Gonzaga Men’s Basketball 2020 NCAA Tournament Capsule

March 4, 2020 · Scott Whittum
 

Gonzaga Bulldogs

West Coast (31-2, 15-1)

 
Gonzaga continues to roll right along as one of the blue bloods of college basketball. Despite losing at BYU, they cruised through the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs are set up nicely with most likely playing the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane before heading down to Los Angeles for the West Regional.
 
Big Wins: 11/28 vs Oregon (73-72), 1/18 BYU (92-69), 2/8 at St. Mary’s (90-60)
Bad Losses: 11/29 vs Michigan (64-82), 2/22 at BYU (78-91)
Coach: Mark Few
 
Why They Can Surprise:
Gonzaga does an excellent job of executing offensively as they can beat you with a number of different guys stepping up on a given night. The Bulldogs are averaging 87.7 points per game on the year, which ranks 1st overall in the nation. Filip Petrusev is in the conversation for the Wooden Award and for good reason as he has been dominant all year long. Corey Kispert and Killian Tillie are going to create all sorts of matchup problems for opponents along with Petrusev. Kispert and Tillie are efficient shooters that can beat you inside the paint and can step out for a three-point shot when needed. The ability to control a game through rebounding is another underrated strength for Gonzaga as they are plus 9.1 in rebounding margin. Shot selection is another reason why the Bulldogs are primed for a deep run as they have made 51.5 percent of their shots from the field. The ability to consistently knock down shots will give the Bulldogs a nice leg up on the majority of the field in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Why They Can Disappoint:
The narrow escape against Oregon back in November down at the Battle4Atlantis tournament showed one potential recipe for beating the Bulldogs. Oregon was able to take Gonzaga to overtime before losing 73-72 and they only turned the ball over six times, while limiting the Bulldogs to 28.6 percent shooting in the second half. The Ducks have a senior point guard in Peyton Pritchard who is one of the best in the game at running an offense so if Gonzaga sees them in the Sweet 16 that could a possible landmine for them. Brigham Young’s offensive efficiency in a 91-78 win over the Bulldogs in Provo was impressive as the Cougars knocked down 53.2 percent of their shots from the floor, including just over 40 percent from three-point range. Bottom line, keep an eye on the type of draw that Gonzaga gets for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight as that will dictate whether or not they make it to Final Four.
 
Probable Starters:
Ryan Woolridge, Redshirt Senior, Guard, 10.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.2 apg
Admon Gilder, Redshirt Senior, Guard, 10.7 ppg, 2.0 apg
Killian Tillie, Senior, Forward, 13.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Corey Kispert, Junior, Forward, 13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
Filip Petrusev, Sophomore, Forward, 17.5 ppg, 7.9 rpg
 
Key Role Players:
Joel Ayayi, Redshirt Sophomore, Guard, 10.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.2 apg
Drew Timme, Freshman, Forward, 9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 87.7 (1st in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.7 (126, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 51.5 (2, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.9 (113, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (133, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.0 (7, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.7 (251, 6)
Rebound Margin: 9.1 (4, 1)
Assists Per Game: 17.1 (7, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 (38, 3)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2019 NCAA Round of 64 win over Fairleigh Dickenson
2019 NCAA Round of 32 win over Baylor
2019 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Florida State
2019 NCAA Regional Final loss over Texas Tech
2018 NCAA Round of 64 win over UNC Greensboro
2018 NCAA Round of 32 win over Ohio State
2018 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Florida State
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over South Dakota State
2017 NCAA Round of 32 win over Northwestern
2017 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over West Virginia
2017 NCAA Regional Final win over Xavier
2017 NCAA National Semifinal win over South Carolina
2017 NCAA National Final loss to North Carolina
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Seton Hall
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Utah
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Syracuse
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over North Dakota State
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over Iowa
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over UCLA
2015 NCAA Regional Final loss to Duke
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Oklahoma State
2014 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Arizona
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Southern
2013 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Wichita State
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over West Virginia
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Ohio State
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over St. Johns
2011 NCAA Round of 32 loss to BYU
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Florida State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Syracuse
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Akron
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over Western Kentucky
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to North Carolina
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Davidson
2007 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Indiana
 
*all team stats through 3/8