Watchalong: Gonzaga vs. Texas

Two top-five teams did battle. What did Coach Spins notice through the game?

When we started this substack with paid content, we talked about having some unique new opportunities once games started up. One of them were scouting watch-alongs, ways we could dive into film, point out what we were seeing and share that with our subscribers.

There’s no better game to start with than a top-five matchup between Gonzaga and Texas. The beginning of the Chris Beard era in Austin saw him bring the Longhorns into hostile territory up in Spokane, where they’d have to contend with the preseason number one in Gonzaga. Drew Timme was nearly unstoppable and was able to stay on the floor thanks to Texas playing non-shooters on the perimeter for Timme to guard.

The Zags were solid on the defensive end, and their typical offensive firepower was on display. Timme stole the show with 37 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He was a crazy 15-18 from two-point range and operated in the lane or on the blocks, where he could show his patient footwork.

Instead of focusing on Timme’s great offensive play, we’ll look at the other players in the game (Chet Holmgren being one of focus) and the facets that contributed to Gonzaga’s runaway victory over a top-five Texas team.

Whether it’s how we scout, what we look for on defensive possessions, some small scouting tidbits or the ‘Zags defensive scheme to hide Timme, come watch film with us through the first ten minutes of the game:

Interested in watching more? Make sure you become a paid subscriber to our Substack in order to see some remainder thoughts on Chet Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard, how to evaluate turnovers that aren’t the passer’s fault, rim deterrence and great defensive possessions.