SPOKANE, WA – After postponing the game by an hour, the much anticipated final game of the night prepared to start. The Lopes walked into this game ranked twelfth to face a number five ranked Saint Mary’s. Grand Canyon may have been marked the underdog, but they seemed to have the advantage before the game even started.
Havoc From The Stands
Anyone that has ever heard of the GCU basketball team has also heard all about their fiercely loyal student section, the Havoc. 1,242 miles away from campus, the purple sea of screaming fanatics could still be found dominating the bleachers at the University of Idaho this Friday.
The support from the students didn’t stop at the game itself. The fans manage to fill up their own arena as well for a watch party of the win.
The support for GCU didn’t even stop there. The phrase “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” applied in the Pacific Northwest thanks to the Lopes’ opponent in Saint Mary’s. The Gaels are despised in Gonzaga territory, and Gonzaga fans showed up to boo and pray on Saint Mary’s downfall.
Their prayers were answered.
Block Party
The one aspect of the game that will be remembered first in the future will be the stellar performance on defense. GCU completely dominated the paint and really shined with their interior defense. Only a few team stats were noticeably different than Saint Mary’s, and blocks were certainly one of them. Saint Mary recorded one block the entire night.
GCU? 9 total blocks.
These were no weak, hands straight up in the air blocks either. You would’ve thought they were playing volleyball the way they were spiking the ball into the crowd. Lok Wur helped set the tone on defense with an impressive four blocks on the night.
With both teams struggling to make threes, the domination of the paint was a vital role in Friday’s upset.
Let’s Get Physical
Obviously, physicality is a big factor on defense. This game showcased a lot of physical basketball, and the referees let them play mostly. GCU did not back down from the fight and showed off their superior speed and length.
Interestingly enough, the Lopes did not lead the game in rebounds, and only barely outperformed in steals by one. However, when watching the game, it’s easy to see how much GCU players physically outmatched their competition.
Saint Mary’s had one of the slowest pacing in the NCAA this year, yet GCU managed to control the pace of the game and play their own style. They scored 12 fast break points to Saint Mary’s 5. A lot of those taking advantage over a forced turnover and even more points coming off of slams.
A Very Charitable Charity Stripe
It has to be addressed. A very obvious statistic that sticks out like a sore thumb in the box score.
Free throws.
The amount of free throws that GCU shot compared to Saint Mary’s was a huge margin. 12 free throws were given to Saint Mary’s, and three times more than that was what GCU shot in the first round. 36 free throws to a meager 12 is a crazy margin, but even wilder is the difference in free throws.
GCU made 4 times as many free throws as Saint Mary’s. That statistic made a huge difference in the game. Don’t get it twisted though. GCU was playing very aggressive on offense and drew a lot of fouls that way. Saint Mary’s tended to either pull up from three or get rejected by a lurking Lope defender.
I Don’t Give a Piss About Nothin’ But The Tide
As we celebrate Grand Canyon University’s historic success in finally advancing their third time dancing, we focus our attention to Sunday against number four ranked Alabama. The Tide are an offensive powerhouse this year coming into the tournament, but if GCU can enforce their will in the paint like they did against Saint Mary’s, we might just see this team dance their way to the Sweet 16.
