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Texas and Arkansas Advance to Sweet 16 from NCAA Tournament in Portland

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Portland, OR – The second round of the NCAA Tournament in Portland featured match-ups between Gonzaga and Texas, followed by No. 12-seed High Point facing an athletic Arkansas Razorback team.

In the opener Cam Heide made his only field goal of the game, a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to give Texas a four-point lead and help clinch a 72-68 win over 3-seed Gonzaga. The Zags had closed the deficit to 69-68 on the previous possession on a Graham Ike dunk. The Longhorns are one of the few remaining double-digit seeds left in the tournament, having won three games including a First Four 68-66 win over North Carolina State.

Jordan Pope (17 points) connected on two big second half three-pointers for Texas. The first one gave them a 62-56 lead with 5:30 remaining. The second shot gave them a 69-64 lead with 2:36 remaining, Matas Vokietaitas was solid inside for Texas, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field with nine rebounds. Vokietaitas made it difficult for Graham Ike inside. Ike led the Zags with 25 points but was an inefficient 10-of-22 from the field. He was bottled up on the boards, only getting three rebounds, committed three turnovers and was charged with four fouls trying to contain Vokietaitas.

Gonzaga hasn’t been the same team since Braden Huff was injured. Tonight, they didn’t shoot reliably, only converting on 4-of-16 from deep. They only turned the ball over seven times, but Texas took advantage of them with an 11-2 edge in points off turnovers. Texas only committed five turnovers.

Thefirst half was close throughout with Texas taking a 35-33 lead into the break on a Pope three-pointer with six seconds remaining. Pope led the Longhorns with nine points while Ike scored 11 points for Gonzaga. The stats were basically even and both teams took care of the ball throughout the half, with Gonzaga only committing four turnovers while Texas had only one turnover.

In a thrilling second game Arkansas outlasted a strong High Point Panthers squad 90-83 led by 36 points from Darius Acuff. 5’11 Point guard Rob Martin was impressive for the Panthers, scoring 30 points and continually getting past Razorback defenders.

The game was close throughout with Arkansas taking a 43-42 lead into halftime. High Point went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a 56-52 lead, with six of those points by Terry Anderson (15 points, 6 assists).  The Panthers took their last lead (72-71) on am Owen Aquino basket with 7:04 remaining. The game was tied at 83 when Acuff took over. He scored seven straight points, the first two baskets on drives to the hoop and then he calmly swished a 24-foot three-pointer from the wing. That gave the Razorbacks a 90-83 lead and enough space to hold off High Point at the end.

Acuff was exceptional. He needs to be in serious consideration as the first point guard taken in the NBA draft. He plays with pace and can speed up and get past his defender at will. He’s strong enough to score inside after contact and is likely the best shot-maker in college basketball this season. Tonight, he was 11-of-22 from the field (3-of-6 3s) and added six assists against only two turnovers.

The Razorbacks basically played only six players with Karter Knox and Nick Pringle out with injuries. Acuff received help from Maleek Thomas (19 points on 3-of-5 from deep), Malique Ewin (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Billy Richmond (15 points, 10 rebounds).

Martin was exceptional for the Panthers. He had five assists in addition to his 30 points on 11-of-23 from the field. He might be the quickest guard I’ve seen this season with extreme explosiveness off the dribble.  He was supported by 25 points and 8 rebounds from 6’7 Cam’Ron Fletcher. Fletcher had previously played at Kentucky for current Arkansas coach John Calipari.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.

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Gonzaga Pulls Away from Oregon State Led by Ike

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Corvallis, OR –  Coming off a surprising loss at Portland, No. 7-rated Gonzaga came on in the second half and pulled away to an 81-61 victory at Oregon State. The Beavers had no answer for Gonzaga’s 6’9 center Graham Ike. The Bulldogs continually fed Ike inside as he  matched his career-high with 35 points and added seven rebounds to lead Gonzaga to the win before a season-high 7.865 fans in Gill Coliseum.

