No Bite in the Gonzaga Bulldogs

After another weekend full of college hoops, we now find ourselves less than six weeks away from the tournament. I know you’re as excited as I am. With time running out, let’s get right to the thoughts from the weekend.

• Gonzaga put up a pathetic display against Memphis on Saturday night. Memphis’ length really disrupted Gonzaga’s offense. On the defensive end, they gave up way too many easy baskets, despite their reputation for being a reasonable defense squad. They didn’t force Memphis to take too many outside shots and they were absolutely abused on the glass. This did not do themselves any favors for March seeding.
• Austin Daye continues to look extremely soft.
• Memphis, on the other hand, really displayed a noteworthy performance. With their defense, rebounding, and athleticism, they’ll definitely be worthy of consideration in March. Despite being in a weaker conference, they’ve been historically successful in the tourney.
• Tyreke Evans is so smooth off the dribble and runs the offense well for a freshman. He’s a playmaker and makes a huge impact on the game without forcing things too much.
• The inside duo of Taggart and Dozier will cause havoc against any team without similar athleticism.
• I wonder if Pittsburgh will ever get tripped up because of a poor start to the game. They started out slowly against both Notre Dame and Depaul, but were able to win both games easily because they were the superior product.
• If Texas is losing by two, why is A.J. Abrams taking an off-balance three-pointer for the win? Give Damion James the ball and let him drive to the hoop.
• Can Syracuse ever show up focused for a road game? It’s like they became a little too confident after winning some early season games on neutral courts.
• The Nolan Smith experiment at starting PG for Duke is failing miserably and he’s obviously losing confidence. It took an inspired performance by Greg Paulus just to beat Miami, but the same faults continue to be there.
• I’m really feeling what UCLA is bringing these days. They’re pushing the offensive pace and it’s giving them easy baskets they haven’t been getting without a post presence.
• I chalk up Illinois’ win to the suddenly leaky Purdue defense more than a suddenly discovered offense.
• Isiaah Thomas makes shots down the stretch for Washington. It’s always nice when your point guard brings that to the table.
• I don’t see them making the tournament, but if I played against Wisconsin I’d play zone and press. It's a shame no one in the Big Ten brings that pressure or else it'd be relevant for betting opportunities.