How did the Zags lose to Michigan State?
With their home loss this last Saturday to Michigan State Gonzaga fell out of the top 25 while the win propelled MSU into the top 25. How did a ranked Zags team lose at McCarthey Athletic Center, which is one of the toughest places for opponents to play?
McCarthey Athletic Center is not a big arena and it can get loud to say the least, which is why it is a little shocking that the Zags lost.
Falling to MSU was only Gonzaga's 7th loss in their home gym since 2004.
Here are 5 reasons they did lose.
1. Gonzaga had no answer for Draymond Green - Green quieted the hostile crowd going for a career high 34 points and was simply unstoppable hitting on 11 of his 13 shots including burying 4 of his 5 3-point bombs and was 8/9 from the charity stripe.
2. The Zags struggled with their shot - For the game Gonzaga only shot 43% from the field and they really struggled to score in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. They also failed to come through in the clutch and after they had a chance to come back with MSU missing 9 of 16 free throws in the last 3 minutes. In the last 2 minutes and 50 seconds in the game the Zags only made a grand total of 1 field goal.
3. Sloppy play - Gonzaga had many chances to come back and hit some big 3-pointers to start some runs, but for the game the Zags committed 20 turnovers. They had 13 turnovers in the first half and had the lead for a while, but they kept coughing up the rock.
4. Kevin Pangos could not get it going - While Gonzaga leading scorer Robert Sacre shot over 65% from the floor and scored right on his average of 16 ppg 2nd leading scorer Kevin Pangos (13.3 ppg) really struggled. For the game he was only 3/8 from the field for 7 points and he only had 2 assists and he had 4 turnovers.
5. Elias Harris was a no show - Not only did Pangos struggle, but Harris, who is the Zags 3rd leading scorer at 12 ppg, stunk up the court in the MSU loss going 2/11 from the field for only 6 points. He misses all 3 of his 3-pointers and after coming into the game averaging just over 8 rebounds per game he only had 5 in the loss to the Spartans.
Next Up: The Zags have a good chance to get back in the W column in their next game when they host a 7-3 Oral Roberts team on Thursday night that has lost both of their away games against legit opponents.