Ike was 13-for-18 from the field and got to the foul line nine times, converting eight. The Zags’ point guards Braeden Smith and Mario Saint-Supery combined for only seven points but had 11 assists against only one turnover. Gonzaga registered a total of 20 assists against only two turnovers for the game. That matched a record turnover low for any road game that Gonzaga has ever played.

Tyon Grant-Foster was active throughout the contest for the Zags, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes of action. Grant-Foster adds athleticism on the wing and helps inside in the absence of 6-10 Braden Huff who is out with a knee injury. Freshman Davis Fogle added eight second half points with five rebounds and showed athleticism and toughness. He’ll be someone to watch moving forward. Fogle’s dunk put the Zags up by ten points (60-50) midway through the second half and they pulled away from there. Isaiah Sy, from France, led the Beavers with 13 points, hitting 3-of-5 from deep. Dez White added 12 points and six assists against only one turnover.

The first half was close, with Gonzaga taking a four-point (38-34) halftime lead. The game was tight until midway through the second half when Gonzaga pulled away. The Zags dominated inside with Ike and Grant-Foster having their way against the Beavers’ bigs. Gonzaga finished the game with a 50-10 advantage in points in the paint and a 30-21 rebounding advantage.

Oregon State is now an even 13-13 on the season and 6-7 in West Coast Conference play. Gonzaga moves to 23-2 overall and 11-1 in the WCC.  Oregon State will now hit the road next week to take on San Francisco and Seattle. Gonzaga heads home to face Washington State on Tuesday night.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.

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Gonzaga Has No Trouble with Seattle

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Seattle, WA – Saturday in Seattle not only brought sunny skies (for the first time in some time) but also an action-packed sports line up. The Washington Huskies hosted Michigan State in Big Ten basketball. The Seahawks were at home against the San Francisco 49ers in Divisional Round NFL Playoffs.  And the Seattle University Redhawks were looking to avenge an earlier season overtime loss on the road to the 9th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.   

In the first game between these two teams, the Redhawks led for nearly 35 minutes thanks to superb guard play by Brayden Maldonado and a double-double from Will Heimbrodt. Local O’Dea High School graduate, John Christofilis provided a boost off the bench by knocking down four three-pointers in what has been his best performance so far. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the Zags pulled away in the extra period. As has been the case all year, Gonzaga got great production from Braden Huff and Graham Ike. Huff led all scorers with 28 points. Ike finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

The Zags came to Seattle looking to quickly extinguish any hope the Redhawks had of a victory.  They’d have to do so without Huff as he sustained a left knee injury in practice this week and will be out 4-8 weeks. Depleting Gonzaga further was a late scratch from Ike who sat out with ankle soreness. Seattle, having just ended a three-game skid by beating San Diego on Thursday, was cautiously optimistic it could take down the perennial power and firmly establish itself among the middle-tier teams in the West Coast Conference.

For Redhawks fans, the first four minutes were written to script as Seattle’s stingy defense smothered Gonzaga and Maldonado and Junseok Yeoeach drilled a three pointer.The next four minutes were off script. Several sloppy passes resulted in easy points for Gonzaga including the first of many dunks…this one courtesy of 7’0” Ismaila Diagne. The sophomore Senegalese finished his night with only 3 points but grabbed 8 rebounds in 20 minutes.  Seattle clawed back and were only down eight at the half, but they couldn’t get over the hump and eventually succumbed to a Gonzaga barrage of three pointers from Mario Saint-Supéry and the aforementioned dunkfest with Davis Fogle and Tyon Grant-Foster, among others joining the party.  But the 71-50 blowout belonged to Saint-Supéry.   

The 6’4” freshman from Malaga, Spain, had his best scoring night of the season with 20 points (7-10 FG, 4-6 3PT, 2-2 FT) along with 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 rebound in 24 minutes. Saint-Supéry’s a 3 & D specialist hitting 45% of his 2.6 three-point shots per game. He can hit it from anywhere beyond the arc and certainly did so tonight.

