Gavalyugov was raw at the start of the season (expected for a frosh) but gets better each game. I’m excited to see what his peak can be.
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I paid so much attention to the fact that he was coming from Villanova that I forgot how young he was. I was starting to have thoughts a couple weeks ago that he was going to be on the same level as Jalen Benjamin a couple years ago. Great to see him get better each game.
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Sash’s passing bothers me. He does a lot of one-hand push passes, and often they are in traffic. He also is a poor decision maker. Exhibit A: earlier in the game, he moved the ball into front court and with roughly 24 seconds left on the shot clock, he put up a contested three pointer (and predictably missed). It’s like he’s more interested in pumping up his own stats instead of being a true team player.
He should NOT being playing the 1.
Cochran is the one who truly impresses me.
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I just switched over to the Gaels-Zags tilt. Farnham and Fleming doing the game. Much better production quality. I couldn’t take the LMU announcers any more.
EDIT TO ADD: Gonzaga fans are just as insufferable as background noise on a national telecast as they are in person.
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We’ve so seldomly gone over the century mark until the last few seasons. Has it ever happened twice against the same opponent in a season?
That end seemed angry, though, with SCU firing threes to the buzzer. It didn’t seem that aggressive or chippy, but maybe I missed some of what was going on on the court.
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BK was terrific tonight and best game as a Bronco. He can become another offensive weapon if he shoots like he did tonight. Graves was solid once again, and Cochran is playing with more confidence. I liked seeing him drive to the bucket tonight. The output from these freshman in conference play has been tremendous.
It’s hard to nitpick when you win by 30 on the road, but the number of fouls continues to be disconcerting. Solid win tonight!!!
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Darlan should not have taken that last 3 at the buzzer. Bad sportsmanship. LMU had already conceded. I’m glad LMU barked at Thierry.
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I believe Darlan fired a three with a second to go and it didn’t sit well with a LMU player and probably with the SCU coaching staff too. It was unnecessary. Darlan needs to show more maturity.
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Helpful and agreed. No reason for that…just a bad look at the end of an excellent game.
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Wonder why Herb didn’t empty the bench at the end of that game? The scrubs have the green light to bomb until the buzzer.
I didn’t see the two walk ons (Yaruso and Doyen) on the bench during the broadcast. I assume they don’t travel? Someone correct me if I am mistaken.
As the Broncos achieved lift-off, I lost track of Knapper’s overall dominance:
22 points, 5 steals, 0 TOs
Wow. Cochran with 15 points is a big jump for him. Graves got a double-double. Awesome work all around.
The game that scares me and @buckets approaches.
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Smart is a great coach. I could see him moving on the greener pastures within a year or too, much like Golden did when he moved on from USF to Florida. The Broncos better be at top form.
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Many here have said it in recent weeks….every game here on out is the ‘most important game of the year’.
This week is big, road games vs. Pacific then WSU. Both squads have improved a bit in WCC play and both are 6-5 and tied with USF for 4th place.
For Pacific, their key player is Elias Ralph. He’s an undersized 4 at 6-7 but he’s a got athlete who plays bigger. He’s ranked 5th in the league on Torvik in WCC play in PPRG! and should be consensus 1st team All-WCC. He does everything for the Tigers and leads them in points, rebounds, block shots, is 2nd in steals. He’s shooting 41% on 3’s, gets to the FT line a ton and is shooting ~88% when he gets there.
Hold Ralph under his averages and the Broncos will be fine. Ensminger and Darlan will probably get the defensive assignment on him, but you may also see Mahi on him at times.
As a team the Tigers rebound well; in WCC play they are #1 in off rebounding % and 2nd in defensive reb %. Defensive rebounding, which at times has been spotty, needs to be a focus for the Broncos. One opportunity for the Broncos….the Tigers are worst in the league and one of the worst in the country in turning the ball over….the Broncos ball hawking D need to take advantage and create some transition opportunities.
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I was at the game last night. The alumni office hosted a happy hour before the game. Great time and great to see a Bronco win.
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When BK plays like that, we’re tough to beat. Good to see him heat up.
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I’ve been a bit disappointed in BK’s play this season, was hoping he’d take a step forward. 3pt shooting has been down.
But I feel like his play has stabilized of late and yes it was great to see him have a strong offensive night. When he’s scoring, it provides that X factor to supplement Hammond, Mahi and Graves.
BK’s dunk late in the game off of gathering the loose ball in traffic was another of BK’s occasional surprising dunks that reminds you of what a good athlete he is….especially when you consider he’s probably closer to 5’10” in socks than his listed 6’0”.
Another compliment for BK….to my eye it seems his on-ball defense has improved as the season has progressed. He’s doing a better job of staying in front of his man while also pressuring and harassing the point of attack. And he’s doing it the right way with sound footwork, staying on balance, being disciplined and patient in terms of going for steals…..not fouling excessively or gambling on high risk/low reward situations like many others on the squad are guilty of.
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