Can We Beat the Orange?

[ZagLawGrad]

No one thinks we can except us Zags. Seriously, can we beat the Orange? Will we?

[BlueVoodoo07]

Yes I think we have a great shot..Remember don't take alot of what you see from Cuses first round game. They are supposed to blow this team out.

[btzag]

Yes, we definitely can. This tourney is WIDE open. Anyone who actually watched CBB this year should know that there are two great teams, Kansas and Kentucky, and then everyone else. Doesn't mean we will be favored or anything but remember that on their home court Syracuse lost to a division II team this year. They are not some juggernaut team that is filled with Carmelo Anthony and others.

[McZag]

They are short-handed and are pounding Vermont.

We can win but need a complete, focused effort with less than 10 turnovers.

No reason to think that we cannot win though.

[GrizZAG]

YES we CAN!

Remember this is Gonzaga! The upset kids that the nation admires because of it. We are taken seriously by every team. Ask Izzo.

This particular version of our Zags is an irony. They step up against big teams and besides has anyone ever stopped to think that SF, LMU, PO and SM are really pretty darn good teams that could probably play with anything PAC 10 has any day of the week?

I am not a big believer in WCC being a "weak" conference albeit history does bear it, but rather this WCC is pretty darn good this year and maybe better next.

If we could get our Zags to play with the intensity (SACRE!) we had first half with FL ST we will challenge any of them. They get tight and tentative or hurried it seems when the games start to wind down. Fix That..we win.

[JeffyJeff]

There has been some angst about the 8 seed, but for the sake of argument, let's look at the matchups had the Zags landed as a 6 or 7 seed... Kansas State, West Virginia, Ohio State, Villanova (2 seeds) or Pitt, Baylor, New Mexico, and Ohio (the lone upset victor to put it in the 3 seed slot). I honestly like the matchup vs. Syracuse better than many of those other matchups.

The one thing that worries me watching parts of the Syracuse game tonight - they do a good job of penetrating then looking for secondary and tertiary cutters. The Zags defense this season has shown some difficulty picking up the kickouts and cutters off penetration. Shut that down and there is a solid chance.

[rawkmandale]

56-40 with 9 minutes left is not exactly "pounding" - controlling, yes.

[MJ777]

Nothing to lose....Play like Champions on Sunday Zags!

[Xin Loi 67]

Do we have a chance?

Hell Yes! We can beat anybody out there, hell yes!

[LynetteG]

One word answer....

DAMN STRAIGHT! (ala Ham Sammich)

[El Voce]

On the radio postgame, Richard Fox stated that GU should be quite confident going into Sunday's game. He said that Syracuse is very talented, but the Zags can play tougher than them inside. He suggests attacking the zone inside/out. Our w shooters are all streaky, but if they get hot, who knows?

[jim77]

On the radio postgame, Richard Fox stated that GU should be quite confident going into Sunday's game. He said that Syracuse is very talented, but the Zags can play tougher than them inside. He suggests attacking the zone inside/out. Our w shooters are all streaky, but if they get hot, who knows?

Exactly.....we are the team that can do major damage to a zone because we can bomb from the outside. Team say we are soft but, they don't usually say that after they play us.

[rawkmandale]

We'd better win. I only did two brackets, and have us advancing to the regional in both.

[Once and Future Zag]

One thing that we have going for us is that we schedule in the OOC to prep for this - quick-turnaround against very good teams on the road.

This is what GU does.

[MickMick]

About mid point through the season, I thought Syracuse was far and away, the best team in the nation.

But lately, they are not playing at that level.

One thing they are not.....the sweet 16 buzzsaw we faced in North Carolina last year. That team would trounce the entire field this year.

Syracuse has to be the favorite, but the Zags can win it.

If there is one thing that Mark Few knows.....it is the zone. Indeed, he knows it very, very well.

Why do you think our biggest ##### is about 3 point shooters?

Can we please give Bol Kong an injection of "I'm gonna take a 3 point shot" juice?


Edit:
The best team that no one is talking about is West Virginia. They are hot at the right time, Ebanks is almost playing at the level that the Ohio State kid is (well probably not that good), and Ebanks has a much, much better supporting cast.

I am really, really glad we are not playing those guys.