Fun game, long season

Gonzaga wasn’t supposed to be able to compete with No. 2 Michigan State on Tuesday. Mark Few even commented that he was nervous about taking such a young team into the hostile environment of East Lansing, Mich., this early into the season. He probably should have been. There’s no telling what a blowout in the second game of the season would have done to this team.

But to everyone’s surprise, Gonzaga did more than just compete with the Spartans. If the ball bounced a different way, a shot here or there falls or a call or two was made differently, the Bulldogs would have come away with a victory. It was anything but a blowout.

While it is hard for a program like Gonzaga,to accept a moral victory, if there was a game to do it, it was that one.

Senior Matt Bouldin and junior Steven Gray were supposed to be the ones to thrive under the bright lights of the Breslin Center. But they combined to shoot just 8-29, 3-15 from three-point land. With the two leaders struggling, it is the way the rest of the team stepped up that should give Gonzaga and it’s fans great hope for the rest of the season.

They played the way they said they are going to have to play this year in order to achieve. They knew they couldn’t attempt to be flashy or cocky against a team as high caliber as the Spartans. Instead, they tried to outwork them.

It’s one thing to say you are going to play harder than the other team. Every team says that. It’s another thing to follow through with it.

Those who watched the game saw Demetri Goodson diving into the second row of bleachers after balls and getting in the face of Michigan State players, refusing to back down. They saw Elias Harris going after every rebound and Robert Sacre banging in the low block to get the best possible position on his defender. GJ Vilarino was diving after loose balls in the back court and Kelly Olynyk refused to give up on rebounds, even when it seemed as though Michigan State had secured possession.

When it came down to it, it was the youth and the inability to hit a big shot that let the game slip away in the final minutes, but that will come. This inexperienced team just needs to learn how to win, and that’s not something that comes naturally to young teams, especially in the second game of the season against the No. 2 team in the nation.

Now, it will be interesting to see how Gonzaga responds to this loss. They were five points away from a major upset and were left with a lot of what-ifs to ponder on the plane ride back to Spokane. But come Wednesday, this game needs to be behind them. They need to remember what it took to compete with a team like that, but they cannot dwell on the loss.

We’ll learn a lot about this team in today’s game against IPFW. Do they have the mentality to come out and compete at the highest level against any team, or will they get caught up in their success and look past the Mastadons.

Unless the wheels really fall off, Gonzaga should win this game handily. But will the same competitiveness, hustle and desire be there like it was on Tuesday? Because that kind of energy is what is going to be necessary for this team to succeed as much as they would like to this season.

The Michigan State game was fun and all, but it’s a long season. Will these young Bulldogs be up for it?

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