G
GunkWe play Gonzaga, currently the 10th ranked team in the nation. Big game.
While the cards are certainly stacked against us tonight, I do believe there's a chance, which I will hold tight to for as long as reasonable.
Gonzaga is probably the toughest team we've faced this year. The strength of their game is their front court. Davies, Sharp, Kaufusi, etc. will have their hands full.
Junior center James Olynyk leads the team, scoring 18 pts/game and grabbing 6.8 boards a game. He's a load.
Next is Senior forward Elias Harris, with 15 pts a game and 6.9 boards. He also is a load.
After Olynyk and Harris, it's Pangos at 12.1 pts/game and just 3.7 assists/game.
Having watched a bit of the Zags play, they run their offense through the post. Pangos and the supporting cast hang out at the 3 line ready to knock shots down when Olynyk or Harris feel up to passing it back out.
I think Carlino wins the matchup against Pangos. I see nothing in Pangos that leads me to believe Carlino can't stay in front of him. However, we'll likely play zone to try and limit Olynyk and Harris, causing us to collapse on the middle and freeing up Pangos. We can't let Pangos or any other Zag shooters get hot from the outside. Winder should get heavy minutes as we need his speed and defense on the perimeter.
Inside, Gonzaga has the clear advantage. If it were just Olynyk I wouldn't be too worried, but Harris and Olynyk make a great combo that I have serious doubts to us stopping. They'll get their points. If we can limit them as much as possible inside and close out the perimeter we've got a shot. It will take our best defensive effort.
On offense, Haws is an advantage. He needs to get touches, lots of touches. If Haws is on fire, he can keep us in the game. We'll need Davies on the court for 30+ min. 15+ points from him is a must.
Gonzaga shoots the ball better than we do. We have more rebounds on the season (probably a result of poorer shooting) and more assists. Gonzaga has about 25 fewer turnovers on the season. We have about 20 more steals on the season.
While the cards are certainly stacked against us tonight, I do believe there's a chance, which I will hold tight to for as long as reasonable.
Gonzaga is probably the toughest team we've faced this year. The strength of their game is their front court. Davies, Sharp, Kaufusi, etc. will have their hands full.
Junior center James Olynyk leads the team, scoring 18 pts/game and grabbing 6.8 boards a game. He's a load.
Next is Senior forward Elias Harris, with 15 pts a game and 6.9 boards. He also is a load.
After Olynyk and Harris, it's Pangos at 12.1 pts/game and just 3.7 assists/game.
Having watched a bit of the Zags play, they run their offense through the post. Pangos and the supporting cast hang out at the 3 line ready to knock shots down when Olynyk or Harris feel up to passing it back out.
I think Carlino wins the matchup against Pangos. I see nothing in Pangos that leads me to believe Carlino can't stay in front of him. However, we'll likely play zone to try and limit Olynyk and Harris, causing us to collapse on the middle and freeing up Pangos. We can't let Pangos or any other Zag shooters get hot from the outside. Winder should get heavy minutes as we need his speed and defense on the perimeter.
Inside, Gonzaga has the clear advantage. If it were just Olynyk I wouldn't be too worried, but Harris and Olynyk make a great combo that I have serious doubts to us stopping. They'll get their points. If we can limit them as much as possible inside and close out the perimeter we've got a shot. It will take our best defensive effort.
On offense, Haws is an advantage. He needs to get touches, lots of touches. If Haws is on fire, he can keep us in the game. We'll need Davies on the court for 30+ min. 15+ points from him is a must.
Gonzaga shoots the ball better than we do. We have more rebounds on the season (probably a result of poorer shooting) and more assists. Gonzaga has about 25 fewer turnovers on the season. We have about 20 more steals on the season.