Gonzaga run as nation’s scoring leader is coming to end, but Zags still making their points

DETROIT – Gonzaga has led Division I in scoring offense each of the past five seasons, but that streak will soon come to an end.

Yup, the Zags have slumped all the way to seventh nationally at 85.0 points per game.

The eye test, however, shows little, if any slippage, particularly after putting up 86 points on McNeese State’s third-ranked defense and 89 on Kansas, which dropped to 30th in field-goal percentage after yielding 60.3% to the Zags last Saturday.

“There was absolutely no sign of being able to slow them down,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, shortly after mentioning his pride in the program’s rebounding and defense over the years. “Whenever we made mistakes, which we made many, they made us pay.

“And then when we didn’t make mistakes, they found a way to still grab an offensive rebound or whatever and score a putback. But Mark Few’s team is so good offensively.”

Both tournament games were lopsided in the second half and the Zags eased off the gas pedal in the closing minutes or they would have cruised past 90 points.

“Our offense was flowing,” fifth-year senior Anton Watson said. “I feel like we’re starting to read each other at a different level right now. We’re just getting used to playing with each other. It’s the perfect time to get that feeling.”

A closer look at the numbers shows Gonzaga is nearly on course with the program’s recent offensive juggernauts, especially over the past 18 games. Throw out three battles versus slower-paced Saint Mary’s when the Zags scored 62, 70 and 60, and GU’s lowest output was 77 points against San Francisco. The next lowest was 82.

Gonzaga is fourth nationally in offensive efficiency, first in effective field-goal percentage (60.3), third in percentage inside the arc (60.0) and sixth in 3-point percentage (40.5) while going 16-2 in its past 18 games. The Zags are second nationally at 51.9% from the field, much in line with the past five seasons.

“It’s just clicking,” said point guard Ryan Nembhard, who is averaging 9.1 assists over the past 12 games with six double-digit efforts. “We’re just figuring it out, the ball is moving, guys know where to be and we’ve figured out this big lineup.

“And not enough credit has gone to the coaches. Coach Few and the staff have done a great job. It’s been a little up and down, a little bit choppy, but they’ve figured it out, man. They come in at halftime and makes such great adjustments and we come out on the court an make it happen.”

Five Zags reached double figures in each tournament game. Graham Ike, the team leader at 16.4 points, paced the Zags in scoring during a seven-game streak with at least 20 points, but he’s only led them once in the past four.

Watson has been the top scorer twice and Nolan Hickman was top with 20 points in a West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal win over San Francisco.

“Selfless, definitely,” Ike said of Gonzaga’s offense. “It could be anybody’s night. I’ve been saying that this whole year, but that just speaks to the talent that we have, even on the bench.”

Few has stressed for months that Ike needs to be more forceful and demand the ball, but he also applauds the balanced scoring.

“It’s been a little bit of everybody,” Few said. “Nolan has been shooting it, Ben (Gregg) has been shooting it. Quite frankly, Graham has been delivering some, but not as heavy as we were using him earlier. It’s been kind of spread out.”

The Zags entered March Madness at 35.4% on 3-pointers, the program’s worst since the 2010 team finished at 35.3%. They connected on 18 of 36 from distance against the Cowboys and Jayhawks, elevating their season percentage to 36.2.

“It’s pick your poison,” said McNeese State coach Will Wade, referencing Gonzaga’s size advantage.

“We just had limited options. We were going to try to let them bomb us away from 3. Credit to them, they did a phenomenal, phenomenal job.”

No stat has a greater influence on Gonzaga winning and losing than 3-point accuracy. In 27 wins, the Zags connected on 40.1%. In seven losses, they’re at 19.8%. They’re 21-0 when scoring 80 or more points.

“It’s almost impossible to guard, I would say, with these two (Nembhard and Ike) in pick and roll, and you have shooters spaced around it,” Gregg said. “I don’t know how you’re supposed to guard it. The whole game (Kansas) was struggling to guard it.

“We’re rolling right now. We just have to keep it going.”