Gonzaga-Pacific takeaways: Drew Timme rediscovers offensive rhythm, feel in Pacific win

Early on in West Coast Conference play, Drew Timme set a high bar for himself in terms of personal offensive efficiency, making 34 of 52 (65%) field goals through Gonzaga’s first three games and converting 20 consecutive shots at one point during a two-game stretch against BYU and Santa Clara.

In the five games that followed, Timme endured what would be considered an offensive slump by his lofty standards, dropping under the 50% threshold in four of those and only putting up seven shots in the other.

Timme still hasn’t returned to being the efficiency machine he was early in conference play, but GU’s past two games have yielded better results for the junior forward, who made more shots than he missed while helping steer the Bulldogs to a pair of wins by a combined 71-point margin.

In our day-after takeaways, we look at Timme’s last two outings, Gonzaga’s improvement on the glass and how the Bulldogs have handled the target on their back amid another 20-win season.

True to form

Timme did more than acknowledge his offensive shortcomings in a postgame news conference following Gonzaga’s 89-51 win over Pacific on Thursday.

“I finally started making some shots today and it’s about damn time,” he said. “I mean, that definitely was making me a little frustrated, but it’s great when you have guys like (Rasir Bolton) and everyone else that can carry the load while you’re struggling a little bit.”

Gonzaga’s offensive balance may be unmatched across the country, diminishing the need for massive outings from Timme. The preseason All-American has failed to score 20 points in each of the past five games, but in each of those, the Zags have had at least one 20-point scorer. Bolton became the fifth Zag to reach that plateau this season, scoring 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Bulldogs have had a 20-point scorer on 18 occasions this season.

“So it’s great, we still win by 30, everyone scores and couldn’t be happier,” Timme said.

But the Zags will surely need the best version of Timme in the postseason, so his recent emergence would be considered timely if nothing else.

In the Pacific game, Timme finished 6 of 11 from the field, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to post his third double-double of the season. Timme was 6 of 10 (60%) inside the arc after finishing 6 of 9 (67%) on similar shots in Saturday’s drubbing of BYU.

It comes after four consecutive games in which the Texas native failed to break 60% on shots inside the arc. Timme shot 35% against San Diego, 45% against Portland, 57% against LMU (on just seven attempts) and 50% against San Francisco.

“Tonight I just felt like I was just myself again,” Timme said. “Even though I missed some shots, it all felt good. Before, maybe the feel wasn’t right. That kind of is what I was feeling. But it felt good to be back, at least from my perspective on myself.”

Glass hounds

Gonzaga ranks No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounds per game (32.7) and No. 5 in rebounding margin (9.5). The Bulldogs have two of the WCC’s top-13 rebounders, with Chet Holmgren averaging 9.1 boards per game – No. 2 behind San Francisco’s Yauhen Massalski – and Timme averaging 6.1.

The pure numbers would suggest rebounding is a major strength for this Gonzaga team, but the Bulldogs still consider it a work in progress.

“I think rebounding is a big point of emphasis for us right now,” point guard Andrew Nembhard said Wednesday in a media availability when asked where the Zags still need to improve.

Thursday looked better in that regard as Gonzaga pulled down 37 defensive rebounds and, perhaps more important, held the Tigers to nine. It was just the second time since GU’s neutral-site showdown with Texas Tech that an opponent collected fewer than 10 offensive rebounds.

WCC opponents averaged 12.5 offensive rebounds through Gonzaga’s first six conference games, but have averaged just 8.6 in the past three. The Bulldogs held San Diego to a WCC-low seven offensive rebounds on Feb. 3 at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

“Coach definitely challenged us and I’m glad that y’all see that because that’s what we’re trying to do,” Timme said. “Coach is like, ‘All right y’all, get your stuff right,’ so we take pride in that and we’re trying our best to answer the bell when he challenges us, and I think we’re doing a better job of it. We’ve still got a long way to go with that, but we’re making strides, so we’re proud of ourselves for that, for sure.”

GU coach Mark Few agreed the Bulldogs still haven’t reached their ceiling.

“I think it was OK, the numbers show that,” Few said. “Pacific, year in and year out, is a pretty good rebounding team. Leonard (Perry) has been there and he instills a lot of toughness and they play hard. They go to the glass; they have athletic guys. In the past, that’s always been something that’s up on the board. I think we did OK. I don’t think it was perfect by any stretch.”

Top target

If No. 2 Gonzaga beats No. 22 Saint Mary’s on Saturday to maintain a perfect WCC record, the Bulldogs will leapfrog Auburn to reclaim the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the third time this season.

The achievement doesn’t carry the same significance as it may have a few years ago for a program that spent five weeks atop the AP poll in 2018-19, four weeks in 2019-20 and all 17 weeks in 2020-21. The Zags would match Baylor for the most weeks spent at No. 1 this season (five) if they move back into the position on Monday.

“I really don’t think it matters what we’re ranked, I still think everyone’s trying to beat us,” junior forward Anton Watson said. “Ever since I got here, we’ve been ranked high, so it’s always been that target on our back, and even in the WCC, all the teams are trying their hardest to beat us. We’ve just kind of gotten used to it.”

Players were asked Wednesday if they’re normally aware of their position in the AP rankings and the coaches’ poll, or where Gonzaga stands when it comes to bracketology projections.

“Not really focusing too much on that type of stuff,” Nembhard said. “More like team statistics, stuff that’s going to make our team get better. We’re looking at that those types of stats and seeing how we can get better, but when it comes to AP poll and coaches’ rankings and stuff like that, not really too worried about that.

“I don’t think it really interests us at this point. Especially for us two (he and Watson). We played on the team where we were No. 1 every single game last year. We’re No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 this year. To me, it’s all the same thing. That ranking doesn’t really mean much until you win the championship.”