Could the Baylor game be on this Thursday?

[JPtheBeasta]

JP, I don't think it's a matter of "dodging" them. Baylor plays in one of the toughest conferences in the country, where every game is a dog fight. Both the Zags and the Bears have travelled a lot, even if they fly charter.

I simply don't think it's in either team's interest to try and shoehorn a game into the schedule at this point.

I debated using the word “dodging” but deciddd to use the most negative connotation

[Mr Vulture]

GU has an off day as does Baylor...could it happen?

I think it is up to “TV” scheduling to see if it is viable...

Would we want to play them now?

What would be the “+’s” and “-‘s” of playing this game now?

Gonzaga and Baylor are not playing unless it’s in the tournament. I know it keeps getting brought up on broadcasts, but what would it really accomplish at this point for the teams, particularly Baylor?


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[Mr Vulture]

Agreed. Few himself said Zags looked and played tired vs Gaels so I’d be real surprised if they add a Thursday game. The extra practice would give Gregg some time to catch up and perhaps start earning some of Watson’s minutes.

Huh??


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[tummydoc]

Gonzaga and Baylor are not playing unless it’s in the tournament. I know it keeps getting brought up on broadcasts, but what would it really accomplish at this point for the teams, particularly Baylor?


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$$$$$$$$$$$

[HillZag]

Baylor didn’t exactly light it up yesterday either.

The natural result of playing league opponents. RB and other league coaches have the benefit of studying GU tape over a period of years. They have a much better idea of tendencies, etc.

[Fonebone]

Would love to see it. I don’t think we would beat them, especially playing like we are now. Could light a fire under our butts though

Agee. Could light a fire

I don’t think it’s any more realistic to say that we’re gonna play bad the next game because we didn’t play great the last two then it is to say that because the preceding games we played spectacular should have indicated we were going to play spectacular the games following those.

Teams play up and down and I have no doubt the zags would bring their A game against Baylor. We still could have an off game, we could have an on game, but I don’t think the last two games are predictive either way.


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[ZagsObserver]

As of a week ago, GU and Baylor were still trying to get something scheduled.

I do not believe it will be next week.

[goodbja]

Iowa State vs Texas Wed 1/20 postponed because of covid19 at Iowa State, Texas doesn't play until Sat, we were originally scheduled to play Texas in Spokane in November 2020...Texas would be a good matchup

[JPtheBeasta]

The natural result of playing league opponents. RB and other league coaches have the benefit of studying GU tape over a period of years. They have a much better idea of tendencies, etc.

That was my first thought during the game. As I thought more, if I was game-planning I would pack the lane and dare GU to beat you with 3-pointers. When you are SMC and so overmatched offensively I think you would just do this and pray. Early in the game the Zags were having a hard time with their cuts and finishes at the hoop because there was a lot of help down there.

The Zags had to figure out what SMC was doing offensively and their defensive rotations were much tighter in the second half, and maybe the end of the first half.

I was most disappointed by the lack of offensive rebounds by the good guys. .

[GonzaGAW]

- my repeated 2 cents is, i'm against a baylor-gu game.........at this point in the season.
- lets play once when it counts in the finals (let not give them a free look at us on the court to prepare)
- win or lose, will not change our tournament seeding
- presently the team needs to work out some kinks with rest and/or wcc play

- if a break presents itself in the next month, i'm all for filling the schedule with another game, and am glad to hear that is what coach few is open and even wanting to do if the situation presents itself.

[FloridaZagFan]

Would be happy to risk the undefeated season to get to play Baylor before the dance. Steel hardens steel. Goal is to win the Natty or bust.

ZZ

Always want to play the best possible team if it makes sense. Can't imagine dodging Baylor just to have a better chance to go undefeated. No way Few would avoid Baylor if there is any way to make it happen. Plus I'd rather beat Baylor as well as go undefeated.

[Hoopaholic]

I read and am under the impression that Big 12 league rules do not allow out of conference games once league starts....now it is covid era but that might be a hurdle to overcome

[Razorzag99]

I read and am under the impression that Big 12 league rules do not allow out of conference games once league starts....now it is covid era but that might be a hurdle to overcome

They do play the SEC during conference play for the SEC/Big 12 challenge.

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[LongIslandZagFan]

JMHO... Zags should live their mantra... Play anyone, anywhere, anytime. Better to play and lose and learn from it than to avoid the game that might test them.

[DZ]

JMHO... Zags should live their mantra... Play anyone, anywhere, anytime. Better to play and lose and learn from it than to avoid the game that might test them.

Yeah, I'm really kind of surprised at the overall agreement to avoid it.

I see no downside and huge upside.

It is true that the WCC has not hurt us in terms of tournament performance in the last 4-5 years, not IMO anyway.

But I want the national championship, far more than the "perfect record" thing.

And I think that if a national championship is the one and only goal, there is no way to lose this game. If they win, they know they've played the best and beaten them all, and they know what it takes.

If they lose, they get a wakeup call that there is another "best" team in the country and that they'll need to improve over the course of the rest of the year.

I don't blame the guys one bit for getting a bit bored midway through conference play, lighting a fire under them IMO would be a phenomenal opportunity, with plenty of time to fix anything wrong.

And though I don't want them to ever lose a game, I get wary the deeper the "undefeated" thing goes and I think it does nothing but add pressure late in the year when they want to be playing lose to beat the team in front of them.

[gonzagafan62]

Yeah, I'm really kind of surprised at the overall agreement to avoid it.

