#5, #17, #20.

[Baldwinzag]

All of our losses have come at the hands of teams ranked in the Top-20.

#5 K-State
#17 SDSU
#20 Illinois

Two of those three losses have been quite winnable for these Zags(save K-State), all this occurring with our best player at half-strength & not practicing.

The good news is Elias is getting healthy, Meech is rapidly improving, Sacre is slowly but surely starting to "get it", and the once maniacal rotation looks better with each game. (more mins for Dower would still be nice)

This week present two more tough challenges:

@ #25 Notre Dame (did not realize they were ranked!)
@ Top-30 WSU

This week should be called "redemption week" in the locker room. The Zags have two chances to turn this OOC schedule around in a hurry and prove the doubters wrong, including myself.

If we can win one, or maybe both, its a completely new season. It can change on a dime for this team. They just need to make it happen because they certainly have the ability.

I hope we are ready, prepared, and primed to do some damage this week & the rest of December(#10 Baylor, Xavier, Okie St).

I believe we have the talent, potential, and capability to win these next two games on the road.

The time is now or never for this team. Our opportunities are quickly passing us by...we need a WIN!

Go Zags!

[TacomaZAG]

Couldn't agree more

BaldwinZag. Very well stated.

Go ZAGS

[MBZags]

Overall, I agree, though I think a lot of the problem is how we lost those games, not who we lost to.

[Rangerzag]

The rest of the question will be: "But who are your wins?"

Could be the kind of year like one where we lost twice, once to St Joe's and once to Stanford, both very highly respected teams, but the wins were not a whole lot to brag about.

Some good wins would be very nice to have in the bag.

[zagfan08]

It's unfortunate for us because in order to get a good seed we need to do damage out of our conference. This year, it looks like we have a team that will take longer than usual to gel so I'm not expecting us to hit our stride for a couple months or so. Of course it's best to be playing your best basketball at the end of the year, and I really hope that's the case with us, but our seed in the tournament will definitely suffer if our non-conference struggles continue.

[ZagLawGrad]

Few and the Zags have spoiled us over the past 11 years, no doubt. Enjoyed every moment of it.

Having said that, I have yet to see any compelling and objective signs to suggest this team has any real chance to be as good as past versions of the Zags. Surprising and difficult personnel issues that will continue to challenge the coaching staff.

I think the WCC is going to be a real guantlet to run compared to past years. Not because there are better teams in the conference, but because this Zags team isn't as good as past versions.


I see "rebuilding" being a word we might have to get used to this year. Adjusting expectations.

[ZagsGoZags]

Illinoisand Kansas State 'went off' on us
We went off on EWU and first three games of season
I'm starting to feel like a bully, go off on a little guy but can't
win against equals.
If we get ranked in the 40's then lose some more, we might not get the nod if we don't win the WCC tournament

well there, enough for fantasizing the worst case scenario

[jim77]

Few and the Zags have spoiled us over the past 11 years, no doubt. Enjoyed every moment of it.

Having said that, I have yet to see any compelling and objective signs to suggest this team has any real chance to be as good as past versions of the Zags. Surprising and difficult personnel issues that will continue to challenge the coaching staff.

I think the WCC is going to be a real guantlet to run compared to past years. Not because there are better teams in the conference, but because this Zags team isn't as good as past versions.


I see "rebuilding" being a word we might have to get used to this year. Adjusting expectations.

I'd have to disagree with the word "REBUILDING". Rebuilding is something you do when you lose 3 or 4 key players. We lost one guy and the rest "should" be 1 year better....hardly a "REBUILDING" scenario. The one guy we did lose was great at making the "execution" part of the team run smoother. Meech can't pass like Matt but, Mech is a better defender...and his "O" is getting better. If Meech does this "1" thing his effectiveness will go up even more....Quit picking up his dribble. The guy needs to understand that with his blazing speed, picking up his dribble totally nullifys his speed not to mention it kills the flow of the offense....and the other team knows that too. The key to stopping GU is not letting them set up their great athletes....and that process begins with disruptng the PG.

[kclubfounder]

We lost to #17 in our gym, lost to #20 in a virtual home game, and got blown out by #5 in a virtual road game.

This week isn't "must win" time quite yet, but it is getting dang close. If our next win is Lewis and Clark State we are going to be in desperation mode.

[thickman1]

The rest of the question will be: "But who are your wins?"

Could be the kind of year like one where we lost twice, once to St Joe's and once to Stanford, both very highly respected teams, but the wins were not a whole lot to brag about.

Some good wins would be very nice to have in the bag.

Perfect posting...this is exactly the concern. They need to bag a couple of wins to highlight come March and time is running out.

[B Wayne]

We contributed to their rankings

Yes, but the level of their rankings are caused in part because we lost to those teams. We started the season ranked 12, lost to SDSU at home and Illinois in Key Arena where we play every year.

[MickMick]

This is nothing new.

Everyone knew coming in that the schedule is brutal.

Zags will likely lose 10 games. They are likely going to need to win the conference tournament to get in. All but the "Polly Annas" knew this before the season even started.

This isn't pointed at how "bad" GU is. This is pointed at how "bad" the schedule is.

The Pargo, Heytvelt, Bouldin, Daye, Downs, Gray team would have trouble with this schedule.

[ZagLawGrad]

..All but the "Polly Annas" knew this before the season even started...

True

[kclubfounder]

Hey Mick,

BULL!!!

It didn't take a flipping Pollyanna to think we could beat SD State in our gym and/or Illinois in Seattle.

I think your comment is C R A P.

Sorry to be so harsh. I respect your opinion. But this one bugs the heck out of me.

[MickMick]

Hey Mick,

BULL!!!

It didn't take a flipping Pollyanna to think we could beat SD State in our gym and/or Illinois in Seattle.

I think your comment is C R A P.

Sorry to be so harsh. I respect your opinion. But this one bugs the heck out of me.

It's all good.

I respect your opinion as well. The "Polly Anna" remark is pointed at those people in the preseason prediction thread that believed GU would only lose 3-4 games this year. Were you one of them?

My opinion is that the Zags played both games as well as could be expected and there was nothing more from them to give. They lost both games playing their best ball at this point of the season.

Steven's career night made the SDSU game closer than it really was in a true home venue. SDSU is the better team. The game played out as I expected it would. Close because GU was at home.

Illinois is about the same Illinois team the Zags played last year. A bubble team on selection Sunday. Their inside game is suspect and any team that plays good perimeter man defense should do well against them. We shall see how they fare in the Big 10 this year. Sullinger will severly expose their front court. So will Izzo. They aren't going to shoot that percentage all season long and their offensive scheme is a huge gamble in a single elimination conference tournament. All it takes is one cold night.

I really expected the Zags to take the Illinois game, but that GU perimeter defense had to rear it's ugly head again.


I'll stick to my preseason prediction. Zags lose 8-10 and have to win the conference tournament. I also have said I think they can hang with SMC. It's gonna be a crazy conference tournament.