Gonzaga v Seton Hall

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Notes: The Zags last trip to altitude in an NCAA Tournament setting nearly saw them lose to a #16 seed Southern, and then saw them upset by Wichita State in the tournament's second round. Here's to hoping that Gonzaga has figured out what went wrong a few years ago when they had a much more talented roster. In essense, the Zags are a bit different. Their offense is a lot more balanced, leaning moreso on the inside duo of Wiltjer and Sabonis rather than sharp-shooting guards. I still think the guards are going to have to perform at a high level for this team to be competitive and remain in the tournament, but there is no doubt about it the Zags go as far as the bigs are going to take them. Seton Hall's season as a whole was fantastic, and ended with the Big East Tournament Championship, but the season became a memorable one when Willard scrapped his often used zone in the off-season, and started to give his bigs more freedom to roam the paint. That one little switch has completely transformed this defense from mediocre to above average. The Pirates now close-out on the perimeter with size and pressure. The bigs are in better position to defend the interior, protect the rim, and rebound - sort of what you would consider more of a base defense with a year of experience in the program knowing what Willard wants. In reality, it's perfect for the Big East. Gonzaga on the other hand, just not sure. Defending the bigs out top and out on the perimeter is an entirely different ballgame and probably one Seton Hall is stressing over. They just haven't seen many teams who operate their bigs out top like Gonzaga does, and while the defense has been excellent for the most part, the big reason is that its setup for the conference. If there was one main weakness within Seton Hall's defense for the season, it was just this, the fact that they've struggled to contain opposing 4's. In fact, in their 8 losses, the eight 4's posted an average offensive rating of 125...and in this game where they're up against what could possibly be the best "4" they face all season, that weakness could come back to haunt

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