Meh… If SCU is forcing pressure with man D and jumping the passing lanes, then getting beat off the bounce is going to happen (you just hope you force more turnovers and make life difficult for the Zags individually, while give up some blow byes).
There’s no need to hope the Zags kick out to the perimeter… you just have to over help off the ball to stop penetration as that will force the Zags to take open 3 point looks.
I would hope Sendek would institute a combo of overplaying man D in stretches and over helping in others. Zone would make more sense, but Herb plays man 100% of the time.
Either way, SCU has the guys to go straight up with Gonzaga… for my money I’d like to see them clog the key at the expense of giving wide open looks from beyond the arc.
That said, I expect Sendek to keep doing what’s been working, which means pressure on the ball, overplaying the passing lanes (at the expense of helping) and trying to force the pace on both sides of the floor.
I think it’s going to be a great game. Can’t wait.
@92bronc said it well – this is how to limit the “freeways” you mentioned.
Yesterday, I watched SLU implement a 1-3-1 defense coming out of a media timeout. Within just a couple of minutes they extended their lead by about 6 points, holding LUC to 1-7 FGs during that stretch. Then they switched back to M2M.
If it’s good enough for a one-loss team ranked 18th in the nation, why isn’t it good enough for the Broncos?
Bay Area Zag fans had it good in the WCC being able to attend road games at Santa Clara, USF, SMC, and Pacific. Staring next year they get to drive down to Fresno once a year and hope Gonzaga still plays the occasional game in the Bay Area.
Concerning Zags fans, this ain’t their first rodeo. I’m sure they scooped up tickets well before the SCU fan base even thought about attending the game. Makes no matter, still a big Bronco crowd on hand tonight.
I also would love to see us double Ike at the expense of perimeter defense. Absent that dream, the Broncos still have a better chance containing him this time without Huff on the court.
And SCU needs to avoid a careless slump. They were trailing by 2 before five straight TOs in the middle of the second half allowed the Zags to pull away for good in Spokane.
Santa Clara has been steady and consistent since the LUC debacle. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
I may be wrong, but I think TD was saying that the Santa Clara students have three full sections and possibly an overflow up top. Not the Gonzaga fans.
Unless they truly all sit together, I don’t think the Zags fans would manage to fill 4 full sections of Leavey.
It’s a reasonable line, potentially generous to Santa Clara even. I think there’s implicit acknowledgment that no one really knows what GU without Huff will look like against good competition in a hostile environment. They were a disaster at Portland, dominant against Wazzu. But tonight is also a big test for these Zags.
Six single tickets in the lower bowl are all that are left for sale.
We were 9-4, now we’re 22-5. I’m really enjoying this stretch of Bronco basketball. This isn’t exactly ‘must win’,’ but it would be a really, really good one to win - for the resume, for the standings, for the story, for the University’s momentum.
College programs frequently take two steps forward, one step back - we’ll take a step back eventually. I’m looking forward to having no voice tomorrow…
Hope y’all had the foresight to plan ahead and go out to dinner with your significant other LAST night, so you could either attend or watch the game tonight.
If you’re unfamiliar - a few ROCKSTAR Ruff Riders down in the front rows have been putting together “The Stable” as reading/heckling material for students at the games.
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