Not only that but we make a few throw (O’Neil) we win. We had Bal and Marshall guarding Robertson 5 times down the stretch in reg - all baskets all mismatches. We just can’t seem to do the basics like St. Mary’s who seem to most always have the right guys on defense and the right matchups on offense. They are a team and it looks like our guys are playing for scouts and not each other, not realizing that post season is what scouts may judge them by.
Maybe this season is the curse of back to back NBA draftees and those who hope to join them. Guess what, losing to the Portlands doesn’t help anyone.
The only salvation is to beat St. Mary’s in the semis IF we can get there…
I 110% concur on his FT shooting. Its HORRENDOUS. I sent him a “love note” saying as much. No excuses either. He HAS to work on them.
I always told Cam growing up that defense wins games. Unfortunately, lack thereof will lose games too. Some of our guys just do not play a physical game when they should.
I think Portland having only five fouls with seconds left in a half to our 12 is one sided. Carlos was torpedoed into right in front of ref and no call.
Against Portland the Refs shouldn’t even be a factor though. We should’ve blown this team out. But it did feel very one sided.
I’m still upset at the loss. And USF is getting demoralized by the Zags at “home” which should have set SCU up perfectly.
Now locked in the 4 seed even with beating USF on Saturday. It might be “better” to play SMC, especially with them down rotation players. But it’s hard to see how this team would beat SMC anyways at this point.
It wasn’t. Poorly called game tonight:
(1) Block call in Carlos was atrocious.
(2) Cam picking up a loose ball foul while rebounding because Robertson fell.
(3) No call foul when Ensminger injured.
(4) No call foul when Carlos was hit on the pass - right in front of the ref.
(5) Caffaro undercut while in air and no call?
Wonder who gave JB a late hit to send him to floor?
Pretty one sided tonight. In my opinion.
But at end of the day - guys have to accept the refs were out of their league in this game and just stay focussed. Play harder.
I STILL believe we are a better match up against St Marys than Gonzaga. That last appearance in Moraga showed that.
That SAME team needs to show up at the WCC tourney and get a long overdue win against the Gaels. I’m not sure Saxon stardom carries in Vegas same as it does in WCC.
Glad I missed this game… had a feeling this was coming re: my post pregame.
Ugh
Yes, that was a bad, non-competitive loss, and now that I think about it, the losses to Ohio State, Cal, and both SMC games were atrocious.
The sad part is that there are so many bad losses to choose from this season.
I really believe we’ve peaked with Herb. Seems like a great guy, but I’m ready for something new.
Here is the thing, YES, the recruiting has improved, but the facilities are also far better than any other coach has had. I actually think KK could have recruited just as well (don’t get me started on his offensive sets).
Glad we’re in the top 4, but I want more.
Did anyone else notice we took exclusively NBA threes tonight? Did no one on the coaching staff tell our players that Portland’s G League team also plays at the Chiles Center and the black three point line was NBA range?
I noticed but initially made the mistake of thinking the inside line was the women’s line. Gorosito got a couple catch and shoot threes that were at the college line, and I got mad because I too thought the exterior line was the correct one and those shots should have been called 2s. But the Broncos ended up getting a good 3 percentage down the stretch because of Bal, so it’s hard to say that it mattered much.
It’s sad that SCU was on its own multi-year run against Portland, having won 17 straight over 8 years. That’s gone now.
Again, I am a 25 year Zag fan but have been following and rooting forSanta Clara (except when playing the Zags of course) since the days of Henry Caruso. Santa Clara has played some good games this year (Stanford, Washington State, Oregon, Gonzaga). However, it seems right after a good game, they go out and lay an egg. The team that beat the Zags was not the same team that got killed by St. Mary’s a short time later. The same team that hung with the Zags on Saturday was not the same team that was down by 17 points to Portland last night. You really have the talent if only it can all come together.
It’s the coaching. It’s that simple.