Scouting Report: Gonzaga Bulldogs

Big Blue Nation has not seen a win at Rupp Arena since January 20th. Even that contest left a bit of a bad taste in the mouth of Kentucky fans as the Wildcats let a late 28-point lead dwindle to single digits.

After two straight home losses to Florida and Tennessee, the ‘Cats will get a chance to right the ship on Saturday evening at 4:00 p.m. EST on CBS. The Gonzaga Bulldogs will come to Lexington having won six of their last seven and eight of their last 10 games. However, Coach Mark Few and the ‘Dawgs are in real jeopardy of losing their stranglehold on the West Coast Conference. Saint Mary’s was the last non-Gonzaga team to win the league outright in 2012. Currently, the Gaels hold a two-game lead in the conference standings.

While it hasn’t been as smooth sailing as a typical Gonzaga season, the ‘Dawgs are still very talented. They feature a balanced offensive attack that has five scorers averaging in double figures. You can expect them to play fast, space the floor, and utilize a potential perimeter mismatch in 6’8″ 228-pound forward Anton Watson. The Bulldogs don’t get bigger than 6’10”, but they will generally play three guys who are 6’8″ or taller. Especially if Tre Mitchell is limited or unable to go, the ‘Cats could face some matchup issues on Saturday night. However, Gonzaga will have to match up with Kentucky’s speed and skill as well. This Quad 1 opportunity is incredibly important for both ball clubs as the ‘Cats sit at 2-4 and the ‘Dawgs are 0-5 in such contests.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Bulldogs’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Personnel

Starters

#0 Ryan Nembard: 6’0″ 175 lbs, Junior Point Guard

12.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.8 apg

Point Guard. Primary ball handler. Pushes the pace hard in transition. You have to sprint back, protect the basket, and stop the ball. He is most dangerous as a distributor and playmaker, but he is a capable scorer too. Better and more aggressive as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives!!! Shooting 30.6% on one made 3 per game. You need to be there to contest his 3-point attempts, but then bounce back and guard against the right-hand drives. Start by hopping underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Get a hand up to contest if he shoots behind, but we’d rather give that up than let him get downhill to the rim. Do not over-help when he drives it! Tighten up to your man. Better passer than finisher. Stay between him and the basket. No right-hand drives. No layups for him. Don’t over help!

#11 Nolan Hickman: 6’2″ 183 lbs, Junior Guard

13.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.5 apg

Will share some ball-handling duties alongside #0 Nembard. You have to sprint back, protect the basket, and stop the ball. He is always the next most dangerous guy in transition when matching up. SHOOTER!!! No 3s! Over half of his shots have been 3s. Shooting 38.1% on over two makes per game. You have to be TIGHT to him at all times to take away his catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Pick him up well beyond the perimeter so he can’t step into one. Absolutely no help off of him. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3s he is going to look to drive it right. Make him finish 2s. Don’t over-help on his drives. Be tight and take him away from 3!!!

#22 Anton Watson: 6’8″ 228 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

14.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.7 apg

Bigger wing with high skill level. Very physical. Capable catch-and-shoot threat, shooting 16-36 from 3 this season, but much more aggressive as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives!!! You have to be there on the catch to deter and contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s, but then bounce back and guard against the right-hand drive. Be ready to be physical when he drives it. He will turn his drives into post moves around the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be ready for the quick drop step. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Contest the turnaround jump shot in the post. They will throw it ahead to him to drive it right in transition. You have to sprint back, protect the basket, and stop the ball. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out! No uncontested 3s. No right-hand drives!

#33 Ben Gregg: 6’10” 230 lbs, Junior Forward

8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 apg

Skilled 4-man. Very capable shooter. Half of his shots have been 3s. Making one per game at 33.9%. You need to be there on the catch to deter and contest the catch-and-shoot 3s. Pick him up in the trail spot in transition. Get out and take him away. Be tight enough to him on the perimeter to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. When he isn’t on the perimeter he will look for deep post catches. Posts up hard and will be physical inside. Don’t let him duck you in. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Right hand, left shoulder in post. Loves to shot fake and step through to finish. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out. No uncontested catch-and-shoot 3s!

