Unforced errors cost Gonzaga in home loss to San Diego State: 'We didn't play smart enough'

Grit and toughness were overshadowed by mental errors down the stretch as the Bulldogs dropped a rare home game to the Aztecs

Cole Forsman | Dec 30, 2023

Unforced errors cost Gonzaga in home loss to San Diego State: 'We didn't play smart enough' /

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Over the years, Gonzaga men's basketball has rarely had mental lapses and unforced errors get in the way of success. It's even more rare when both happen at the McCarthey Athletic Center, where the Bulldogs hadn't lost to a nonconference opponent since 2015 entering Friday's game against San Diego State.

But the Aztecs (10-2) caught the perfect storm to pull off the upset over the Zags (9-4), who couldn't stay out of their own way from turnovers, a technical foul and missed defensive assignments down the stretch of an 84-74 letdown. Graham Ike led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Ryan Nembhard had 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds in his fifth 40-minute game as a Bulldog.

The Aztecs got 22 points from Reese Waters, while Darrion Trammell had a season-high 17 points off the bench. San Diego State's reserves outscored Gonzaga's 32-11.

Here are three takeaways from Gonzaga's loss to the Aztecs.

BULLDOGS SHOW FIGHT

Team — Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Toughness and determination nearly got Gonzaga back in the driver's seat down the stretch. Credit to San Diego State's intensity on the defensive end to fluster and cause disruption to Gonzaga's offense for a majority of the night. Down by as many as 15 points, Mark Few sent the pressure right back with a halfcourt zone press that rattled the Aztecs and allowed the Bulldogs to get back in the fight.

"[The zone press] hurt us a little bit in the first half but Anton at the top makes a big difference," Few said. "He really, I thought, changed it for us. Got us going, got the crowd back into it, and we were able to get a couple of steals and get a couple of easy baskets and kind of claw our way back into it."

Gonzaga forced five turnovers in three minutes courtesy of the zone press, one of those turnovers being a 10-second violation. All of a sudden, a 10-point deficit turned into a 3-point game in a hurry.

But all the tough baskets and the scraps for loose balls down the stretch couldn't outweigh the mental components. Because after Nembhard made it a 4-point game off a floater on the baseline, a miscommunication by Gonzaga defensively left Miles Byrd wide open in the corner, making it 74-67 with 5:19 left. Then a few possessions later, with San Diego State up 78-71 at the 4:03 mark, Watson reached in and hacked LeDee on a drive to the rim that made it a 9-point game with under four minutes remaining.

And before all of those tiny errors late, Dusty Stromer was called for a technical foul after nudging a San Diego State player away from Watson earlier in the half. Watson said later that Stromer was protecting a teammate, but Stromer didn't play the last 15 minutes of the half after the fact. Granted the Bulldogs played well with Gregg on the floor alongside the starters, though who knows what would've changed with Stromer in the lineup at certain points.

"I thought we fought and hung in there and battled and played with great spirit but we just, we didn't play smart enough," Few said. "These guys have some great fight and some spirit and a lot of substance to them. But at this point ... we should be pretty well along on some of the mental errors we're making and we're just not quite there."

That's been an accurate summary of Gonzaga thus far this season — spirit, grit, intensity for stretches. But the team is still learning from each other, as Watson put it after the game, and much of that can be seen in the mental mistakes.

IKE TAKES A BIG STEP

For all the negatives on Gonzaga's part on Friday, Graham Ike was the lone positive — literally, he was the only player to post a positive plus/minus ratio in the box score. Of course, others made big plays in big moments, from Watson's intensity on defense to Ryan Nembhard's clutch baskets, but Ike was leaned on the most in his 30 minutes of action, which was a season-high for the Wyoming transfer.

From the opening tip, the guards made it a point to get Ike involved in the post against LeDee or any defender for that matter. Pick-and-roll sets led to mismatches against smaller opponents and Ike took advantage for the most part when the ball came his way. Eventually, the Aztecs sent double-teams at him to get the ball out of his hands, but Ike welcomed the challenge until the Zags were forced to go to other options.

Despite not scoring over the last six minutes, Friday was a step in the right direction for Ike. His 13 field goal attempts were the second-most he's had as a Bulldog and were just as many as he had over the previous two games combined. As much as Gonzaga likes to have a balanced attack with multiple scorers on offense, sometimes a true go-to guy can be a difference-maker in big-time games.

"It took him a while, he's having a hard time figuring out how much we need him," Few said. "I just told him after the game 'if you can do that on San Diego State you do that on anybody and it's time to start believing in yourself. So I think that was a big step for him tonight."

ON TO THE WCC

Mark Few, Graham Ike — Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

A tough nonconference schedule, in theory, is preparation for conference play and eventually the postseason. That's how Gonzaga has approached every season for a number of years now, though this season didn't feature as many signature wins as fans might've hoped for when the schedule was released. Few has mentioned the fine line the program walks when taking on the country's best talent, which can result in tremendous victories that uplift a team or rattling defeats that leave everyone scratching their heads.

[The nonconference] helps toughen us up and the critical thing, is you can't let it mess with your confidence. That's the critical thing," Few said.

One department Gonzaga probably lacks confidence in is 3-point shooting. For the fifth game in a row, the team shot under 30% on 3-pointers in the loss to the Aztecs, a woeful shooting stretch that hasn't happened before under Few. The Bulldogs' 31.5% mark from deep is on pace to the worst in the Few era, as the loss of Steele Venters appears more detrimental than previously thought.

Interestingly, the rough stretch comes after it appeared the team had figured out its shooting mishaps. Gonzaga went 12-for-22 and 10-for-24 from deep against USC and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, respectively, before the recent rough patch from deep. The players and coaching staff have both said they like the looks they're getting, it's just the shots aren't falling.

Whether or not that's a good or bad explanation remains to be seen in West Coast Conference play.