Gonzaga is very good. Definitely top 10. I have not watched them this year, but I know the returning players and Holmgren are good. However, and this is a big however, my last memory of Gonzaga is their loss to Baylor. They were scared of Baylor. Physically and mentally inferior to Baylor.
Gonzaga Game Preview
- Thread starter christophero
- Start date
I feel we are gonna win. If I'm wrong I'm wrong. I've been wrong before but we are gonna ein. OFC
Ucla really wasn't great for 90% of last year and got hot. I think we match up well. Is this the type of matchup we don't start Roach though? Their guards are big and that scares me. Thinking maybe we roll with the lineup I think we end up going with come conference play. Moore, Keels, AJ, Paolo and Mark. Just a thought.
AJ isn’t starting this year. He is farther behind IMO then once thought. Not in skill but in conditioning. I also think in the back of his mind he’s still worried about injuries. I’d like to see him contribute in multiple games in a row before even thinking about him starting. I also think keeping Roach at the point is key. How do you game plan with grown men at the 2-3 ( Moore and Keels) . Moore is better as a facilitator off the ball .
Line opens at 5.5. There was a reason UCLA didn't look good last night. It's called playing Gonzaga. They also didn't have their starting center but he's just a role player. As for AJ he is not ready to start. He may be in a month or two. If we can match Nembhard and Timme we can win.
You're probably right shey but how did he go from 18 points and 21 minutes
to just 11 minutes the next game, 4 or 5 of which were blowout, inconsequential minutes?
His conditioning seemed fine in the 21 minutes game.
The frustration that's evident certainly isn't directed at you. I love K but I just don't understand his minutes distribution sometimes.
At all.
AJ desperately needs game experience. There is no substitute for it. And this is the time to get it, before conference play.
I think K will get him there but... whatever, I guess.
I'm sensitive about him in particular because he's so talented and I don't think we're winning a national title without significant contributions from him. His length and athleticism are absurd. Even in limited time I've been struck by how much more physically impressive he is than almost everyone out there, except Paolo maybe.
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He may not start now- it was just getting to the point that against bigger guards- I'm not sure Roach holds up. I think AJ starts at some point without a doubt.
AJ's on the way back but still very up and down. I do think he may get a chance at guarding Timme on Friday for a stretch. It's still November; we may see a very different player by Feb.
K-ville's game day thread should be interesting. OFC
I know the zags are good but that’s not the reason ucla didn’t look good. IMO What stood out to me was how not good UCLA looked. Wether that was a bad game or what they are I don’t know but yea
I think you're right and that I'm probably impatient and overreacting a bit, which I tend to do.
I've gotten to the point where I too often look at potential weaknesses that could derail our championship aspirations instead of focusing on developing strengths that could eventually fulfill those aspirations.
Another way of saying it is I need to work on being more of a glass-half-full fan. ;-)
You are correct. I can’t believe how some on this board are drooling over Gonzaga. It’s embarrassing to put it mildly. Last I checked: Duke 5 Gonzaga 0. See ya bye
Oh for the love of God. Would you really trade their team for ours? I’ll stick with ours
Who cares. It’s Gonzaga They’ll put on a good show no doubt. Come March they’ll be in the rear view Gonzaga can win all the November championships they want. Come March I’ll be betting on our team
I think our Blue Devils will give Gonzaga a physical opponent they have not faced up to this point. Williams and John are going to give Holmgren fits. Banchero will not make life easy for Timme either. I will take Duke’s fast paced style of play and hard nosed defense on Friday night.
Gonzaga is a very great team, but they will face their toughest challenge all season on Friday night in Las Vegas. Anyone who is doubting the Blue Devils on Friday night has not been watching them play this season. We have a very good squad this season.
Helluva game. Cheapened somewhat by Hachimura's clownish "flexing" after the game (comments).
Would like to have seen a rematch in the Final Four or national championship (can't remember how the brackets were set up).
Duke is psychically stronger and the zags struggle against it. Duke will impose their will with a big win
People who have 0 don't understand what 0 means. You have a good team this year. If you don't win one this year, it's time to get out of the BS conference and start playing some teams that can prepare you after the calendar turns.