#13 Graham Ike: 6’9″ 240 lbs, Redshirt Junior Center

15.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 0.9 apg

Left-handed. Strong, athletic 5-man. He’s skilled inside, but not a shooting threat. He can drive it at you from the perimeter and operates well when facing up in the post. LEFT-HAND DRIVER!!! He is always looking to come back left. Loves to face-up to drive it at you with his left or go right to set up the spin move back left. Be ready for him to use the shot fake and step through. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Take away the quick baseline drop step. Left hand, right shoulder in the post. Make him finish with you between him and the basket. His percentages go down when you can’t get an angle and finish around you. Give ground when he drives it and then wall up. 21 assists, 40 turnovers. You can come take it off of him. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out!

Bench

#34 Braden Huff: 6’10” 242 lbs, Redshirt Freshman Forward

10.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.7 apg

Left-handed. Backup forward. Very skilled. You have to pick him up at the 3-point line. Shooting 34.7% from 3 this season. Get out to him in the trail spot in transition to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Very good around the basket. Crafty with his back to the basket with good footwork. No quick drop steps to the baseline. Left hand, right shoulder in the post. Do your work early and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. He likes to face-up and either shoot the jump shot or drive it left. Give a hard contest to the face-up jump shots. Stay between him and the basket. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out! No uncontested catch-and-shoot 3s. No deep right-shoulder baskets.

#4 Dusty Stromer: 6’6″ 192 lbs, Freshman Guard

5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg

Backup guard. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 79 of 114 shots have been 3s. Shooting the same percentage from 3 as he is from 2. You need to be tight to him at all times to take away his catch-and-shoot 3s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Not shooting a great percentage, but he is in their hunting catch-and-shoot 3s. Pressure him on the perimeter and make him drive it. Once you take away the catch-and-shoot 3s he will look to drive it right. Make him score 2s. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get over the flares. Find him in transition and get matched up. You should not be helping off of him in the half-court. Stay tight so you don’t have to close out. Absolutely no catch-and-shoot 3s for him.

#21 Jun Seok Yeo: 6’8″ 215 lbs, Sophomore Forward

2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.3 apg

Backup forward. Very willing shooter, half of his shots have been 3s, but he is just 3-20 on the season. Be there to throw a hand up if he shoots. Bounce back after your initial closeout and guard against the right-hand drive. No right-hand drives! We want to stay between him and the basket. He won’t be very aggressive offensively if you are there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s and you don’t allow straight-line, right-hand drives. Will look to post up some against a mismatch inside. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. No right-hand drives!

Gonzaga Bulldogs Offense

There hasn’t been a more consistently great offensive team in the country than the Gonzaga Bulldogs over the last five years. The players have come and gone, but Coach Mark Few has posted elite offense after elite offense in Spokane. Beginning with the 2018-2019 season, the Bulldogs have finished 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, and 1st in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. This season, the ‘Dawgs are still excellent, but they’ve fallen to 28th in the metric. After years of shooting 37% to 38% from three-point range, this group is connecting on just 33.9% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Between less shooting prowess and the lack of an All-American to make things easier inside, scoring just hasn’t come as easily this time around for Gonzaga.

In terms of scheme, not much has changed. Coach Few’s group will still push the pace in transition and look to score early in possessions. #0 Nembhard is excellent at running the fast break and will put transition defense at a premium for the ‘Cats. In the half-court, they run a lot of ballscreen/handoff continuity. Within the continuity they will often lift the opposite forward to keep the driving lanes as clear as possible. Generally speaking all five players on the court at all times are capable as drivers, passers, and shooters. The top-end talent may be lacking a bit, but this is still a well-balanced offensive attack with several good players.

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First and foremost the Gonzaga Bulldogs are going to look to score in transition. As always, your transition defense checklist is to protect the basket, stop the ball, and then matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy. We will have to sprint back consistently in order to not give up easy baskets in transition. Also, remember that the best transition defense is scoring on offense. Once we get back we have to communicate and get matched up. #22 Watson is too dangerous to leave completely wide open in the trail spot. 16-36 from 3. Low volume, but very high percentage. You have to get out to him on the perimeter and take away the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s.

