i think this game might come down to suggs his quickness and athleticism at the point of attack has caused problems for byu avery in and out it just wouldn't go down but they call a foul i think against gonzaga underneath the bucket fighting for position so to a timeout we go with a heck of a game wait for oklahoma they beat iowa state they could get all the way to the semifinals that's a big miss right now for the jayhawks and it's gonna be a great tournament to watch i can't wait to see oklahoma state west virginia again yeah those have been great matchups all right here we go final 337 byu ball off the inbound cougars who have led almost the entire game led by as many as 14 in the first half against the number one team in the country brandon average scooped it up with a left-hand no here comes jalen suggs suggs has started to take over this game kisper trailer three no yay snaps the offensive rebound and he was fouled joella yeah he's been flying around these last few minutes you know what a game for joelle ie 15 points nine rebounds he's been perfect from the free-throw line so far the junior from bordeaux france another international player who's come over to spokane washington and blossomed he missed the first of two free throws a very good free throw shooter dave interesting by the way gideon george is back on the bench i wonder how long marco keeps him on the bench because he made so many great positive plays for them when he was out there and how infectious his energy was i think he's got to get back in the game here relatively soon even it's not like he's in foul trouble he's not that was a dangerous pass suggs went for the steal didn't get it barcelo byu down three three minutes to go from las vegas in the wcc championship what would be an enormous upset if byu can pull it off they've played great arms down low against timmy double team came gave it up barcelo hounded by e.i.e harms flipped it up no good what a defensive possession for the zags i like the way they scrambled there they showed they helped they pinched recovered got back to their guy forced a late shot clock contested jumper from eight or nine feet out a team that loves to play a million miles an hour content at least this time down the court to play a little half-court basketball em hard weaving his way through picked up that dribble though suggs three another one for jalen suggs how about jane with suggs in this moment the freshman you want to know why he's so high on the draft board he makes huge plays both ends of the floor he can impact the game what about he played his best basketball against the best opponents look at the on-ball defense dave just hounding barcelo who found a way to get it to harms missed another one from short-range six-point lead under two minutes to go and guess who's got the ball it's jalen suggs he's got 20 points tonight a sensational showing by the freshman i go right back to him they're just moments where he looks different than every all the great players out there on the court and they're moments where he's just different here he is behind the back dribbles for three stop it dave are you kidding me [Applause] the will of jalen suggs [Applause] barcelo byu needs that one they need something nell will he try one no averitt's gonna go to the bucket missed the layup loner had it knocked away zags come away with the ball second half all the adversity it has been for suggs and for gonzaga as a team through all of it tonight here they are in position for another championship in the wcc the zags look like they're going to hang on dave the question mark was this how would gonzaga respond trailing by double digits people texting you and me oh my gosh you know they're overrated they're not they're not going to be the number one team in the country anymore how do they respond they respond with outstanding leadership it starts with corey kissberg and it bleeds over to one of the most talented freshmen in all of college basketball what makes this team different this year is a player like jalen suggs he has take over the game abilities and he has shown that in the last couple of possessions yeah he's special he missed both free throws though those are big byu's chances are still very slim but he missed two in a row at the line byu's got to get a shot off and they got to get it quickly barcelo three that one goes down so the cougars still have some life 82-76 with 40.5 seconds still on the clock all the brilliance of jaylen it was the defense there was no attention to the point of attack and initiating the defense and forcing byu to be uncomfortable in the second half jalen suggs has forced byu's guards to feel uncomfortable all the great players the zags have had over the years and they've had a lot of them kisper with the catch byu see who they foul they tried to found them hard they still didn't get the foul down and suggs found timmy for the dunk so they didn't blow the whistle and timmy got the two points out of it barcelo three another heave that one way off the mark demard has it and now they'll get the foul on andrew nemhart some history tonight sean yep it's been a magical season it's been a magical season a magical run and to do what they've done during a global pandemic to answer that call every single time and find a way to win and tonight they were challenged because guess what byu's an ncaa tournament team byu is good enough to advance in the ncaa tournament yes they are and they had their best performance in the first half coming up next svp standing by and he is going to break down this game you know he is gonzaga's run at perfection what a game we've had here in las vegas celebrating all the tickets punched plus a whole lot more two free throws good ten point lead for the zags final seconds from the orleans arena averitt will flip it in so the lead back down to eight 19.6 seconds on the clock yay will be fouled from behind it's been a privilege sean you and i have had an up-close view of this season for gonzaga and ultimately they are going to be judged by how the ncaa tournament goes but you said it just a moment ago a special year for a program that has reached unbelievable heights under that guy and they had great success even before mark few took over as the head coach but they have climbed and climbed and climbed to where you could make a pretty darn good argument they are at the top of the mountain in college basketball not just this year what a program gideon george three no rebound kissbert snatches it away corey kissberg had those few seconds in the early moments of the second half he'll start to celebrate what a career in the west coast conference tournament for corey kissberg and what a performance tonight from jalen suggs byu gave it their absolute best shot and still came up 10 points short

Channel: The Draftmatic

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Length: 67min 49sec (4069 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 09 2021