True Test

[ZagSports]

Havn't we always been frustraited that we don't get the true Feburary preparations to go into March and make some noise?

I see some people are worried "byu twice", "smc @ home" we are doomed blah blah blah. This is what we've been wanting. Just go take what is ours and win some games.

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

[raise the zag]

while this feels borderline trollish, I understand your point.

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

Yes, at this juncture, they've proven they are better and in the drivers seat.

They see us in the rearview mirror and my only hope is "we appear closer than we are"...

Zags control their own destiny. St Mary's just has to avoid a stumbling block, heck, they can even afford a loss to us in Spokane and STILL win the WCC(co-lead), but you get the point...

We have to prove we belong in this race by winning next Thursday. Keep in mind, even in somewhat down years, BYU has still only lost 8 games out of a 106 tries at MC arena.

BYU couldn't have played(or shot) much worse vs Gaels and while we know how good St Mary's is, they couldn't have caught BYU at a better time who had just arrived from East Coast, a win vs ACC team, flew the red-eye from Virginia, etc...

BYU will play harder than they have all season vs us. Not only are we Gonzaga, yet they've lost 2 at home for the 1st time in the Rose-era. They'll be ready and mean. We must find a way to match their intensity. Hopefully, the refs behave themselves in this one.

Point is, the pressure is on us, not SMC. We either sink or swim. We're going to have to beat a better team to win the WCC and even the Tourney. This team is capable, but can it pull off the damn-near impossible? I hope so.

[cjm720]

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

It doesn't matter really...our primary concern is winning the conference and they destroyed us at Moraga, so they're in a better position than us. We need to win out...

[gamagin]

+1

Havn't we always been frustraited that we don't get the true Feburary preparations to go into March and make some noise?

I see some people are worried "byu twice", "smc @ home" we are doomed blah blah blah. This is what we've been wanting. Just go take what is ours and win some games.

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

it's all in front of us. Get the attitude and enough swagger back and take it to them. We are very close to exactly where we need to be @ 17-3.

Few said it best Monday night: "Winning games when not playing good is key to a great season."

see:

http://guboards.spokesmanreview.com/showthread.php?t=38092

Now it's business time. And to answer your question, no, I don't honestly believe they are better than us.

[Urika]

Who's Better is Relative

Its all about the matchups at any given time.

The proverbial "eye test" would bear out that GU is "better" than SMC. Better athletes, better credentials, etc....

Fortunately, games aren't played by comparing rosters or results versus shared opponents (that one drives me nuts) They may give a starting point for conversation but ultimately, no one knows

[former1dog]

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

That's why they play the games, isn't it. To answer that question.

So far, its indisputably true and with out a shadow of a doubt. SMC is a MUCH BETTER team than GU. Why? Because they kicked our A.S.S.!! Badly. In every facet of the game. There is no could of, should of, would of column on the stat sheet, my friends.

Can that change, yep. We'll find out soon enough.

[U Zig, I Zag]

SMC kicked our asses at home, like we seem to kick the asses of our conference opponents at home (and sometimes on the road).

The reality is the WCC conference runs through Spokane still. Gonzaga is in charge of their own destiny. Just win. One game at a time.

It's not like we are playing UK or UNC. It's BYU, SMC, etc. Psychologically we have the upper hand - IF Few can get those kids to grab it by the sack and play ball.

Play good, aggressive D. Get an offensive flow (this team has a hard time scoring occasionally) and have one of the #3 guards step up (for a whole game) and we can win at BYU and beat SMC and BYU at home.

[TheGonzagaFactor]

Havn't we always been frustraited that we don't get the true Feburary preparations to go into March and make some noise?

I see some people are worried "byu twice", "smc @ home" we are doomed blah blah blah. This is what we've been wanting. Just go take what is ours and win some games.

Don't get me wrong SMC is very good and they do a lot of the little things. But honestly are they better then us?

no, they are not. That doesn't mean they aren't good, but if we played a bunch of nobodies and only focused on SMC and BYU, we would've kicked their ass like they did to us. They haven't played enough good teams to expose them, while they have seen how we react in several diverse situations. Our goal is to beat everyone, and SMC's goal is to beat us, which they haven't done twice in a season since before 1999.

SMC has to be looked at in a different light because they aren't getting worn down like other teams. They are in the perfect spot, they only had to prepare for us and BYU while we still have every WCC team gunning for us (they don't want to beat SMC like they want to beat us) and we had OOC opponents that we had to take seriously. SMC did this same thing last year and STILL got worn down (meaning they would have lost 12-15 games if they actually played a few respected D1 teams in OOC).

[maynard g krebs]

no, they are not. That doesn't mean they aren't good, but if we played a bunch of nobodies and only focused on SMC and BYU, we would've kicked their ass like they did to us. They haven't played enough good teams to expose them, while they have seen how we react in several diverse situations. Our goal is to beat everyone, and SMC's goal is to beat us, which they haven't done twice in a season since before 1999.

