How Gonzaga went from bullied to bullies in rematch with Florida State
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Corey Kispert remembers being shocked last March at how fast and explosive Florida State was.
"Seeing them on TV doesn't really give you a good idea of how athletic they really are."
Josh Perkins recalls feeling awestruck last March at the stream of 7-foot centers and long-armed wings the Seminoles kept sending into the game.
“It was like, 'What's going on? Are these the Monstars?"
Unprepared for Florida State’s waves of length and athleticism in last year’s one-sided Sweet 16 loss to the Seminoles, Gonzaga played tentatively and allowed its bigger, stronger opponent to be the aggressor. Florida State pushed the Zags off their spots on offense, manhandled them on the glass and bullied them on straight-ahead drives to the rim.
Fueled by the memory of that painful loss, a tougher, hardened Gonzaga team scored revenge Thursday night with a 72-58 victory over a Florida State team that featured many of the same players as last year’s edition. This time the top-seeded Zags refused to be bullied, standing their ground defensively, answering every Florida State surge and surprisingly enough controlling the glass at both ends.
It was evident in how Zach Norvell ripped away a key late rebound from Mfiondu Kabengele and left the 6-foot-10 big man complaining no foul was called; from Rui Hachimura bellowing after withstanding a hard foul from Kabengele and still finishing a dunk; from Perkins jawing with M.J. Walker after a late first-half basket until both were nose to nose.
“The key to the game for us was being more energetic, more physical than they were,” Kispert said. “The way they play is to try to disrupt your rhythm on offense and try to take you out of the things you do, but no matter what they did we wanted to be more aggressive, more physical. We especially took it upon ourselves to really own them on the glass.”
In a West regional in which every team but Gonzaga is known for elite defense, it’s significant that the Zags showed they too can grind out a win with key stops. They executed coach Mark Few’s gameplan to perfection, keeping Florida State out of transition, walling off driving lanes and forcing the Seminoles to beat them with perimeter shooting.
A Florida State team that thrives on attacking the rim, drawing fouls and crashing the glass only got to the foul line 11 times on Thursday night and grabbed just seven offensive rebounds. The Seminoles shot under 40 percent from the field and an anemic 3 of 20 from behind the arc.
“We were trying not to let them bully us like they did last year,” forward Brandon Clarke said. “It was us being physical and forcing them to take tough shots.”
Whereas last year Clarke was redshirting and Killian Tillie was a late scratch due to injury, this year both Gonzaga forwards were available against Florida State. Tillie only scored three points but played a solid all-around game. Clarke delivered his usual All-American-level performance at both ends, scoring 15 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking five shots.
Gonzaga’s two biggest plays came late in both halves.
With Florida State threatening to pull within six at halftime, Perkins poked the ball away from Trent Forrest, sprinted down court and initiated contact on his layup to secure a 3-point play. Suddenly Gonzaga’s lead was back to 11, the cushion the Zags needed to absorb the Florida State runs to come.
Florida State got as close as four in the final three minutes, but this time it was Norvell who halted the Seminoles’ surge. Hachimura sucked in the defense and kicked to Norvell, who buried a right-wing 3-pointer that sparked a 12-2 game-ending Gonzaga run.
Now Gonzaga advances to face the winner of Michigan-Texas Tech on Saturday with a spot in the program’s second Final Four in three years at stake. The experience of getting physical with Florida State can only help against both of those defensive-oriented teams.
“We've got more chips on our shoulder this year,” Perkins said. “We were kind of content making the Sweet 16 last year, but this year a championship is the goal and we want to get there.”
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