Butler

[sheps001]

Hope all of you got a chance to see Butler v Indiana. Can't say enough about them. They play hard. They play smart. They play with heart.
They are not afraid of playing anyone anywhere. Exactly what we want from our team. Will be interesting to see what happens on Jan 19. Go Zags.

[raise the zag]

+1

interestingly, we have an away game on the 17th, return home late that night, wake up early on the 18th(no sleep?) and immediately fly cross-country to Indiana to play Top-15 Butler at Hinkle the very next day. Going to be tough turnaround for our Zags.

keep in mind, they played in a neutral court today vs #1 team in NCAA. Imagine them at home?

Butler is tough, slow-paced tempo, grind it out, patience...a type of opponent where "rest" is paramount. wasn't a big fan of the scheduling when this was 1st announced, less than a days rest and two road games 2500 miles apart.

this is one game I consider a huge uphill battle, if I were KenPom, I'd give us a 5% chance in this one. maybe less.

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

I'm glad we're playing them. Our guys will learn from that game. Hopefully, it will toughen them up a bit for just before March.

[hooter73]

im just hoping our shooters are back to dead eye form by then or that will be one long game.

[willandi]

The flight is from Portland. They should be in their beds by 12:30, after the 7pm start. Don't know what time the flight east is, but expect they will get 6-8 hours of sleep, then be able to sleep on the plane, and the following night! Nice to have your own team plane!

[zagmantis2001]

Butler

Butler is very, very good. If Pangos and Bell continue with the slump and the defense has an off night, gu is going to get waxed.

[BobZag]

The flight is from Portland. They should be in their beds by 12:30, after the 7pm start. Don't know what time the flight east is, but expect they will get 6-8 hours of sleep, then be able to sleep on the plane, and the following night! Nice to have your own team plane!

I'd fly from Portland straight to Indy.

[DZ]

I'd fly from Portland straight to Indy.

Which is what is almost certainly what is going to happen. There are a lot of very good people that ensure communication between professors and athletes and have the assingments set out with mandatory study time etc. It takes the effort of lots of smart, committed people and it pays dividends.

Not that very many teams could have beaten the Butler team that showed up yesterday - that was a magical game for them. I like that we are playing this game, win or lose, we should gain from the experience - - hope we give them a little more than they want.

[VinnyZag]

this is one game I consider a huge uphill battle, if I were KenPom, I'd give us a 5% chance in this one. maybe less.

The actual KenPom gives GU slightly better odds ... A 62 percent chance of winning.

[gamagin]

If I were on the Zag team I'd be pumped to

be playing Butler. They will be pumped to play us, too. It's pretty much what everyone signed up for: to get a chance to play some of the best teams around.

It should be a fun game, a battle of wits between coaches and a great, competitive battle between two storied teams & schools with the whole world watching. Who could ask for anything more ?

[willandi]

I'd fly from Portland straight to Indy.

Actually I would too. I was responding to the poster that suggested that they would be tired because they would fly in late and fly out early the next day.
A straight flight would make so much sense, still, it's nice to have your own team plane!

[Oregonzagnut]

Meaningless trend?

Butler is like us at times, IMO, when they are on, they are on. But when they are off.......

Stevens is not Few though. Many coaches are learning from Few and even possibly taking it to the next level. Butler most certainly took it to the next level, but Few is far more consistent so far. So IMO, Few can learn from Stevens and even Smart if he wants to improve himself as a coach. And I wholeheartedly believe he does.

On a side note in analyzing players upbringing around basketball, Butler has decreased their athletes from Indiana and is starting to go international too. In 2010, they featured a team made up of 70% (10/14) Indiana boys. Homegrown if you will. Now Butler is 50% from Indiana, 8/16.

Gonzaga by comparison has 3 players from Washington. 3/13. However, during our Elite8 run in 2000 we had 8/13 local homegrown boys.

IMO, kids usually dream of playing for their local team. I did. I dreamed of playing for Gonzaga in the Stockton years. I never played in H.S. though and that dream disappeared as a childhood fantasy. My point merely being that internal friendships and common dreams helps a team build chemistry, this is one area that Few has to nurture when he has guys from all over the world. This team has come together for a common goal in the strongest way I have seen.

Also one thing I have noticed is Gonzaga's roster is always 2-3 athletes smaller than most schools. Anyone know why Few goes with a smaller roster? Easier to manage? Fewer walk-ons?

[jim77]

Great game for Butler.

I like our chances against them. We match up well against them.

[zagfan1970]

Tough game, but nothing to lose

I love the situation! Seems Zags play best in these circumstances. Having beaten #1 they will be expected to beat us. Combine this road trip with the one to Oklahoma State and that's a tough task to win both, but with the toughness displayed last night, our size , and DEPTH I think we our up to the task!

[GhostZag]

and... Mr. & Mrs. WooHoo will be attending the GU/Butler game, and he probably will do a whacky yet informative blog to keep us all in the loop relative to the big showdown. Wonder if Francis will make the trip in the back of the mini-van???