Hello Everyone

My internet was shut off right after the Saint Mary's game and as a result i have not been able to post anything, im sorry to everyone, but i will be getting back to posting once the WCC tournament starts. GO ZAGS!

Recap: Gonzaga @ St. Mary's

Recap

Final Score: St. Mary's 89 Gonzaga 85 OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 27 points
Rebounder: Abdullahi Kuso 12 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 9 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 4 Blocks
Theif: Jeremy Pargo 2 Steals

Game MVP: I have to give this one to both Pargo and Kuso. Kuso played at such a high level and pargo took over the game at times.
Jeremy Pargo
27 points, 4 Boards, 2 steals, 9 assists, 50% from three.
Abdullahi Kuso
11 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, lots of energy

Team Comparison: Zags/Gaels
Points: 85/89
assist to turnover ratio:-0.88/+1.56
Rebounds:41/37
Shooting Percentage: 50%/41%
3pt Percentage: 41%/41%

Notes from the sideline:
-Austin Daye continues to look more and more confident, he showed some sick moves for a man of his height that took his defenders out of their shoes.
-To start out the offense showed some great fluidity, i think starting steven gray was a great idea, he provided some good perimeter defense and a good shooter for the offense to kick it out to
-Josh Heytvelt looked horrible at times, and he was held out for large portions of the game.
-Abdullahi Kuso was brilliant, he did not get into foul trouble until the end of the game and was a monster on the boards all night long. He even showed some flashes of great offensive awareness, something that has been a weakness in the past.

What it means for the future (Analysis):
First of all, this game was called very poorly by the refs for both sides. Honestly the zags outplayed the Gaels for large stretches of the game, the end saw many bad calls in the Gaels favor that helped them walk out with the Win. All said, the zags played a great game, and made lots of good decisions, i think when i comes time for the rematch it will not be close and the zags will overcome. I still think the zags will walk away with 1 loss in conference and take the conference title again.

SUPER 16 Rankings

SUPER 16 Rankings

(RPI in parenthesis)

1. Memphis 21-0 (2)
2. Duke 19-1 (4)
3. Georgetown 18-2 (6)
4. North Carolina 21-1 (3)
5. Tennessee 18-2 (1)
6. Kansas 20-1 (5)
7. UCLA 19-2 (10)
8. Michigan St. 19-3 (9)
9. Drake 18-1 (8)
10. Butler 19-2 (24)
11. Wisconsin 18-3 (14)
12. St. Mary's 17-3 (23)
13. Washington St. 17-4 (20)
14. Xavier 18-4 (15)
15. Stanford 18-3 (18)
16. Texas 16-4 (11)

Scouting Report: St. Mary's (CA)

Scouting Report

W-L:17-3
RPI:23
SOS:111
Best Wins:
#8 Drake 72-66
#45 Seton Hall 85-70
#51 Ohio 70-63
#55 Oregon 99-87
#63 San Diego St. 69-64


Current Rankings:
AP #20
ESPN #20

Team Leaders:
Points: Patrick Mills 14.5
Assists: Patrick Mills 3.9
Rebounds: Diamon Simpson 9.4

Best Players:
Patrick Mills, Fr., 6-0 175, PG
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! OI! OI! OI! Need i say more? He is the top scorer, a freshman sensation, dropped 37 on Oregon, the top passer, and has scored more than 15 points 8 times this year. Mr. Mills is a NBAer, pure and simple. I expect him to be a tough matchup for Pargo tonight.

Diamon Simpson,Jr., 6-7 200, SF
The Diamond in the rough. Mr. Simpson is a rebounding force, he has 10 games with 10 or more boards this year. He is the yin to Patty Mills yang on the perimeter. I expect the zags to be out-rebounded thanks to this man. Did i mention he also shoots 55% from the field and averages almost 2 blocks a game?

