TV: WCCNetwork (fingers crossed for a better stream).
Line: ESPN has 60% win probability for the Broncos, no line yet on ESPN. Torvik has it Broncos -3 and 62% win probability.
Was awesome to see us handle Stanford with relative ease. That said, rebounding is still a big concern for me. Stanford outrebounded us by 7 and had 17 offensive rebounds; #'s are even worse when viewed by the more relevant rebounding %. Great shooting can mask other issues but you are bound to have some off shooting nights and when you do it is Defense and Rebounding which will pull you through. Hoping to see improved rebounding, continued low turnovers and a bit more production off the bench.
Nevada is 1-1 coming off what they would have to consider a bad loss to USD 75-68. Top players for Nevada are:
6-2 junior guard Grant Sherfield (15ts, 6 assists per game)
6-4 senior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. (15 pts/game)
7-0 junior center Warren Washington (11 pts, 7.5 rebs)
Bramah was in concussion protocol vs. USD. They’re still big without him but he looks to be an outstanding rebounder and effective scorer in the lane. A lot like Anosike in playing taller than he is with + athletic ability. Don’t think his status is known for tomorrow. Either way, this will be another really challenging game on the boards, and hopefully SCU can do better.
Playing teams that rebound well seems like it’s going to be a running them for a while.
I’m a little apprehensive about this game but hopeful that the really solid offense seen so far continues. SJSU nearly gave Stanford another loss last night which makes me a bit worried that the otherwise-sterling impression I got from the Cardinal shellacking is a tad misleading–though SJSU looks to also be considerably improved.
UNR will be another good data point, and I’m hopeful that some focused defense will complement what is clearly a newly-discovered offensive potency for SCU. 81-75 Santa Clara. Braun gets 14 and 8 boards.
P.S. By the metrics, SCU has one of the better games on the night. Here’s to hoping the stream can actually stay live for more than 3 min at a time.
Just saw where Nevada has Will Baker, the 7 foot transfer from Texas and former Top 50 National Recruit. This will be a challenging game for sure. Most places have Nevada a 1 or 2 pt favorite. Biggest concern for me is interior depth.
And he’s a 7 footer averaging 3 rebounds a game in 27 minutes. Not that long ago that would have gotten a guy put on the bench. Oh how times have changed.
Their likely starters go 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 7-0, 7-0. And the 6-4 guy is the 2nd best rebounder so far lol.
One of their bigs doesn’t shoot from 3’s, so might be a decent game for Bediako to play a role.
They were just an average rebounding team last year, so if Bramah is out, maybe they will be that again.
Nevada opened at -3.5 and the sharps jumped all over that and it’s now down to -1.5 to 2.5. Hopefully the players believe as much as Vegas does, and that they can find a solution to the rebounding puzzle.
Pipes, J. Williams, and Vrankic have combined for 4 pts and we are tied at 25. Amazing. Carlos Stewart is going to be really, really good eventually. He can already get to his spot whenever he wants.
The unfortunate thing for the freshmen like Stewart is that they don’t get the extra year that everyone currently on a roster does (I assume anyway, who knows what will change), so he has these super seniors holding him back in his first year, and then he only has 3 left.
I hope he stays around long enough to get his chance.
Bediako is so frustrating. Not sure what has happened with him. Had a really promising first year and then since then can’t get it together. Seems like he gets in a hurry. When he doesn’t, like on the 3 point play, he’s useful.
Really good defense there denying the 2 for 1. Not such great offense taking a shot with 7 seconds left.
Predictable that Nevada would come out strong. Doing all right since weathering that storm.
I’m sorry to be a broken record, but it’s just so embarrassing that the WCC streaming service actually gets worse every year even as the technology gets better and more ubiquitous.