March Madness: Previewing Thursday’s Sweet 16 Matchups
West Virginia (4) vs. Gonzaga (1)
On paper, this Gonzaga team is absolutely incredible. On the court, I suppose they are pretty decent, as well, having only lost one game. The Bulldogs are second in the entire nation in offensive rating, ninth in rebounding percentage, second in effective field goal percentage (eFG%), first in defensive rating, and first in opponent eFG%. They somehow don't really have a weakness, or at least it hasn't been exposed yet.
West Virginia is incredible on the defensive end, as well, and they excel in causing turnovers. The Mountaineers cause a turnover on 24.7% of possessions, just an absurd number and one that leads the country. If their traps are working, West Virginia can pour in 10 points really quickly.
Like most West Virginia games, the turnover battle is the stat to keep track of. Gonzaga turns the ball over on just 14% of possessions, so the 10.7% difference in turnover percentage will likely play a large role in the outcome.
West Virginia has lost the turnover battle only seven times this year. In those games, they are 1-6.
Below are three players to keep an eye on from each team.
| Player | Team | PPG | RPG | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Williams-Goss | Gonzaga | 16.7 | 5.8 | 0.550 |
| Przemek Karnowski | Gonzaga | 12.4 | 5.9 | 0.598 |
| Jordan Mathews | Gonzaga | 10.7 | 3.3 | 0.547 |
| Jevon Carter | West Virginia | 13.3 | 4.9 | 0.537 |
| Esa Ahmad | West Virginia | 11.3 | 4.4 | 0.509 |
| Nathan Adrian | West Virginia | 9.7 | 6.0 | 0.483 |
Here is a quick breakdown of the team stats comparison.
| School | nERD | O Rtg | eFG% | Reb% | TOV% | D Rtg | Opp eFG% | Opp TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Gonzaga | 20.31 | 118.2 | 0.574 | 55.3 | 14.0 | 86.0 | 0.415 | 15.6 |
| #4 WVU | 18.75 | 112.8 | 0.518 | 52.0 | 14.1 | 91.8 | 0.489 | 24.1 |
