+4 ranking jump on KenPom. Back to 49, highest we’ve been all season (we were 49 @ New Mexico).
We are 39 on Torvik, waiting to see the result populate there (I am such a nerd).
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Nevada about to win which will help SCU as well.
It all came up Santa Clara today except for the Ramblers…
Still, it will be fun to ask where you were the night that SCU’s freshmen combined for 67 points.
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tied for second highest scoring output by a WCC player this year, behind WSU’s Ace Glass who had 40 in Maui
At the end, I don’t think there was anyone to bring in other than Gehrig, someone had to stay on the floor lol
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Broncos took 19 more shots than LMU. Also, outrebounded LMU by 13 (46 t0 33), including 10 more O-boards (18-8). Pair that with the aforementioned 6 turnovers by SCU (to LMU’s 16), and we have the recipe to an exceptional confidence-building game.
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There is such a widening split in talent level in the WCC. We are now (knock on wood) absolutely dominating most teams in the conference. We need to continue taking care of business against pacific.
This league is going to be very interesting when Gonzaga leaves.
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Perhaps the best thing about Gonzaga leaving the conference is the improvement in SCU’s chances of making the conference final game each year. Unfortunately, without Gonzaga in the conference, teams other than SMC will need to start scheduling a much stronger pre-conference slate of games. Otherwise, the WCC will be relegated to being a perennial one-bid league.
Sasha obviously had a great game. But what strikes me is that it appears fairly repeatable. Other than the total bomb at the end, the shots were not high degree of difficulty for him. He did add some nice left handed finishes that I hadn’t seen before, but those looked very polished.
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How do you feel about Sasha playing as a primary ballhandler? For my tastes, he plays too loose with the ball. He leads the team in turnovers/minute (just slightly more than Darlan); For comparison, his turnover rate is about 40% higher than Knapper, and about 60% higher than Hammond.
Given his beautiful long distance shot, I’d prefer seeing him as a 2.
Sasha needs to work on those handles before assuming primary ball handling responsibilities. He seems to have improved some already this season, but still not ready for heavy pressure. Better at the 2 for now.
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Totally agree here. The Broncos’ chances for the tournament go way up with the Zags gone.
I might be showing my age but I’d like to see a few more assists out of my primary ball handler. He was feeling it last night but Sash only had one assist. And if I recall correctly it was a pass to Bukky for an early in the shot clock 3 pointer.
Overall great game by the Broncos last night. Tho me being an old head I do think 14 assists on 37 FGs is a bit low.
Also want to add with Gonzaga leaving id love for the WCC to get rid of the top 2 seeds getting byes to the Semis. That was a concession to the Zags and needs to be ended.
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I’m with LL in large part. I’m really glad that the lid came off of the hoop for Sash.
But in a one-possession game, I probably only want him to take about half of the shots he did last night. It was clear with the hot hand that the coaches gave him the unequivocal green light. And I thought that by the second half, he brought the defense out beyond the arc which helped give him space for a couple of solid drives. That was all good. But again, those shots in another game, he may go 1-10, so I hope he will show discipline on the cold nights.
For now, though, we can definitely give Sasha his flowers. What a performance.
Don’t overlook Graves, though. Graves was just as efficient as Sash but with just 17 minutes of run. If Graves could have played a full 40, he was on track for a 30+ point game of his own, not to mention the rebounds and defense he provides down low.
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On Sash….Obviously a nice game for him, shots were falling including some high degree of difficulty (low %) shots.
But I’d pump the brakes on anointing him the answer at PG or as primary playmaker right now. While he’s a good ball handler he often gets out over his skis attempting some very difficult ball handling moves (double crossovers, between the leg to spin move, etc.) and as a result dribbles it off his leg or knee or even loses his balance. Just didn’t happen last night. He’s also struggled against defensive pressure from quicker aggressive point guards….Xavier, New Mexico, and others.
And as Patty noted, shot selection isn’t always great. Old school description would be a ‘gunner’. Needs to find the sweet spot of being aggressive at hunting his shot but not forcing low % shots. I think Hammond is a good example for Sash….Hammond is certainly aggressive offensively including attempting some challenging shots but is still efficient and doesn’t turn the ball over much.
I like Sash’s shot making ability, I think he can be a good 3rd go-to guy after Mahi and Hammond but it depends on who and how he’s being guarded.
And defensively, his lack of high level lateral quickness leads to him giving up blow-bys from time to time.
With Knapper out of eligibility after this season, Sash very well could be the starting PG next season. I’m OK with that but he needs to keep working on the decision making, tighten his handles on the more challenging moves he attempts and continue to work on his quickness/balance/coordination to squeeze however much he can out of his athleticism which will both help him on defense and allow him to better deal with defense pressure from more athletic guards.
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A bonus of Sash’s hot shooting last night: he has pulled himself up to just shy of 35% from beyond the arc on the season and a blistering 45% in conference play. Cochran and Knapper, who remain underwater for the season as a whole, are up to 31% and 41% in conference. It’s Hammond who has cooled off over the last few games as he works to adjust to more defensive attention.
I still would not call this a hot 3P shooting team, but it’s good that the squad has lifted itself to the Mendoza line of 33.3% (and 36.4% in conference so far). If the offense is going to take as many as they do, the Broncos definitely need to make them at better than 33%.
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The interview from Sendek has a little more substance than the usual. He says that the defensive scheme was changed for this season and that this year’s team is, as a whole, more bought in to the defensive side of the floor than prior groups. (Last season’s year-end finish on defense was actually slightly better than this season so far, per Torvik.)
Also note the interesting facts about scoring records in Leavey/for Bronco frosh players. The only game I’ve ever taken in Firestone Fieldhouse was the Brownridge game that set the scoring record. Pretty cool.
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WCC tourney will be returning to a traditional format in ‘27 (source):
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Finally! Though SCU would stand to be a major beneficiary of this going forward. My guess is that without the Zag fans filling Vegas, they need to finally give a reason for other fans to attend.
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Good. The current format is kind of a joke. Theoretically, a bottom 4 team (9th through 12th place) would have to win 6 straight games in 6 days. Odds of that are nil. I understand and agree with rewarding the top teams with a bye but they could have used the same format as the college football playoffs with the top 4 teams getting byes, other 8 play each other to advance to quarterfinals.
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Totally. The tournament format was billed as important to help the best teams get to the Tournament because that secured the most NCAA units for the conference. But over the past 4-5 years, it was really just a Gonzaga power play. They negotiated to get the lion’s share of the NCAA money and, especially as USF and SCU started putting together regular top-100 seasons, put the other teams at a disadvantage. In a year when you have two at-large teams (Zags and SMC), the best thing for the conference is for your 3rd or 4th place team to secure the auto bid. The Zags were quite good at the Melian Dialogue of it all, and I won’t miss that element of their time in the conference.
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I forgot to post this yesterday for the Broncos foul too much crowd on this board. At the pregame Bistro someone asked Coach Ludwig about the Broncos and fouling. He said the coaching staff isn’t worried about it too much because analytically it doesn’t matter. The Broncos wanted to emphasize Offensive rebounds and steals this season and they’re top 30 in both. Crashing the boards may lead to easy transition baskets and fouls but it also leads to second chance points and helps the Broncos defensively. Same with going for steals and fouling. Steals and easy baskets from those steals outweigh the fouls. The Broncos depth helps if someone is in foul trouble. Their ability to shoot the 3 helps with the free throw discrepancy from said fouling.
Not sure if I agree but if they have the statistics to back this up and justify their play style who am I to argue.
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