Omar Samhan,So., 6-11 265, C
The second straight game that we have had to contend with a low post monster. This time it is with the offensive prowess of Samhan. He shoots 56% and has scored more than 15 points 7 times this year. He is also a great rebounder and shot blocker, teamed with Simpson, they are the best low post tandem in the WCC and maybe on the west coast altogether.

MY Prediction:
When i had a chance to go through St. Mary's schedule i noticed a big difference from the zags, we travel, they dont. The Gaels have had 5 true road games all year and are 2-3 on the road. Their biggest wins(Drake, Oregon, and Seton Hall) have come at home. Now what does this mean? Well the zags are going to McKeon Pavilion tonight, that does not mean this is a guaranteed loss, but i think it gives the Gaels a sizeable advantage. The arena rocks every time the zags come to town. I think when all is said and done the zags are a better team, however the Gaels edge the zags in a close one with the homecourt advantage.
Final Score: St. Mary's 72 Gonzaga 70

Recap: Gonzaga @ Santa Clara

Recap

Final Score: Gonzaga 87 Santa Clara 82 2OT

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Austin Daye 22 points
Rebounder: Josh Heytvelt 7 Boards
Passer: Jeremy Pargo 7 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 3 Blocks
Theif: Bouldin/Downs/Gray 2 Steals

Game MVP: Austin Daye
22 points, 5 Boards, 1 assist, 1 steals, 3 blocks, 75% from three.

Team Comparison: Zags/Broncos
Points: 87/82
assist to turnover ratio:+.70/-.72
Rebounds:23/31
Shooting Percentage: 50%/52%
3pt Percentage: 39.1%/38.5%

Notes from the sideline:
N/A

What it means for the future (Analysis):
Well i thought it would be a tough game. John Bryant and Brody Angley were dominant at times, and honestly the zags were outplayed. We will see what this development means for the big St. Mary's matchup, if the zags lose, we could see the Gaels take a firm lead of the WCC, whereas if the zags win they continue to assert their claim for being the best in the west.

Scouting Report: Santa Clara

Scouting Report

W-L:11-9
RPI:150
SOS:168
Best Wins:
#85 @ Utah 72-57

Current Rankings:
n/a

Team Leaders:
Points: John Bryant 17.5
Assists: Brody Angley 5.4
Rebounds: John Bryant 9.4

Best Player:
John Bryant, Jr., 6-10 305, C
The beast from the west lives up to his namesake in more than one way. Mr. Bryant seems to toy with opponents at times. He shoots almost 60% from the field. I expect him to thoroughly handle any and all big men the zags throw at him.

Brody Angley,Sr., 5-11 195, PG
The resident senior leader, hits about 40% from three. Angley is a very good passer and definitely has a knack for knowing when to get it down low to the beast. I expect Angley and Bryant to have good games against the zags and give them some trouble.

MY Prediction:
Again i expect the Broncos to give the zags some trouble down low. The zags average about 11 more ppg and hold opponents to a lower shooting clip than the broncs, i expect Santa Clara to give us some problems, but overall i think the zags have a much more well rounded team.

Final Score: Gonzaga 74 Santa Clara 67

Recap: Portland @ Gonzaga

Recap

Final Score: Gonzaga 79 Portland 41

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Austin Daye 19 points
Rebounder: Austin Daye 13 Boards
Passer: Matt Bouldin 4 Assists
Swatter: Austin Daye 2 Blocks
Theif: Matt Bouldin 2 Steals

Game MVP: Austin Daye
19 points, 13 Boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 67% from the field.

Team Comparison: Zags/Pilots
Points: 79/41
assist to turnover ratio:+1.25/-.41
Rebounds:42/27
Shooting Percentage: 48%/26%
3pt Percentage: 29%/21%

Notes from the sideline:
Game was not televised, no view from sideline...

What it means for the future (Analysis):
As i expected, a blowout. The zags had quite the run at it. I expect the zags to be on cruise control until they go to Saint Mary's next week.