Another freshman, 6’7”, Davis Fogle, also stepped up. Fogle finished with 13 points (6-9 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-2 FT), 6 rebounds, including 3 on the offensive glass, and 3 steals. He’s averaging roughly 10 minutes per game this season and contributes as a pick and roll handler and in transition. Fogle but may be called upon to do more while Huff and Ike recover.

Ike is day-to-day and Mark Few and the Gonzaga coaching staff eagerly await the return of his 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game. Ike does most of his damage in transition and off both blocks, typically finishing off his right shoulder with a feathery hook shot. He has no outside game yet although he shoots over 75% from the charity stripe which suggests perimeter potential. Draft boards indicate he may go in the second round this year.  

In a losing effort, Maldonado finished with 12 points (5-12 FG, 1-7 3PT, 1-1 FT), 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. At 6’0”, Maldonado’s a little undersized at the point guard but he plays physical and runs on a high motor.  Tonight was a little rough, but he’s shot the three-ball well all season, particularly from the left and right wings. Overall, he makes just under 40% of his three-point attempts and shows a nice stroke from the free throw line where he’s among the Top 10 nationwide in free throw shooting percentage. In addition to his spot up shooting, Maldonado manages the pick and roll game well.  He can score whether he uses or rejects the screen and makes solid second level help reads to set up his teammates.

Maldonado’s a pesky defender. This evening, he drew a charge as the Gonzaga ballhandler came off the pick and roll screen. Fired up, Maldonado followed that defensive stop with an electrifying alley-oop to Houran Dan for three-point play.     

Will Heimbrodt had a tough night with only 3 points (1-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 1-2 FT). He got a lot of looks in the paint, but nothing seemed to go down. The 6’7” redshirt sophomore has been blessed with length and springs. He’s disruptive in the passing lanes, and averages 5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. This evening, Heimbrodt grabbed 6 rebounds and made 3 blocks. I counted at least 4 deflections.   

Offensively, he’s still striving for consistency. Heimbrodt’s had several games with 20 or more points and several games, like this one, where he’s been quiet. He makes 32.5% of his three-pointers on 2.3 attempts a night. His post-up game, from either block, stands out.  Although Heimbrodt has a few years of college basketball under his belt, he missed significant portions of his high school varsity sophomore and junior seasons due to injury and therefore developmentally, he’s still learning the game.  

Seattle faces Loyola Marymount at home on Wednesday followed by Pacific on the road on Saturday.  Both games are winnable. Gonzaga heads home to Spokane to play Pepperdine, San Francisco and Saint Mary’s. In related basketball news, the Washington Huskies lost 80-63 to Michigan State. Seattleites rejoiced, however, as the Seahawks slaughtered their bitter Bay Area rivals.

This article was written by Justin Pallari, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.

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Michigan Wins Title at Players Era Championship with Dominant Performance

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Las Vegas, NV. – Michigan completed an amazing performance, winning the title at the  Players Era Championship in Las Vegas with a 101-61 shellacking of previously undefeated Gonzaga. The Wolverines won their three games by a combined 110 points in the best performance at any major basketball event that I have witnessed. Yaxel Lendeborg led the winners with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two highlight reel dunks.

Michigan notched dominant wins over San Diego State (94-54) and Auburn (102-72) before tonight’s performance. This game was never in doubt as the Wolverines raced out to a 20-5 lead and went into the half leading by 24 points. The second half was the same as Michigan kept increasing their lead to as much as 46 points. Michigan’s frontcourt of 7’3 Aday Mara, 6’9 Morez Johnson Jr. and the 6’9 Lendeborg bottled up the inside and took Gonzaga’s Graham Ike out of his game. Ike finished with one point missing on all of his nine field goal attempts. Michigan outscored Gonzaga 30-0 on layups. Besides Lendeborg’s efforts, Johnson Jr. finished with 11 points (5-6 FG), five rebounds and two blocks. Mara added 13 points, four rebounds and three blocks while Lendeborg added two blocked shots of his own.

