Texas Tech has returned to the Elite Eight and is set to face the No. 1 seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs at 5:09 p.m. on Saturday in Anaheim, California. This is the second time in program history that the Red Raiders have gone to the Elite Eight as they will play for a chance to go to the Final Four for the first time. However, they must defeat Gonzaga, who is the No. 1 team in the nation in terms of offensive efficiency. Let’s break down the roster:
Hachimura, who adds the size to Gonzaga’s team as a 6-8 player from Toyama, Japan. He is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs and averages 19.6 points per game this season. Against Florida State last Thursday, Hachimura scored 17 total points but was also limited to just six points against Baylor in the Round of 32. Hachimura is also one of the best on Gonzaga’s team in rebounds and three-point shooting. Hachimura averages 6.5 rebounds per game and averages a 45.5 three-point percentage. However, he rarely shoots the three, which means he primarily scores inside the arc.
Free Throw Shooting
Overall, Gonzaga as a team has a free throw percentage of 76.1 and average 16.4 free throws per game. Six of Gonzaga’s players have a free throw percentage higher than 70 percent, excluding Matthew Lang who has only shot one free throw this season and made it. Corey Kispert, Zach Norvell Jr., Filip Petrusey, Josh Perkins, Jeremy Jones and Hachimura all have free throw percentages higher than 70. Even so, three other Bulldogs have free throw percentages in the 60’s. Geno Crandall, Brandon Clarke and Killian Tillie are among this group. Tillie may not be a threat as much as he has only shot 14 this season. However, free throws remain a large part in Gonzaga’s scoring and the entire team is essentially great free throw shooters. If Texas Tech got into a position where they needed to foul, it likely will not matter who's at the line, because they will likely make it in regardless.
In comparison, Texas Tech has four with free throw percentages higher than 70, excluding Parker Hicks who only shot five this year. The Red Raiders have four with free throw percentages in the 60’s, excluding Andrew Sorrells. Texas Tech does have good depth on free throws, but the obvious target would be Davide Moretti to get to the foul line as he has a 92.1 free throw percentage with 93 out of 103 shots made. Gonzaga is much more spread out.
Brandon Clarke
Clarke is a considerable player both offensively and defensively. Clarke has totaled 115 blocks this season with an average of three blocks per game. Against Baylor and Florida State, he totaled five blocks in each game. Offensively, he has scored 609 total points this season with an average of 16.9 points per game. As a comparison, Jarrett Culver averages 18.9 points per game, so with Hachimura and Clarke together, the Texas Tech defense is somewhat facing two Culver’s, scoring-wise. However, Clarke is somewhat the Tariq Owens of the team with his blocking, Owens totaled 85 blocks this season.
Clarke is also the main rebounder for Gonzaga as he averages 8.5 rebounds per game. He is a player that can have a lot of offensive rebounds. Against Florida State, he had three; against Baylor, he had four; and against Fairleigh Dickinson, he had three. Of course, the majority of his rebounds come defensively, but he can also be a great offensive rebounder.
Josh Perkins
Perkins is also a defensive threat with the amount of steals he has collected this season. Against Florida State, Perkins collected two steals but the last time Perkins did not have at least one steal was against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 14. He has not reached higher than four steals in a game. Offensively, Perkins is a passer, given the 228 assists he has on the season. In the tournament, Perkins has had 13 assists so far, with five being against Florida State and six being against Baylor.
Elite Offense
It has been said before but Gonzaga has a great offense with four of its main players averaging double-digit scoring per game. Alongside Hacimura, Clarke and Perkins is Norvell, who averages 15.1 points per game. Not far behind is Kispert who average 8.3 points per game.
Limited Fouls
Something else Gonzaga does well is not foul often. The majority of the team only averages around two fouls per game, even Clarke who has the most fouls on the team. However, this is also a strength for Texas Tech, as the only one closest to getting to three fouls per game is Owens with 2.9. Culver only averages 1.8 fouls per game and Moretti with 2.3. If the Red Raiders’ scoring icons can stay out of foul trouble this can give Texas Tech a shot to keep up with the fast scoring Gonzaga team.
