Timme led Gonzaga with 25 factors and seven rebounds, and Holmgren added 11 factors, 14 rebounds and a pair of blocks, however they acquired inadequate assist from their teammates.
“We would have liked Chet to have the ability to keep in there just a little longer,” Few mentioned of Holmgren, who was not among the many three Gonzaga gamers delivered to the postgame information convention.
The edges on the Chase Heart had been hardly as sort to Arkansas and Gonzaga as they’re to the common denizens of the world — Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the remainder of the Golden State Warriors. For a lot of the night time, 3-pointers clanked off the edges and runners rimmed off them. Neither groups shot free throws with something resembling proficiency.
When Gonzaga discovered itself behind at halftime, 32-29, it was not an unfamiliar place on this event. The Zags led Sixteenth-seeded Georgia State by solely 4 factors halfway by the second half earlier than profitable in a rout. And so they trailed Memphis by 12 factors early within the second half earlier than rallying for a slender victory.
The Zags have uncharacteristically had hassle scoring in stretches.
The nation’s best offense went almost 4 minutes with out scoring within the first half, which allowed Arkansas to get better from a 27-19 deficit, a stretch from which Gonzaga by no means recovered its type. A perpetrator has been spotty 3-point taking pictures. Chet Holmgren, a 43.8 % 3-point shooter within the common season, made simply 2 of 16 3-pointers in Gonzaga’s 5 postseason video games. Julian Strawther, who entered the event taking pictures 39.6 % on 3-pointers, made his solely 3-pointer of the event on Thursday and completed it 1 for 14.
“On the finish of the day, it doesn’t matter how nice of a shooter you’re, you’re going to miss pictures,” Holmgren mentioned on Wednesday. “You’ll be able to’t lose confidence. I get within the health club daily and work on my pictures, so subsequent time I shoot that shot I do know it’s entering into.”
Holmgren, who is predicted to be among the many high picks within the N.B.A. draft, had a extra instant drawback in opposition to Arkansas — staying on the court docket.
