Buzzer breakdown: Gonzaga opens overtime on cold streak again in loss to Kentucky
SEATTLE – Here are three observations from No. 7 Gonzaga’s 90-89 overtime loss to No. 4 Kentucky Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena.
Shades of WVU
Gonzaga’s offense hit a wall during the overtime period of an 86-78 loss to West Virginia in the opening game of the Battle of Atlantis.
The first 2 minutes of overtime against Kentucky looked and felt similar.
Ben Gregg’s dunk attempt on the opening possession was stuffed by Kentucky’s Amari Williams. Gonzaga’s next three trips down the floor didn’t look much better, with Ryan Nembhard, Gregg and Khalif Battle each missing 3-pointers.
Dusty Stromer gave Gonzaga some much-needed life with a 3-pointer and Nembhard followed with his own, but the Bulldogs couldn’t come up with the stops they needed and coughed up the ball as the clock ticked to zero on the final possession.
Free-throw trouble
Gonzaga’s magnificent season at the free-throw line continued in the first half with the Bulldogs making 9 of 10 from the line, but it took a turn for the worse in the second half.
Gonzaga stubbed its toe on multiple occasions, making only 7 of 12 shots from the line in the second half. That included two costly misses on the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities – one from Graham Ike and the other from Stromer.
With the chance to give Gonzaga a three-point lead with 1 minute, 14 seconds left, Ike missed short on his first free throw before canning the second.
Andrew Carr tied the game at 79 moments later.
Free-throw complications continued in overtime, with Ike missing his sixth of the game inside the final minute.
Big Blue switcheroo
After giving up 50 points to Gonzaga in the opening half, Kentucky’s second-half shakeups included switching to a zone defense.
The Wildcats had early success with the scheme, scoring 13 consecutive points while holding the Zags scoreless for 3:44.
Gregg finally broke the dam for Gonzaga on a short jumper inside the paint, but the Bulldogs still couldn’t find the offensive gear that allowed them to have success in the first half.
They finished with 29 second-half points on 11-of-28 shooting from the field and 0 for 9 from the 3-point line.