Portland:
The Pilots are 7-11 overall, 1-2 in the WCC. Their schedule game Thurs. due to significant weather in Portland and rescheduled for Tues. Last week they lost by 43 to St. Mary’s and by 27 to USF. The Pilots are currently ranked #307 on NET and #293 on Torvik.
Top Players:
6-6 wing Tyler Robertson (15.9pts, 3.9assists, 37% from 3)
The rest of their starting lineup and rotation has been in flux. We’ll likely see both Chris Austin (bigger and better athlete) and Lucas Gorosito (less athletic, shoots a bunch of 3’s) in the backcourt. Starting center will likely be 6-10 Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams or 6-11 Vasilije Vucinic. Yamanouchi did not play in any of their non-con games but has been fairly productive in the three WCC games he has played with 11.3pts, 7.7rebs; he’s also 7/21 from 3…that’s al ot of 3pt attempts in 3 games especially for a big.
3pt shooting from Harris and Yamanouchi will pull the Bronco bigs out of the paint. The Pilots have been a little thin in the frontcourt with a couple of bigs out.
I’ve watched portions of a few Pilots games. True frosh Tyler Harris (from the Bay Area) is fairly athletic, rebounds and can score in a variety of ways but he gets out of control a lot and forces some shots resulting in a low 2pt FG%.
Looking at advance stats, the Pilots are below average at everything and in particular don’t defend well and allow a high shooting %. Offensively they turn the ball over a lot; this may be a game where the Broncos actually win the turnover battle.
For the Broncos, this is another game against a weak, overmatched team. I want to see the Broncos dominate the glass as they did vs. Pacific and defend better. We shot a season high 39 3ptrs, hopefully the Broncos don’t fall in love too much with the 3’s and look to attack the rim and get the ball to the bigs in the paint.
I feel bad for Legans. I think he’s a good coach but Portland can’t keep up in the talent sweepstakes. They don’t have the resources of most WCC programs nor much of a history to point to.
That said, they can find ways to be feisty. 78-61 Santa Clara. Tilly dominates and gets 19 and 10.
I hope you are right, but it seems like wishful thinking. Tilly is 7’ tall, but he plays smaller than his actual size. I’d like to see him be more aggressive at the rim and initiate contact on defenders in motion, as Tilly is a pretty good FT shooter.
Most of the time when he’s around the low block with the ball, Tilly steps in and then jumps backwards, trying to create space, and shoots fade away jumpers. If he get’s the ball down that low, he needs to ensure that he either gets the bucket (dunk or layup) or ends up on the FT line.
Prediction: SCU 85 - 73 Pilots. Bryan has his best game of the season, Chef proves that he’s recovered by having his best game since his illness. SCU plays more zone in this game.
I saw the pilots play Grand Canyon in Phoenix on the same day we played wazzo. They hung with the lopes in the first half but got swamped in the second half. Pilots have some decent players.
Defense is once again playing like touching another player is grounds for the guillotine. Portland is one of the worst teams in D1… put them in their place.
I don’t mind shooting tons of 3’s. If it’s open and you’re a good long range shooter, let it go. After all 3’s are worth 50% more than 2’s. If you shoot 3’s 30% or better, the more 3’s the better.
Sorry BB, partly disagree…30% is equivalent to 45% on 2’s which isn’t good at all. Good teams can shoot 55% from 2.
And use this game as example…at the moment we’re 11/26 from 3, 42% which good and equivalent to 63%. But we’re even better from 2’s at 12/16, 75%. Plus, driving and getting it to the post results in more FT opportunities, the easiest, most efficient way to score.
3pt shooting in general is the least consistent element of the game for all teams. I’m fine with shooting a decent amount of 3’s but there needs to be a balance and we can’t fall in love with it. And as I type we now see success of Bal driving and finishing several times, along w/ Ensminger and it’s allowing us to go on a run and separate a bit.
I’m absolutes disgusted/embarrassed by this “defense” We are about to give up 80+ pts to this completely outmatched Pilots squad. I’m sick to my stomach.
Oh come on 92… implying that SCU shoots 75% inside the arc is just silly. Today is just a one off against a garbage opponent. SCU doesn’t even shoot 50% from inside the arc.
Any small % improvement over 30% from 3 is rather significant on the scoreboard (assuming you shoot enough of them). Have a night where you shoot 37% or better from 3 and ANY team would be hard pressed to beat you, once again assuming you take enough 3’s.
Fire away Broncos!
and I’ve seen paint dry quicker than it takes Robertson to go from the backcourt to the top of the key…that chunky guard is molases. How on Earth can SCU not be all over him?
Of course we don’t shoot 75% on 2’s consistently, but we were tonight because we had an advantage in the post and when our big guards got in the lane…so keep going to it while successful. It’s a lot easier and more likely to be consistent shooting high % 2’s than 3’s where you can go cold even on wide open looks.
And the Broncos are shooting a little over 35% (~53% equivalent 2’s) from 3 on the season and over 53% on 2’s…it’s a wash. So again, keep it balanced, not one or the other. With balance it’s harder for teams to scout and gameplan because there’s multiple things they have to worry about instead of just defending the 3.
And with our size advantage in the frontcourt and wings, we’re doing the other team a favor by settling for 3’s instead of using our size and imposing our will in the paint, through the post and attacking the rim on drives.