SUPER 16 Rankings

SUPER 16

(RPI in parenthesis)

1. Memphis 19-0 (2)
2. Kansas 19-0 (3)
3. Duke 17-1 (5)
4. Georgetown 16-2 (9)
5. Michigan St. 18-2 (6)
6. North Carolina 19-1 (4)
7. Tennessee 16-2 (1)
8. Washington St. 17-2 (10)
9. UCLA 17-2 (12)
10. Indiana 17-2 (31)
11. Texas 15-3 (14)
12. St. Mary's 16-2 (15)
13. Drake 16-1 (8)
14. Butler 19-2 (22)
15. xavier 17-4 (11)
16. Wisconsin 16-3 (19)

Scouting Report: Portland @ Gonzaga

Scouting Report

W-L:7-13
RPI:292
SOS:296
Best Wins:
#176 @ Pepperdine 82-78

Current Rankings:
n/a

Team Leaders:
Points: Nik Raivio 12.4
Assists: Taishi Ito 3.9
Rebounds: Luke Sikma 8.2

Best Player:
Luke Sikma, Fr., 6-8 215, PF
The namesake says it all, The son of Sonics legend Jack Sikma. He has had plenty of big man training from one of the best. Luke plays with a ferocious desire for rebounds. He had at least 10 in the first 4 games of the season, paired with Nik Raivio, he will be the mainstay for the next 4 years in Portland.

Nik Raivio,So., 6-4 195, PG
The brother of former Zag Derek. Its too bad the Zags couldnt get the inside track on Nik, but thankfully he is only a sophomore and not the gamer that his brother is. He will be a star ifor the next couple years.

MY Prediction:
Simply, this is what it looks like, another Zags Blowout win. The Pilots are a young squad with potential, but i dont think they have what it takes to beat the zags.
Final Score: Gonzaga 85 Portland 67

Recap: Gonzaga @ Memphis

Recap

Final Score: Memphis 81 Gonzaga 73

Box score snapshot
Scorer: Jeremy Pargo 25 points
Rebounder: Josh Heytvelt 7 Boards
Passer:Jeremy Pargo 7 Assists
Swatter: Abdullahi Kuso 2 Blocks
Theif: Jeremy Pargo/Josh Heytvelt 2 Steals

Game MVP: Jeremy Pargo
25 points, 7 assists, 2 Boards, 2 steals, 56% from FG. Pargo came out to show that he could compete with his inner city rival Derrick Rose, arguably he did, Rose obviously is more athletic with greater court vision, but Pargo is a superior scorer and slasher.

Team Comparison: Tigers/Zags
Points: 81/73
assist to turnover ratio:+1.4/+1.2
Rebounds:39/25
Shooting Percentage: 56%/43%
3pt Percentage: 46.7%/46.6%

Notes from the sideline:
-Let me start this to say that everything that could have been against the zags, was against them; 9am Pacific Start time, true away game, Crazy Crowd, #1 team in nation, poor shooting to start the game off, ect. And through it all they still managed to get very close to knocking off the Tigers multiple times. Great game.
-It's sad, but Josh Heytvelt looks like he may not regain last seasons form. It could be until next year before he has his athleticism and conditioning back.
-Matt Bouldin continued his ways of seeming to disappear when he gets to a big game.
-I think i saw more airballs out of Gonzaga than all the rest of their games ive seen combined.
-For a brief moment, Micah Downs flashed his all american talent hitting 3 threes towards the end of the 1st half. Will this be shown again?
-During the 1st half the zags made a nice run at the tigers going on a 19-5 run. Of course it didnt help that they started the game down by 12.

What it means for the future (Analysis):
It means that the zags finish their Non Conference schedule without a top 25 win. Late losses to UT, Memphis, and Wazzu were heart breaking and if the zags cannot beat out St. Mary's in Conference and win the conference tourney the possibility looms that the zags could miss the tourney for the first time in many years. This being said, i think the zags will split the season set with the Gaels and even without a conference title, which is still attainable, i think they are an At-large lock with wins over UConn, Utah, St. Josephs, Georgia, Western Kentucky, and at least 1 over St. Mary's.