Beside completely dominating the game inside, the Wolverines receive excellent performances from their guards. Starting point guard Elliot Cadeau dished out 13 assists against only two turnovers. Nimari Burnett (14 points) connected on all four of his three-point attempts and added six boards. Freshman Trey McKinney came off the bench to score 17 points over 21 minutes and made 3-of-5 from deep. Roddy Gayle Jr. connected on all his three shots and scored nine points.  The thought on Michigan prior to the season was that if they could get good play and decent three-point shooting from their guards they could be one of the best teams in the nation. That has been happening, as tonight their rotation guards combined to shoot 8-of-14 on 3’s and contributed 23 assists against only 10 turnovers.

The Wolverines shot 13-of-27 from deep in total while shooting 60% from the field overall. They held the Zags to 3-of-22 shooting on 3’s and only 33.8% overall.  For Gonzaga, Tyon Grant-Foster played hard throughout, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Braden Huff had some success inside, finishing with 14 points and six boards before fouling out. All in all, it was a performance to remember from Michigan this week in Las Vegas.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Instagram, or on twitter.

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Gonzaga’s Defense Helps Them Win WCC Tournament Title

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Las Vegas, NV – The finals of the West Coast Conference tournament took on a familiar ring with top-seed St. Mary’s taking on No. 2-seed Gonzaga.  The teams faced off for the WCC tournament title for the fourth straight year, and the sixth time in the last seven years. Both teams played good defense but also shot very poorly. Gonzaga maintained a small lead through most of the game and came away with the 58-51 win. Braden Huff led the winners with 18 points. Mitchell Saxen led the Gaels with 20 points and added seven rebounds.

St. Mary’s used the height and superior rebounding to win both previous games against Gonzaga his season, 62-58 at St. Mary’s and 74-67 at Gonzaga. Coach Mark Few tried to counter the Gaels’ advantage by starting the Huff along with 6-9 Grahan Ike.  That move proved to be a good one as Huff scored seven early points to help the Bulldogs take a quick 20-7 lead. St. Mary’s countered as center Saxen scored nine points as they cut the deficit to 24-17. Harry Wessells made a nice block on an Ike layup attempt with led to a Saxen basket that cut the Gonzaga lead to 31-25. The Gaels extended their run to eight points on two Saxen free throws to reduce the margin to 31-29.  Ike broke the run with a lay-in but then Ryan Nembhard was called for a technical foul (his third foul). Augustas Marciulionis (12 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists) made both free throws and the half ended with the Zags up 33-31.

Saxen scored 14 first half points for the Gaels while Luke Barrett was active again on the boards with eight rebounds. Huff led Gonzaga with nine points at the half. The Gaels continued their rebounding efficiency with a 23-14 first half advantage, including 8-4 off the offensive glass. Gonzaga had a 6-0 edge on fast break points. The Zags only committed one first half turnover compared to St. Mary’s seven and enjoyed an 11-3 edge in points off turnovers.

Gonzaga maintained a small lead for most of the first part of the second half and expanded their lead to 48-42 at the under 8-minute time out. They were helped by a lay-in by Khalif Battle. (14 points, 5 steals) after a St. Mary’s turnover. They maintained their lead at 52-47 with three minutes remaining and St. Mary’s couldn’t get closer than four points the rest of the game.

The teams shot horribly with Gonzaga making 1-of-15 on 3’s and with St. Mary’s missing all 16 of their three-point attempts. The Gaels maintained their rebounding advantage by a 43-28 margin. Gonzaga won the game with solid defense and creating turnovers. They forced 18 turnovers while committing only four and had a 20-3 edge in points off turnovers.