Admitting and admiring the ability of another team does not in any way decrease my faith in the ability of our team. Its just reality. Zags have some elements that I would like to see in our team, and we have some I am sure they would like. But at this point they have the edge due to experience, the games they've played against quality opponents and with their past few seasons of success. I really want us to win this one but am realistic that it will take a hellava effort to do it. Go Duke!
Hmmmm .... current KenPom Top 40
West Coast Conference - 4
Atlantic Coastal Conference - 4*
*includes Notre Dame (drubbed this week by St. Mary's) who sneaks in at #40 on the nose. Other than that, good point.
If you watch the game , AJ was getting blown by the smaller guards. Not a knock on him I just think he’s still finding trust in his knee’s. His lift didn’t look the same as it did in the previous game. Do I hope he gets more minutes? Yes he’s gifted and throwing him and Paolo at Timme is going to make life hard for the zags but I think it’s mental with AJ at this point and the coaches are letting him come along at his pace. I’d rather have a fully healthy aj come March .
So the ACC at its historic worst is even with the WCC? Duly noted.
Is it Friday yet? Just bring your A game zags because the blue devils are coming to play . They might be favored but this Duke team is hungry and I don’t see them laying down . Paolo slamming the ball getting angry at the open threes citadel was hitting should be signs that it’s gonna be a hard fought game.
Dude, this is one year (and it's November). You think the West Coast Conference is legit? That's really all I need to know.
That conference is the main reason you guys have zero championships. Gonzaga is legit, not just this year. No denying that. Lots of talent and good coaching. But playing in the WCC from Jan-March each year is absolutely a disservice to your team.
Out of curiosity, is "That conference" (Pac 12) the reason they haven't won a Title since 1997? (2 years before the Zags ever won an NCAA tournament game)? Is "That conference" (Big Can't Count past 10) the reason they haven't won a Title since 2001?
And somehow the Zags have managed 2 Title games the past 4 dances.
The bottom line (as you guys know) ... winning a Title is tough. Winning a Region and getting to a Final Four is tough. Getting to the Elite 8 is tough.
Will Gonzaga break through and win one (or two, or three)? I don't know. But whether they do or don't, it has zero to do with the West Coast Conference. Otherwise why would the Zags have 3 more overall NCAA tourney wins than any other D1 school since 2015? Or tied for the most overall Final Four wins (with 2) since 2017?
The main reason Gonzaga has zero Championships is because they haven't won one yet. The blown out of bounds call against Carolina didn't help ... but that's part of the game.
When Mark Few arrived at Gonzaga in 1989 as a $1,500 a year Grad Assistant GU's recruiting budget ranked dead last in the WCC ($8,000 a year). His "Marching Order" from the campus elders was the following ..... "You will never win this league and that's okay. Just don't finish last. Last place isn't tolerated around here." Mark, Dan Monson and Billy Grier set out to change the paradigm ... and change it they did.
Should be a great college basketball game tonight.
I appreciate your selective stats, I really do, but you’re just digging a bigger hole here.....
"there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics" - Disraeli...or Twain if you live in the US.
Meaning, you can pick statistics to favor your point of view and mold accordingly. No doubt the Zags have been good the past 5 years or so, but not having won it all still remains a truth. Until then, they are just a good basketball program.
Meaning, you can pick statistics to favor your point of view and mold accordingly. No doubt the Zags have been good the past 5 years or so, but not having won it all still remains a truth. Until then, they are just a good basketball program.
I’m not very good at math, but I do know that 5>0. The zags may very well win tonight, but championships are won in April, and until they win one, they’ll be considered just a good program for now.
You're never going to win an argument on another team's board; it's pointless to try. I lurk on RR and even comment, mainly because it is very active and a good source of info. But I never, ever, bring up Duke. I did once, and it did not go well. I'm not going to go on a Kentucky board and try to convince them of how good Duke is. Because all I will get is Zion's house, we pay players, and coach K is a hypocrite. And that we peak in November.
Prediction for tonight.
Duke 85
Gonzaga 83.
Prediction for tonight.
Duke 85
Gonzaga 83.
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But Q, I believe you said this summer that our freshman were grown men. You were right. These kids are tough.