Looking for Zags’ Achilles heel

It’s a great question.

What sort of team would give Gonzaga the most trouble during the NCAA Tournament?

In this case, the email came from reader John Austin — and he was thinking about both the past and the future.

“Last year, it turned out that Texas Tech was a terrible matchup for the Zags,” John wrote. “Gonzaga has a completely different sort of team this season — so what sort of opponent would give them the most trouble?”

I suspect that a lot of Zags fans might be kicking around that same sort of question.

For our answer, we first must assume that Killian Tillie is available, because without him, Gonzaga has some obvious problems that are down to sheer lack of mobile big men.

That shoulder surgery for versatile freshman Anton Watson is looming larger than ever.

Watson could do so many things at 6-foot-8, including playing point on a very effective three-quarter court press.

Tillie is the Zags’ other do-it-all guy, so hopefully he’s available.

MARK FEW made no secret of the fact that the Zags “got kind of lucky” against Pepperdine in that 89-77 win last Saturday.

“They ran pick-and-pops with their bigs, guys who can really shoot it,” Few said.

“Quite a few times, we didn’t get out there and they had open looks. Good shooters like (Kameron and Kessler) Edwards missed shots they’d usually make.”

Gonzaga tries to switch all screens, meaning that the Zags big guys must “flash” (challenge an outside shooter) and then get back to their own assignments in the paint.

Leaving aside Tillie’s obvious talent at both ends of the floor, his absence means that Filip Petrusev and Drew Timme must do all that hard work on defense — which is not Petrusev’s strength — and then run the floor on offense at the speed and pace that Gonzaga plays.

Doing all that with two bigs instead of three, no matter their skills, is brutal stuff.

It probably wouldn’t hold up as the games get tougher and tougher in the NCAA Tournament.

THIS VIEW of things, therefore, assumes that Tillie is playing.

So what sort of team could take down Gonzaga with its full seven-man rotation?

Start with the fact you’re going to need points, because the Zags will score.

Most likely a lot.

I truly don’t believe one of these outstanding defense-first teams (Baylor, San Diego State, possibly even Duke) can force Gonzaga into a game played in the 60s.

The Zags will grind you down and win 75-66, or some score like that.

Having all seven players averaging in double figures is impressive stuff. It tells you that the big guys can set up, move, play high-low and score inside, which means...

You have to double-team in the post.

None of the other national contenders have enough world-class defenders to play Petrusev, Tillie and/or Timme in single coverage.

Then if you bring help in the paint, all three of the Zags’ bigs are excellent at reading where to kick the ball, because whatever three guys are lurking on the perimeter can really shoot the rock.

Corey Kispert is flat-out deadly at 45 percent from 3-point land, and the others — Joel Ayayi (36 percent), Admon Gilder (37.9) and Ryan Woolridge (43.8) — all have been excellent when shooting from outside.

And let’s not forget that Gonzaga has its own pick-and-pop threat, with Tillie at 39.7.

Ironically, Ayayi has the lowest 3-point percentage of the group, but he’s proven to be a stone-cold killer in clutch situations.

And by the way, Gonzaga’s bigs are slick at passing to each other, which is a rare skill.

IT SEEMS pretty obvious that any opponent, no matter how gifted, will have to put up some serious numbers — and play solid enough defense to limit the damage — to beat Gonzaga.

How would you do it?

Honestly, I think it’s going to take a smash-mouth team.

The Zags have been knocked out of the last two tournaments by deep, physical gangs who played bump-and-hammer basketball – Florida State two years ago and Texas Tech’s grab-and-slap bunch a year ago.

The plan would be to pressure the Gonzaga guards to use up some clock, then create havoc with a rough-and-tumble presence underneath.

You’d try to exchange fouls, because the Zags aren’t deep and — although they’ve improved over the last month — they’re not particularly good free-throw shooters at 70 percent.

Gonzaga also would be tested by a team whose guards can get to the rim because, unlike a year ago with Brandon Clarke lurking in the paint, this year’s bigs are not great defenders at the rim.

Players who penetrate also can draw fouls if they’re patient in the lane, as we saw with Pepperdine’s Colbey Ross.

No doubt Few and his staff continually beg their guys to stay on the floor, but Petrusev and Timme sometimes will buy a fake and commit needless fouls.

Timme eventually may be one of Gonzaga’s better all-time shot blockers, but he’s still an exuberant freshman and willing to jump when he shouldn’t.

As for defending truly outstanding big men, we’ll get a good look on Saturday when the Zags must deal with BYU’s future pro, 6-9 Yoeli Childs.

So let’s see.

I DOUBT you can beat the Zags by playing pretty basketball. Frankly, they’re going to do that better than you can.

Few’s acquisition of grad transfers Woolridge and Gilder now almost seems like a magic trick. It would be almost impossible to find two guards with the combination of skills and attitude that these two possess.

They’re perfect fits for Gonzaga.

That pair of seniors, along with Ayayi, Kispert and even the bigs, move the ball as well as just about anyone in college basketball.

During the telecast of the Pepperdine game, former Arizona star Corey Williams made an interesting observation.

“Watching Gonzaga,” Williams said, “it isn’t so important to see where players are going. Watch the ball, because it always winds up where it’s supposed to be.”

At another point, Williams made a reference to the Zags’ number of assists, and said, “They move the ball, and you can tell that they don’t care who scores.

“No one goes off script to play any one-on-one stuff. The Zags all stay on script.”

Williams’ analysis lays out the challenge for a team that hopes to take down Gonzaga.

TO WIN, you’d have to disrupt that ball movement and bang everyone cutting through the lane.

You’d have to put pressure on the Zags at the other end, both scoring and forcing them into fouls.

But the Zags have three seniors and two other contributors who have played top-level basketball all over the world.

They won’t lose by getting flustered.

I believe their only true weakness is lack of depth, and you’d have to exploit that.

A team would need a combination of speed and strength to send the Zags home — perhaps someone like Kansas, with super guard Devon Dotson running the show, great defender Marcus Garrett and rugged Udoka Azubuike heading up a three-man crowd of bruisers underneath.

But Gonzaga will not go down easily.

Maybe not at all.

There is a quote from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas hanging in the Zags’ locker room.

It reads...

“They go to school, they do their homework, they shake hands, they say please and thank you.

“But once you throw that ball up, they will rip your heart out and watch you bleed.”

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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.

Steve’s various tales from several decades in sports — “Moments, Memories and Madness” — run on Sundays.