Elite 8 edition- Pre-Game Media: Gonzaga vs Texas Tech

[raise the zag]

Start off with a solid pre-game article with great quotes:

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...er-test-awaits

"Yeah, I'm already kinda shaking, thinking about how good Gonzaga is, but I didn't know they were the best team offensively," Beard told ESPN after the game. "I've got great respect for their coach and their program, as does everybody in our locker room. We'll have to guard at a high level because that's who we are. I've always thought when you get to this tournament you've gotta be who you are. That's obviously who we are, and we gotta figure out a way to score some points, too."

The one thing we can't do is play isolation ball. Or even hold onto the ball too long as we did from time to time vs Florida St.

Texas Tech feasts off one-on-one bball, and collapses on post players. No one is allowed to get comfy or set, they will swarm you, hound you, & swipe you. Every time.

Sharing the love tomorrow is key. Ball movement, off the ball action, and finding the best shot possible every possession.

[LongIslandZagFan]

I agree, great quotes in the article. A good chunk of the article was great... but then... Man... they had to get a Zion into the article?

Plus I thought this whole section was such a shot at both the Zags AND Tech:

Some combination of Duke, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Houston, North Carolina, Auburn, LSU and Michigan State will create more nationally relevant matchups Sunday than anything that will unfold Saturday.Let's just be honest.


Gonzaga versus Texas Tech can't compete. But if you believe the numbers, no other Elite Eight encounter will top the purity of the one that will be staged in Anaheim. We might see Culver and Texas Tech suffocate a Gonzaga squad that won seven West Coast Conference games by 30 points or more. Or, we could see the Bulldogs and their two projected first-round picks, Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura, reel off a crippling run and dominate Texas Tech, as it has other opponents throughout the season.
It's an efficiency-fueled meeting with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Does it get much better than that? Not for the analytics acolytes.

[TexasZagFan]

I agree, great quotes in the article. A good chunk of the article was great... but then... Man... they had to get a Zion into the article?

Plus I thought this whole section was such a shot at both the Zags AND Tech:

I can see the author's point: two excellent teams coming from areas that have no media presence whatsoever. I don't know the media market numbers, but Lubbock and Spokane have to be greater than 50.

Tech is a redheaded stepchild in the Big 12, a 4-5 hour drive from Dallas. Big 12, in general, has a media problem nationally. I look the conference as a whole, and very few teams are in major media markets. You've got UT in Austin, and TCU football gets good media coverage. TCU basketball? It's pathetic.

The Metroplex, as I've oft stated, is completely dominated by the Dallas Cowboys. It's embarrassing to hear most of the sports talk hosts publicly admit they don't follow college basketball until the Dance, but they can wax eloquently about the current lack of depth in the Cowboys' defensive line.

There are four D-1 programs in the area: TCU, SMU, UNT, and UT-Arlington (whose game with the Zags merited about 3 column inches of press).

As the Zags continue to roll, I expect to see dividends paid by the signing of Drew Timme.

[DZ]

I can see the author's point: two excellent teams coming from areas that have no media presence whatsoever. I don't know the media market numbers, but Lubbock and Spokane have to be greater than 50.

Tech is a redheaded stepchild in the Big 12, a 4-5 hour drive from Dallas. Big 12, in general, has a media problem nationally. I look the conference as a whole, and very few teams are in major media markets. You've got UT in Austin, and TCU football gets good media coverage. TCU basketball? It's pathetic.

The Metroplex, as I've oft stated, is completely dominated by the Dallas Cowboys. It's embarrassing to hear most of the sports talk hosts publicly admit they don't follow college basketball until the Dance, but they can wax eloquently about the current lack of depth in the Cowboys' defensive line.

There are four D-1 programs in the area: TCU, SMU, UNT, and UT-Arlington (whose game with the Zags merited about 3 column inches of press).

As the Zags continue to roll, I expect to see dividends paid by the signing of Drew Timme.

When UT is good - in anything - the media markets in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio notice. But your point is well taken.

And don't think it's just a cowboys thing. No different in Seattle focusing on the Hawks up until the UW is in the tournament.

NFL just gets disproportionate coverage everywhere, except the SE, which gets disproportionate SEC football coverage even during March Madness, even when 2 of their teams were in the S16

[TexasZagFan]

When UT is good - in anything - the media markets in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio notice. But your point is well taken.

And don't think it's just a cowboys thing. No different in Seattle focusing on the Hawks up until the UW is in the tournament.

NFL just gets disproportionate coverage everywhere, except the SE, which gets disproportionate SEC football coverage even during March Madness, even when 2 of their teams were in the S16

I hate the NFL...during the season, all I hear from my kids, nieces, and nephews, are nonstop fantasy football conversations.

[GoZag]

Here is Beard talking about how they don't have anyone that can guard Rui - 1 on 1
https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/col...-eight-matchup

[DZ]

Here is Beard talking about how they don't have anyone that can guard Rui - 1 on 1
https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/col...-eight-matchup

Good one.

I like this quote from Beard:

"I mentioned this [Wednesday], we show our team clips of winning basketball. We show a lot of Gonzaga clips. Their passion, their togetherness, their courage, just how aggressive they are.
"At this point I'm a fan and here in the next hour or so I've got to flip that and start to get ready to try to prepare against them."

So, if they have been showing a lot of our clips through the year on "what to do" then Tech will definitely know what they're up against.

Might not appreciate how much Tillie is taking the team to another level.

[raise the zag]

Another good article on Texas Tech defensive preparation and focus (not much mention of Gonzaga):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport....co/twY7wtGZu9

I do feel they are fully respecting and focused on our offense, yet feels like they are underrating our defense.

I felt Baylor and FSU did as well. The focus was stopping us but what about scoring on US?

That is where we are surprising teams and winning games.

[MontanaCoyote]

Another good article on Texas Tech defensive preparation and focus (not much mention of Gonzaga):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport....co/twY7wtGZu9

I do feel they are fully respecting and focused on our offense, yet feels like they are underrating our defense.

I felt Baylor and FSU did as well. The focus was stopping us but what about scoring on US?

That is where we are surprising teams and winning games.

Tremendous defensive track record for T Tech! It will be a real test for our O. Obviously we won’t need to score our average.
Just how close to it do we need to can get, that’s the question. Will 70 points win this game for the Zags?

[Radbooks]

Pretty cool article in SI about one of the managers... not much new, but still a nice article.

A Gonzaga Student Manager's Inspiring Story Ties Together 20 Years of March Runs

[RenoZag]

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...ilding-hearty/

It’s not the eve of a championship. That’s something wholly different. The stages of the NCAA Tournament and its three-week psychodrama make for something of an extended cattle-call audition anyway. That there are two distinct prizes – the championship itself and, before that, inclusion in that last grouping – is something unique in sports, providing consolation, if not actual comfort.

Forty minutes from the Final Four.

You’ve won three knockout games and you’re one of just eight teams left in contention, yet still you have a limited cachet. You’re still, well, more of a participant than an achiever, at least in the popular perception.

And if you’re not the team moving on after that 40 minutes, it’s simply cruel.

[rawkmandale]

Sweet story.

[DZ]

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...ilding-hearty/

Good article.

Beard scares me, as just the type of coach that can will his team to a win.

[Section 116]

The outlook from Lubbock TX: https://www.lubbockonline.com/sports...seeded-gonzaga