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Here is a look at some of Gonzaga’s half-court continuity. Anytime #13 Ike gets a catch off of the block he is going to face up and look to drive it at you. We want to stay between him and the basket and guard against the left-hand drives. Obviously, he ended up finishing this one, but we will live with him making turnaround jump shots over his left shoulder.

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Gonzaga will run a lot of 4-around-1 Motion in the half-court as well. Aside from #13 Ike you have to respect everyone as a 3-point shooter. That means our one-on-one defense will be at a premium. We cannot afford to over-help, be obsessed with the ball, and leave shooters open for uncontested catch-and-shoot 3s. At the end of this possession, you see Ike pop to the top of the key off of a ballscreen with just five seconds remaining on the shot clock. There is no reason to come off of #11 Hickman to help on Ike. Tighten up to your man late in the shot clock. There shouldn’t have even been a closeout on Hickman’s catch. You should already be tight to him as the defender.

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The Gonzaga Bulldogs are very capable of coming into Rupp Arena and scoring 90 points if we don’t concentrate on personnel-specific defensive strategy. Taking a step forward on the defensive end will mostly be determined by being less obsessed with the basketball. When #0 Nembhard drives it we cannot converge on the ball and have 10 eyes fixated on the drive. He is a better passer than he is a finisher. Look at the position he is in at the basket in this clip. There is a lot lower chance of him finishing, especially on the left side, than there is of him finding an open man if we over-help. San Francisco had 10 eyes staring at the ball and far too much help on Nembhard’s drive.

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This is what we want the defense to look like when #0 Nembhard drives it. Early in the possession you see #22 Watson operating some around the basket. So many of Gonzaga’s possessions will feature Watson or #13 Ike initiating offense off of the block as the face-up and get into a post move. Then, the Bulldogs eventually get into a high ballscreen with Nembhard and Ike. Saint Mary’s does a good job of staying lower than the roll and tightening up to #11 Hickman and #4 Stromer as the ball is driven toward you. The previous clip showed too much help on Nembhard’s drive. This clip obviously still results in two points, but we will live with this. Make them try to keep up by scoring contested 2s. Don’t over help!

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Similar to the clip above, this is an example of too much help for no reason. #34 Huff is a very good player and a capable scorer inside. However, he shouldn’t attract this much attention. We are more worried about taking the Bulldogs away from 3 than we are about Huff scoring in the post. Just be physical on his right shoulder and make him finish back into you with his left. Being this far off of your man on the perimeter, especially #4 Stromer who ultimately made the 3, will get us beat.

Gonzaga Bulldogs Defense

You have to drill a little deeper into the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ numbers to get the full story. There are a lot of less-than-stellar opponents in West Coast Conference play that help to boost their overall numbers. For example, when you look at their KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency, they sit at 35th nationally. Teams shoot 32.2% from deep and only 44.7% from two-point range which is 18th best in the country. However, it is a different story when they play the best teams on their schedule. In five games against Quad 1 opponents, Gonzaga is allowing opponents to shoot 56.1% from two and 34.0% from three. Those numbers, per Bart Torvik, tell a different story than when you include their games against much lesser competition. We should have the mindset of scoring 90 points this evening.

Keys to the Game

• Don’t let the “other guys” go off. This has been one of our biggest issues this season. #22 Watson is likely to get his due to matchup issues and his overall combination of size and skill. #11 Hickman is a good enough shooter he will likely squeeze off a couple of tough ones that go in. However, we can’t give up uncontested 3s to the other guys. #22 Watson, #0 Nembhard, #34 Huff, #33, Gregg, and #4 Stromer are all very capable shooters. Hold those guys to no more than four combined 3s.
• Do not over-help on #0 Nembhard’s drives. Part of how you accomplish the first key to the game is by not being obsessed with the basketball when they drive it. Nembhard is an excellent playmaker, but he is a better passer than finisher. We don’t need to converge on the ball and stare at him as he drives it. Make him score 2s. No more than four assists for him.
• Contain them on the glass. The Gonzaga Bulldogs come in rebounding 33% of their own misses on the season which is 63rd best nationally. We need to keep that number to 27% or below. Ending possessions with a defensive rebound will allow us to play in transition.
• Shoot 75% or better at the free throw line.