Graham Ike of Gonzaga was named tournament MVP. Moe Odum (Pepperdine), Saxen (St. Mary’s), Marciulionis (St. Mary’s) and Battle (Gonzaga) joined Ike on the All-Tournament team.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

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St. Mary’s and Gonzaga to Meet Again for WCC Tournament Title

by Carl Berman
written by Carl Berman

Las Vegas, NV – The semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament took place tonight with Pepperdine trying for their fourth win in four days as they faced top-seed St. Mary’s. In the second game San Francisco took on No. 2-seed Gonzaga.  Both favored teams won and St. Mary’s and Gonzaga will face for the WCC tournament title for the fourth straight year, and the sixth time in the last seven years.

In the opener St. Mary’s showed why they are one of the top defensive and rebounding teams in the nation, shutting down a hot Pepperdine team and ran way with an 74-59 win. They held the Waves to 39% shooting overall and only 20% (5-of-18) on three-pointers. Paulius Murauskas scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Augustas Marciulionis also scored 15 points and added seven rebounds and five assists with no turnovers. Luke Barrett added 13 + 8. Moe Odum led the Waves with 19 points.

Pepperdine’s (13-22) Odum continued his hot shooting early, scoring ten points as the Waves took a 18-13 lead. The Gaels came right back, going on a 10-point run to take a 5-point lead. Four straight points from 6-8 Lithuanian forward Murauskas extended St. Mary’s lead to 30-21. They maintained that lead the rest of the half, going into the break with a 39-29 lead. Barrett was all over the court for the Gaels scoring nine points and adding seven rebounds.  Marciulionis also scored nine points. Odum led the Waves with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

St. Mary’s came into the game rated No. 11 in defensive efficiency according to Kenpom and they made it tough for Stefan Todorovic to get off an uncontested shot. Todorovic, averaging 24 points over the first three games, scored eight points in the half on only 2-of-9 shooting. He finished the game with ten points on 3-of-14 from the field.

In the second half, a lay-in after an offensive rebound by Murauskas extended the Gaels’ lead to 48-33.  The lead was 21 points (59-38) at the under 12-minute time out and St. Mary’s didn’t look back. They led by as many as 28 points (68-40) and coasted to the win, resting their starters for tomorrow’s title game. Pepperdine closed the game on a 14-2 run, making the final score closer than it could have been.

The Gaels came in as one of the top rebounding teams in the country, rated No. 2 with a 40.2 offensive rebounding percentage. They also limit their opponents to a 25.1 offensive rebounding percentage (ranked No. 15).  That advantage was evident tonight as in the first half the Gaels had a 25-12 rebounding edge with an 8-4 edge on the offensive glass. For the game St. Mary’s outrebounded the Waves 45-22, including 15-7 on the offensive boards.

In the second game, Gonzaga faced a San Francisco squad that was missing their starting point guard, Marcus Williams, who was out of action due to a possible NCAA rules violation. Ryan Beasley, starting in place of Williams, got the Dons off to a decent start by scoring their first seven points. Michael Ayayi came off the bench to give a boost to the Zags with two strong dunks. Back-to-back three-pointers from Junjie “Barry” Wong gave the Dons a 29-24 lead. A three-pointer from Beasley (10 first half points) gave USF a 37-35 halftime lead. Grahan Ike led the Dons with 10 points and seven rebounds. Ayayi played well and provided energy, ending the half with nine points and seven boards.

Ike scored eight straight points for the Zags starting the second half as the Zags took a 43-39 lead. Khalif Battle then got hot, hitting a three-pointer midway through the half to give the Zags a 59-53 lead. A dunk by the Dons’ Tyrone Riley cut the lead to 60-59 with under eight minutes left. Five quick points by Ike extended the Zags lead to 67-61. Gonzaga (24-8) was solid the rest of the game and closed out with an 85-76 win over San Francisco (24-9).

Graham Ike led the Zags with 27 points and ten rebounds. Battle added 21 points (3-of-6 3’s) and Ryan Nembhard added eight assists against only one turnover. Malik Thomas led the Dons with 27 points (5-of-8 3’s), eight rebounds and four assists.

This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.

We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout apprenticeship program. For information contact us and forward your resume.