SMC has to be looked at in a different light because they aren't getting worn down like other teams. They are in the perfect spot, they only had to prepare for us and BYU while we still have every WCC team gunning for us (they don't want to beat SMC like they want to beat us) and we had OOC opponents that we had to take seriously. SMC did this same thing last year and STILL got worn down (meaning they would have lost 12-15 games if they actually played a few respected D1 teams in OOC).

SMC is a different team this year than last, due to the emergence of Waldow and Holt. Their bigs last year were just part time role players; Waldow w/ Jones gives them a true inside tandem now. And as great as McConnell was, he and Delly do a lot of the same stuff. Holt gives them size, rebounding, defense from the guard spot that, imo, makes them stronger there overall than they were last yr.

And a lot of people would argue that a tough OOC makes you better prepared to take on tough conf opponents, as opposed to being a disadvantage.

[MDABE80]

Rob must re-emerge. Sam has to get more interested.
Elias is fine as he is. ..but he's still improving.
Bell's much improved. He always was very good. Defense is superior.
Kevin needs to get his shooting on track....seriously he MUST. He's fine in other phases.
And then there's that 3 spot..... we need someone who shoots well and plays good defense. Thus far it's still a questionmark.

Outside of the 3, I think we can beat SMC. That 3 might very important.

Few might be smarter to put a hard defensive scheme together. I know Bennett is looking smarter as the season progresses.

[Dirt McGirt]

no, they are not. That doesn't mean they aren't good, but if we played a bunch of nobodies and only focused on SMC and BYU, we would've kicked their ass like they did to us. They haven't played enough good teams to expose them, while they have seen how we react in several diverse situations. Our goal is to beat everyone, and SMC's goal is to beat us, which they haven't done twice in a season since before 1999.

SMC has to be looked at in a different light because they aren't getting worn down like other teams. They are in the perfect spot, they only had to prepare for us and BYU while we still have every WCC team gunning for us (they don't want to beat SMC like they want to beat us) and we had OOC opponents that we had to take seriously. SMC did this same thing last year and STILL got worn down (meaning they would have lost 12-15 games if they actually played a few respected D1 teams in OOC).

I don't know if I've ever seen a bigger homer post than this. It's delusional to think that SMC only prepared for only BYU and Gonzaga on their schedule. I'm not going to engage in a strength of schedule argument as that has been done ad nauseum. But let's say you're right and SMC played only supremely weak teams. How would that help them to face Gonzaga? Imagine lifting weights every day and doing curls with a 5 lb weight. Then all of a sudden you're handed a 30 lb weight. What would that feel like?

[webspinnre]

Imagine lifting weights every day and doing curls with a 5 lb weight. Then all of a sudden you're handed a 30 lb weight. What would that feel like?

But surely, because they weren't focusing at all on lifting the 5 lb weight they were able to solely focus on preparing for that 30lb weight, right?

[Hoopaholic]

I love the grittiness, competitiveness and the fire the league has brought this year...it makes it fun and exciting for me.

with that said

1. must win Thursday
2. must win Saturday

then SMC....as one of only 15 zag fans in attendance at Moraga I will tell you the SMC and fans wanted it. It was PACKED standing room only 1.5 hours BEFORE TIP OFF. Our players were coming out to do pre pre game warmups and were being booed, yelled at ect. It was as HOSTILE of an atomspher as I have EVER been in and I have been in many basketball settings....

With that said they are not a better TEAM...our youngins showed their age in this game and truly believe they are better for it now. BUT Thursday night will test my theory.

If we do #1 and #2 then to beat SMC we have to do a MUCH better job of hedging on the high pick and roll than what we did at Moraga. We were soft on the jump and this allowed some very easy passing lanes for Della or direct drives......we also got burnt on weakside rotation for the second pass....both of these were learning curves for our youngins.......

We are the better team and will need to show it starting Thursday.

[Ekrub]

FSU spanked north Carolina but that doesn't mean they are the better team. Just on that particular night they were.

Let's play them at home and hopefully in the conf. Tourney and decide. Until then, I don't put that much stock in one game.

Only two years ago smc got beat @home and @ the kennel then wiped the floor with GU at the conf tourney. I know some here are pretty into the streak but there will be an asterisk by it because we are a mid major. I want a deep run in march.

[DADoZAG]

...our youngins showed their age in this game and truly believe they are better for it now. BUT Thursday night will test my theory.

… to beat SMC we have to do a MUCH better job of hedging on the high pick and roll than what we did at Moraga. We were soft on the jump and this allowed some very easy passing lanes for Della or direct drives......we also got burnt on weakside rotation for the second pass....both of these were learning curves for our youngins.......

We are the better team and will need to show it starting Thursday.

Love your input, Hoopahalic!

GB2 mentioned in an interview prior to the game at SMC that he thought the Illinois game prepared him for Moraga. Not. I’m hoping Waldow gets a taste of what Gary had to digest come the 9th. How can the Kennel Club not come up with some great cheers? And those cheers, no JEERS, need to start early and be consistent.

As for the high pick and roll, I mentioned the same thing last game. Staff must have had similar concerns, but instead of tightening up on the hedge, they switched. At least 8 points went over Pangos trying to cover a big, another 8 or more because Della’s first step left our big searching for his jock out at the 3 point line.

But first, beat BYU!

Go ZAGS!