Here we go! Another huge game against St. Mary's, our nemesis rival. This is always the most anticipated game of the year and the students are camped out, freezing to death in the cccold, in order to get the best seats for the game.
It seems that for years now the battle at the top of the WCC comes down to Gonzaga and St. Mary's. This season is no different. The first of our two regular season clashes will be played at home in the Kennel. This will provide us with an advantage, as it will be played in front of what the players have become accustomed to- a raucous, sold out crowd. Oh, and in the 10 years since it's opening, Gonzaga is 142-8 all time at home.
It was supposed to be a down year for St. Mary's but coach Randy Bennett seems to put an excellent team together every year. Surprisingly enough, SMC comes into this game with a record of 15-3 while being unbeaten and tied on top of the WCC with the Zags, both at 7-0. They are also on a 9 game winning streak and just finished polishing off BYU 82-77.
SMC's front-court is strong. They have senior experience, size and athleticism. Led by senior big man, Brad Waldow, who was just awarded WCC Player of the Week. He went 21-28 and hit .750 while scoring 49 points. Waldow also captured 20 rebounds for the week, including dropping 24 points vs BYU. He will give Gonzaga's Przemek Karnowski a tough battle down low.
Also stepping up for SMC of late is senior 6'7 F Garrett Jackson, who poured in 20 points vs BYU and didn't miss from three. These Gaels can rebound too, as they lead the WCC at approx. plus 10 boards per game. Additionally, Waldow leads the WCC, hauling in an ave. of 10 per game. SMC's back-court is lead by 6'2 senior Kerry Carter, who's popping in 14 ppg while torching the nets from deep at .414.
Both teams have size, depth, and experience. SMC has a very good front-court but the Zags have a better one. Karnowski has had Waldows number in past match-ups and I look for that to continue. Also, the one, two, three, punch of Karnowski, Wiltjer & Sabonis, is simply too much for any WCC team to handle.
Our veteran back-court of Pangos & Bell will be superior to St. Mary's, especially in the Kennel where Pangos rarely misses from deep. Also, our wings Melson, Dranginis & Wesley are a notch above anything SMC can put on the floor.
This game is for first place in the WCC. Both teams are undefeated and on paper it looks fairly even. But, SMC has had a fairly light schedule so far and I don't see any marquee wins. So, although they come in with a lofty 15-3 record, they may not be as good as their record indicates.
With this game being played in the Kennel, where Gonzaga rarely loses, I look for the Zags to set the tone early, get ahead, and stay ahead. I can't imagine seniors Pangos & Bell letting this one get away. Perhaps the Zags will cruise to a fairly comfortable 12-15 point win, but we'll soon see.
GO ZAGS!!~
2 comments:
Loved the picked up defensive intensity in the second half.
Is it just me, or has the officiating for the WCC games been incredibly inconsistent? There have been a couple of games that I thought were excellent - balanced, consistent. Then there have been games like this one, which had me wondering how the players could be competitive and avoid foul trouble.
Thanks for restoring my sanity, as I was worrying that it was just me.
I am so tired of these bad calls on our bigs. Last night was simply atrocious. I call 'em phantom fouls because they didn't happen. Of course late in the game w/ the outcome already decided that ref did call a bad one on Waldow, you know, just to try to even things up a bit.
How about the one where Waldow rammed into Karnowski with his ass and they called Karno for a foul?
A charge call and a block call that went against the Zags also stand out as being ridiculous.
I used to think I reserved my "refs sucked" arguments for when we lost. Not any more.
All this aside, I agree, the D carried us. Feels odd even saying that, but I could get used to it!
Nice to finally get a glimpse of McClellan last night as well.
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