Red-Blue, Preseason, and Non-Con Basketball

[The Derski]

Gonzaga just lost to Texas A&M..

 

[johnson]

I have a friend who went to Santa Clara that just bet me on the game tonight. Didn't even want points lol

 

[azchamps]

I have a friend who went to Santa Clara that just bet me on the game tonight. Didn't even want points lol

He almost didn't need them.

 

[johnson]

Good lord. That should NOT have happened!

 

[CatsTopPac]

It was a rough one. I think it might have been a tough matchup though, more than how it looked on paper. Our perimeter game was horrible, which we needed to keep their zone defense honest. Pitts had to stay in the game the whole time to guard Brownridge and so Trier couldn't do much to help us score. Those were the differences in my opinion. We were careless with the ball, which we need to improve upon, but I think it might have been a matchup issue with their zone and our inability to shoot around it.

 

[The Derski]

I have no idea why Miller basically went to a 7 man rotation this game. Ristic and Trier hardly played. I don't know if the last shot of regulation was drawn up for Anderson but it was ugly. Anderson is a decent finisher at the rim but his jump shot is not pretty and he should never have a game winning play drawn for him that isn't around the rim. Oh and we suck ass at three pointers.

 

[CatsTopPac]

I have no idea why Miller basically went to a 7 man rotation this game. Ristic and Trier hardly played. I don't know if the last shot of regulation was drawn up for Anderson but it was ugly. Anderson is a decent finisher at the rim but his jump shot is not pretty and he should never have a game winning play drawn for him that isn't around the rim. Oh and we suck ass at three pointers.

Miller sacrificed Trier because he needed Pitts to guard Brownridge. And with the zone packing the middle, Ristic wasn't accomplishing much down low. I think Miller decided to go with Tolly more to try and spread the defense, but Tolly wasn't able to get very hot from the wing.

 

[johnson]

If they play like they did yesterday again against Providence, they will lose by 20. Hope they got it out of their system.

 

[Monte Carlo Wildcat]

We need more of a spirited effort tonight. I expect Miller to tighten up his rotation and go back to his norm; 7 maybe 8 players deep. I also exPect Providence to play a 2-3 zone and lord knows that almost killed us last game. Limit the bad 3 point shots, take advantage of size, take care of the ball and i think we'll win. Bear down

 

[The Derski]

Wouldn't surprise me if MSU destroys Providence. Embarrassed right now.

 

[The Derski]

We had a chance to move up in the polls too. Probably going to be ranked between 19-21 now, if we even win tomorrow

 

[johnson]

Watching this team, they just seem a step behind other recent Cats teams. I'm thinking they could come close to double digits in the loss column (probably 2-3 more non-con and then 5-7 conference).

 

[CatsTopPac]

Certainly a surprising November in CBB, and AZ is one of them.

This team is going to need a lot of work to be a threat in March. Problem is, we don't have a stud athlete to get us there as in years past. We have some guys that play offense but not defense (Trier, Dusan) and some guys that play defense and not offense (Pitts, Zeus). Anderson is our best player but is sometimes all alone out there. York is essentially worthless without making threes right now. Allen is a nice scorer but goes through droughts assisting, and PJC is a great passer but goes through droughts scoring.

But I have saved the worst for last. We have turned the ball over 38 times in the last two games. I can't remember the last time that happened (maybe 11-12 or 09-10, but either way it's a rarity for us). We win both of those games if we have even 15 turnovers per game instead of 19 on average. We're trying to do to much, losing focus, and not in synch with each other.

I'm sure that Miller is going to work on this for the rest of the year, but like I said previously, we are going to take our lumps this season (especially early). The Pac isn't as strong at the beginning as I thought we would be, but most will be much improved by league play.

With Zeus out, we're playing 5 new starters from last year's team. There is something to say about that, even if we are starting mostly upperclassmen. It's going to take time to get everyone one the same page and executing their proper roles. But until then, it's going to look ugly in some games.

I'm hoping we can start strong against BSU so they don't generate any confidence. And I hope we don't go up to Spokane and embarrass ourselves.

 

[azchamps]

We won today but, IMO, it was an ugly win.
Lots to work on.

GO CATS!

 

[CatsTopPac]

Good point distribution and defensively holding them under 40%. But 17 turnovers is still killing us. York, Dusan, Allen, and Trier all got 3 each, and collectively as much as we want total.

Something tells me we are going to be calling out turnovers all season. Fuck those are going to kill us. We committed 55 turnovers in 3 games in LA. That's just over 18 per game.

 

[gordontrue]

Providence played well in the final with Michigan St. It was much closer than the final score looks... Providence was up 4 with a few minutes to go. Kris Dunn really impressed me... not just with his play but his attitude and hearing about everything's he's been through.

Anyway... the last 4 games haven't been great. Hopefully they have a good week of practice and are ready and healthy for the game @ Gonzaga on Saturday.

 

[The Derski]

Proveidence is now ranked.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Proveidence is now ranked.

I think that's fair. They were undefeated after beating us and have only lost on a neutral court in the tourney championship. Cooley is a good coach, and Dunn is going to battle it out with Dunham for leading scorer in the BE.

 

[The Derski]

Welp.. Zeus is going to be out 4-6 weeks.

 

[The Derski]

Any thoughts on the Gonzaga game? True road game in their house, no Zeus. I'm hoping we keep it within single digits. Although the Zags only beat WSU (who was picked last in the PAC) by 9 tonight.