I see no downside and huge upside.

It is true that the WCC has not hurt us in terms of tournament performance in the last 4-5 years, not IMO anyway.

But I want the national championship, far more than the "perfect record" thing.

And I think that if a national championship is the one and only goal, there is no way to lose this game. If they win, they know they've played the best and beaten them all, and they know what it takes.

If they lose, they get a wakeup call that there is another "best" team in the country and that they'll need to improve over the course of the rest of the year.

I don't blame the guys one bit for getting a bit bored midway through conference play, lighting a fire under them IMO would be a phenomenal opportunity, with plenty of time to fix anything wrong.

And though I don't want them to ever lose a game, I get wary the deeper the "undefeated" thing goes and I think it does nothing but add pressure late in the year when they want to be playing lose to beat the team in front of them.

I agree with all of this, but my mantra has always been “Pressure is a privilege” ... either way the more high stakes games you play the more pressure there is regardless of record. Just need to play confident and we will be okay I think.

[zagdontzig]

As a Zag fan, would you rather see a somewhat meaningless Baylor game or dodge them for a better chance at an undefeated season?

I wish we could play Baylor undefeated. I agree with JPthebeasta that it's best for seeding to coast, but the the legend of our on court product only becomes more legendary with a shot at the best. Since that doesn't seem to be in the works prior to the post season, we want Kansas to win tonight.

[Zagricultural]

Iowa State vs Texas Wed 1/20 postponed because of covid19 at Iowa State, Texas doesn't play until Sat, we were originally scheduled to play Texas in Spokane in November 2020...Texas would be a good matchup

Yes Please!

[SorenTodd45]

It sure looks like we don't have a game tomorrow, as they would have announced it by now. That's okay, there are other WCC games to watch.

[CDC84]

Zags are in a WCC-induced trough right now. Could be a good wake up call. Certainly a nice cash injection for the coffers. No downside. Losing to the solid #2 is fine. Would be ratings bonanza, recruiting bonanza, student application and fund raising bonanza. Raising freshman, funds & friends, remember.

Very much agree Jazz. Even if Gonzaga gets beat, it's for the best when it comes to the team. They will likely not play a better team in 2021 than Baylor. If they lose by 6 in Denver or whatever, the team can only get better. The coaches get some great game tape to help improve the team, and the guys realize they can lose unless they bring their 100% best.

[MDABE80]

We need rebounding. I don't think we have sufficient bigs to be effective against Baylor's onslaught. Those guys "mean" it. Drew is our only functioning big right now and he cannot control the boards by himself. Neither can Joel ( who amazes me night in and night out) Conceptually CDC is correct. We could learn so much from that game. Win or lose we'd be a better team after that one game. I don't think we're learning much from the rest of the WCC schedule. This is the time of the season when things gel and teams get better both on offense and defense. Right now, it looks like we're stalled. We might be #13 on defense with KenPom but we're a long way from #1 or #2 which is where Baylor is. Like miles away no matter what the rank indicates. And as with defense, so goes the offense.

[IMADEYOUREADTHIS]

Yeah, I'm really kind of surprised at the overall agreement to avoid it.

I see no downside and huge upside.

It is true that the WCC has not hurt us in terms of tournament performance in the last 4-5 years, not IMO anyway.

But I want the national championship, far more than the "perfect record" thing.

And I think that if a national championship is the one and only goal, there is no way to lose this game. If they win, they know they've played the best and beaten them all, and they know what it takes.

If they lose, they get a wakeup call that there is another "best" team in the country and that they'll need to improve over the course of the rest of the year.

I don't blame the guys one bit for getting a bit bored midway through conference play, lighting a fire under them IMO would be a phenomenal opportunity, with plenty of time to fix anything wrong.

And though I don't want them to ever lose a game, I get wary the deeper the "undefeated" thing goes and I think it does nothing but add pressure late in the year when they want to be playing lose to beat the team in front of them.

This plus 1 million %.

The very idea that we would not want a tough game to protect a record is very unzag like.

Also, what happens if Baylor doesn't make the National Title game because of COVID or something. If we win the NT, I almost guarantee there will be some that want an asterisk by it because of the weirdness of this season, and so many bluebloods being down this year. I'd rather have ran through a gauntlet of everyone possible, where we can control it (ie regular season) than somehow miss an opportunity in the Tourney and leave people questioning.

Finally, being undefeated hasn't been a good thing since the mid-70's. I'd rather get all the tests, and work out all the kinks possible prior to the Tourney. Even if that means a loss to reset the team.

[webspinnre]

I don't care that much about the undefeated season that I'd want to avoid playing them. My only concern is additional wear and tear with a busy conference schedule and not wanting to overwork the team in that regard. If Few thinks they can handle it, bring it on. Can only improve the team heading into the postseason.

[White lightning]

I don't care that much about the undefeated season that I'd want to avoid playing them. My only concern is additional wear and tear with a busy conference schedule and not wanting to overwork the team in that regard. If Few thinks they can handle it, bring it on. Can only improve the team heading into the postseason.

Plus they have already put the time in on film, scouting and such. It wouldn't be like starting over against another team.

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[TravelinZag]

Have full confidence staff will try to schedule a quality opponent if an open date presents itself. The search need not be confined to a single school. At the moment, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Villanova and a couple of others would be very attractive. Locale: neutral site or as the first game of a home and home series. Hope we get a good test; it would build preparedness for the NCAAs.

Go Zags!