Gonzaga once again gets a bad deal from the selection committee. A few years ago they played Davidson (in a 7-10 match up no less) only a couple hours from Davidson's campus. This year they get West Virginia in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Mountaineers make a 75 mile road trip from Morgantown while the Zags have to travel 2,299 road miles from Spokane to Pittsburgh. While there is nothing to be done about that, the Zags can do something when it comes to this game.
The Mountaineers have an extremely solid frontcourt with center Deniz Kilicli and forward Kevin Jones. They play a much more physical style than the Zags have gotten used to from playing in the WCC these past couple months. Kevin Jones averages a double double a game with 20.1ppg and 11.1rpg. They have a "volume shooter" in Truck Bryant at guard, but he's no "volume shooter" a la Kevin Foster of Santa Clara, he's just a guy who shoots 36% from the field, but shoots so many times he averages about 18ppg. Not exactly senior leadership at the guard spot. West Virginia has 9 freshmen on the roster including team assists leader Jabarie Hinds.
The Zags escape with a win if two things can go their way. 1) Kevin Pangos shows up on the road. He hits 50% of his 3s in Spokane but falls off dramatically on the road and 2) Sacre and Harris can control Kevin Jones down low. Jones very well could have won Big East player of the year if the Mountaineers had finished with a record better than the 9-9 record in conference play that they hold.
Expect to see a lot of physical play in the paint. Double teaming of Jones is almost a knock out blow for West Virginia. If Jones can't score, there's almost nobody else on the team that can. Truck Bryant will try, but he misses far more than he makes. So doubling and boxing out of Jones to prevent him from scoring or rebounding will allow Gonzaga to win this game.
Let me stress the word "allow". You can be allowed to do something yet not do it. Firstly Gonzaga has to deal with Jones to allow themselves to win this game. Then they need Kevin Pangos to play, despite being in what should be a very, very pro West Virginia atmosphere. If Pangos and Bell are able to keep the offense humming Gonzaga will win the talent aspect of this game easily.
Guy Landry Edi could well be the difference maker for the Zags in this one. His defensive prowess and size will allow him to be an effective help defender on Kevin Jones. He also provides a nice mismatch with the Mountaineers' inexperienced guards. If Edi comes to play with the intensity he's shown in some of the games down the stretch the Mountaineers will have to rethink their assumption of the toughness level of their conference vs. ours. Center Deniz Kilicli said of the match up "I think they're physical in their conference, but we play in the Big East"... they play in the Big East, but have lost 8 of their last 12.
West Virginia Mountaineers: 19-12 (9-9 Big East, 8th place)
Gonzaga Bulldogs 25-6 (12-3 WCC, 2nd place)
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
4:20pm PDT
TV: TNT
Radio: 101.1 FM in the Inland Northwest (and streaming online at www.oldies1011.com).
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