Last night was ugly for the MB Blog, as the Harvard Crimson let us down with a less-than inspired effort against Princeton.
Today we are stepping into a cross-country matchup between the 17th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-4) and the Memphis Tigers (16-6).
Gonzaga will be making the trip to Memphis after beating Portland on Thursday night. The Bulldogs traditionally play a very tough non-conference schedule, as they have already made road trips to Michigan State, Cincinnati, Duke, and Illinois. Gonzaga's last featured big game against Duke didn't go so well, as Duke laid down a 35-point beating on the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga's head coach Mark Few has been telling the media for weeks that he didn't like the attitude of his team, and he went so far as to complain openly about their effort following his team's shocking loss to San Francisco last weekend. The message may have worked, as the ‘Zags looked like a different team in their win on Thursday night. They were aggressive on the defensive side of the ball, they shot well, and rebounded with intensity. All three things Few had been looking for since his team's win over Wisconsin earlier in the season.
Make no mistake, Gonzaga is a very talented team. Gonzaga had won 9 in a row prior to their loss at San Francisco. They had been making small mistakes, turning the ball over, missing crucial free throws, and not playing smart basketball. The loss at San Francisco puts their conference winning streak in jeopardy, and it should serve as the crux to get them focused heading toward the post-season. Guard Matt Bouldin leads his team in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, right behind is forward Elias Harris who is scoring 16 points per game. Eilias leads the Bulldogs in rebounding with 8 boards per game. Bouldin is the team's assist leader, 3-point shooting leader, and he also happens to be their best free-throw shooter. As he goes today against Memphis, so go the Bulldogs.
Shockingly, Memphis finds themselves tied for 3rd-place in Conference USA. That has to be an odd feeling for the Tigers, because the last time they lost a conference game was back in 2006. Memphis coach Josh Pastner is the youngest coach in Division 1-A basketball and his youth may explain his team's baffling inconsistency. The Tigers roster is littered with mega-star recruits, but Pastner can't seem to get the same effort out of his club every time out.
Memphis has their share of warts. The Tigers do not rebound well, and they have demonstrated a puzzling lack of defense. Perhaps worst of all though is their free-throw shooting. This team is horrible, and it has caused them down the stretch of a few games this season. Eilliot Williams leads the Tigers, averaging 20 points per contest. The Tigers do not have a player on their roster who averages more than 6 rebounds a game.
I like Gonzaga here +4.5. I even will take a small play on the money line with the ‘Zags in this spot. Memphis is talented, but they clearly lack chemistry. They appear to play as individuals trying to live up to their press clippings, and it was obvious in last weekend's loss to SMU.
Gonzaga meanwhile has become the little engine that can. They have become a perennial top-20 program, and they have enough talent, and significantly more team chemistry. I also think the Bulldogs have a significant coaching advantage with Mark Few over Josh Pastner. Pastner is a Calipari product, and that usually means having a roster full of 5-star players with little team chemistry.
The selection is Gonzaga +4.5
As always, best of luck to everyone!