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With the Sweet 16 getting underway, our basketball writers covering the tournament examine some of the big questions.
WEST REGION
1. Gonzaga and West Virginia have distinctly different styles. Which one do you favor in this matchup?
John Gasaway: There's little reason to think a West Virginia press is going to work against WCC player of the year (and Washington transfer) Nigel Williams-Goss, Josh Perkins and Jordan Mathews. Then again, the Bulldogs didn't exactly look supremely confident at all times in the second half against Northwestern. The Mountaineers will make the Zags sweat, but Zach Collins will pull Mark Few's team through to the Elite Eight.
C.L. Brown: It's very tempting to take West Virginia because Gonzaga hasn't faced an intense press like the Mountaineers' this season. But the Zags' experience will come into play as they won't panic in the face of constant pressure. The Bulldogs have multiple players who can handle the ball and help break the press with Williams-Goss, Perkins and Mathews on the floor. They'll be selective when they run, but they won't be lured into playing too fast by the Mountaineers.
Eamonn Brennan: West Virginia. Gonzaga is the better, more talented, more balanced group, no questions asked. But there is more than meets the Mountaineer-trained eye. For one, West Virginia is just as likely (if not more so) to force turnovers out of the half court as in full-court press, which makes the idea of Gonzaga entering the post to Przemek Karnowski et al., and then playing inside out, seem vulnerable to a defense that can dig and trap and rotate as well or better than any other in the country. For another, Williams-Goss should ask Frank Mason III what West Virginia does to lead ballhandler/scorer hybrids: KU's Wooden Award candidate went 9-of-29 with six turnovers in two games against the Mountaineers this season. (A 16 of 18 free throw mark in WVU's collapse in Lawrence, Kansas, has made that two-game tally look more favorable to the right honorable gentleman from Petersburg, Virginia.)
Jeff Goodman: The Zags are going to have their hands full because they haven't seen a team like this all year -- and going from Wet Coast Conference teams to the Mountaineers is going to be difficult. However, I still think that Gonzaga has enough balance, depth, guard play and experience to pull this one out. I could see them having issues early on, but then adjusting.
2. Xavier closed the regular season with seven losses in 10 games, including a stretch of six in a row. What changed?
Gasaway: Trevon Bluiett is flashing the form he showed earlier in the season in his epic game against Cincinnati, and Sean O'Mara has emerged as a real presence in the paint. The Musketeers are very tough on the glass at both ends, and have been that way consistently even after they lost Edmond Sumner to a torn ACL.
Brown: Bluiett has been a different player since the Musketeers dropped six in a row. It should be noted he didn't play in essentially 2½ of those games after being injured in the loss to Villanova. Bluiett has averaged 22.8 points -- while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range -- as Xavier has won five of its past six games. He has a tremendous amount of pressure to carry them with his scoring, but so far he has been able to shoulder the load.
Brennan: Pagan superstition, obvs. More seriously, Xavier got hit with a crucial season-ending injury right down the gut of its season, and it needed time, like all teams do, to figure out how best to move forward. That process cost it a bunch of games and sent it to the bubble, but its look since -- more zone on defense, even more Bluiett on offense, the same tenacity on the glass on both ends -- seems to work.
Goodman: Bluiett is healthy now and making shots, and the Musketeers got their swagger back. Coach Chris Mack has also received solid production from his role guys -- players like Sean O'Mara and Malcolm Bernard. Matchups didn't hurt their cause, either. But the win in the Big East tourney over Butler was critical with regard to the team's confidence.
With the Sweet 16 getting underway, our basketball writers covering the tournament examine some of the big questions.
WEST REGION
1. Gonzaga and West Virginia have distinctly different styles. Which one do you favor in this matchup?
John Gasaway: There's little reason to think a West Virginia press is going to work against WCC player of the year (and Washington transfer) Nigel Williams-Goss, Josh Perkins and Jordan Mathews. Then again, the Bulldogs didn't exactly look supremely confident at all times in the second half against Northwestern. The Mountaineers will make the Zags sweat, but Zach Collins will pull Mark Few's team through to the Elite Eight.
C.L. Brown: It's very tempting to take West Virginia because Gonzaga hasn't faced an intense press like the Mountaineers' this season. But the Zags' experience will come into play as they won't panic in the face of constant pressure. The Bulldogs have multiple players who can handle the ball and help break the press with Williams-Goss, Perkins and Mathews on the floor. They'll be selective when they run, but they won't be lured into playing too fast by the Mountaineers.
Eamonn Brennan: West Virginia. Gonzaga is the better, more talented, more balanced group, no questions asked. But there is more than meets the Mountaineer-trained eye. For one, West Virginia is just as likely (if not more so) to force turnovers out of the half court as in full-court press, which makes the idea of Gonzaga entering the post to Przemek Karnowski et al., and then playing inside out, seem vulnerable to a defense that can dig and trap and rotate as well or better than any other in the country. For another, Williams-Goss should ask Frank Mason III what West Virginia does to lead ballhandler/scorer hybrids: KU's Wooden Award candidate went 9-of-29 with six turnovers in two games against the Mountaineers this season. (A 16 of 18 free throw mark in WVU's collapse in Lawrence, Kansas, has made that two-game tally look more favorable to the right honorable gentleman from Petersburg, Virginia.)
Jeff Goodman: The Zags are going to have their hands full because they haven't seen a team like this all year -- and going from Wet Coast Conference teams to the Mountaineers is going to be difficult. However, I still think that Gonzaga has enough balance, depth, guard play and experience to pull this one out. I could see them having issues early on, but then adjusting.
2. Xavier closed the regular season with seven losses in 10 games, including a stretch of six in a row. What changed?
Gasaway: Trevon Bluiett is flashing the form he showed earlier in the season in his epic game against Cincinnati, and Sean O'Mara has emerged as a real presence in the paint. The Musketeers are very tough on the glass at both ends, and have been that way consistently even after they lost Edmond Sumner to a torn ACL.
Brown: Bluiett has been a different player since the Musketeers dropped six in a row. It should be noted he didn't play in essentially 2½ of those games after being injured in the loss to Villanova. Bluiett has averaged 22.8 points -- while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range -- as Xavier has won five of its past six games. He has a tremendous amount of pressure to carry them with his scoring, but so far he has been able to shoulder the load.
Brennan: Pagan superstition, obvs. More seriously, Xavier got hit with a crucial season-ending injury right down the gut of its season, and it needed time, like all teams do, to figure out how best to move forward. That process cost it a bunch of games and sent it to the bubble, but its look since -- more zone on defense, even more Bluiett on offense, the same tenacity on the glass on both ends -- seems to work.
Goodman: Bluiett is healthy now and making shots, and the Musketeers got their swagger back. Coach Chris Mack has also received solid production from his role guys -- players like Sean O'Mara and Malcolm Bernard. Matchups didn't hurt their cause, either. But the win in the Big East tourney over Butler was critical with regard to the team's confidence.
