Halftime…Washington State up 9 @ BYU…35-26. WSU should be pretty good next year. Would not surprise me to see Kyle Smith become a hot name for a bigger job if they make the tournament next season and win a game or two.
Washington State wins at BYU 77-58.
They look like a Big Dance team. Definitely mis-seeded in the NIT.
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WSU next year…leading scorer Flowers is out of eligibility.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if Abogidi turns pro…still a little raw and needs to get stronger but otherwise is a prototype, versatile forward who could play the 3, 4 or 5 (in small ball lineup) at the NBA level.
Like a lot of teams, WSU’s fortunes in 2022/23 may depend heavily on the transfer market/outcomes.
I do agree on WSU being under seeded. And I’d say BYU probably over seeded given how they played the later half of the season. But you could probably through all the seeded plus at-large NIT bids in a hat and pull numbers for seeding…very little appreciable difference between most of them.
NIT outcomes are mostly about who is playing better at this time and who is motivated and wants to be there…a lot of guys are probably burned out by the end of season, maybe disappointed they didn’t make the NCAA’s and/or are looking ahead to next steps (transfer, pro, etc.).
Was at the West Regional last night. Couldn’t have been more pleased to see the Zags lose and Coach K win. Yes, I know the league likes the cash the Zags bring in, and it probably makes us look better, but I could care less.
Speaking of the league, a bit of shade was thrown their way after the Zags loss to the Razorbacks about how soft the league is.
First up, Coach Musselman:
"We just wanted to be physical, plain and simple,” Musselman said. “We wanted them to feel bodies. Obviously they played a really tough schedule early in the season, but it’s been a long time in conference play since they faced a team like us.”
Next up, Steven A Smith. Right out of the gate in this clip:
“I think the level of competition you go up against as a conference matters…the come up short based on expectations that their record would bring to the table…”
From there, he goes off on a Chet Holmgren tangent, then picks back up at the 1:00 mark and, if you can read between the lines, is essentially saying that their pile of wins is loaded against weak conference teams and when they face a physical team, they struggle. (Note: I pay attention to about .01% of what this blowhard says. I just happen to come across this in my morning doom scrolling while brushing my teeth.)
Can’t say I disagree. Zags just don’t see the same types of teams in the tourney. Although I did find it interesting that Musselman was so direct. Does he have some beef against the WCC?
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I saw the Musselman clip. He’s right, of course, that the average SEC team provides more of a physical challenge than the average WCC team. He would even be right that Gonzaga hadn’t faced a team as athletic as Arkansas since the preseason. And maybe that’s all he meant–Arkansas emphasized its physicality hoping that the Zags would be unprepared. But there was a weird anti-WCC flavor to the comments that seemed more Twitter take than substance.
The Zags have done just fine over the past 5 seasons beating at various points, the likes of UCLA, USC, Iowa, Auburn, Duke, Kansas, Florida State, Texas Tech, Baylor, etc. etc. etc. And they have the best record in the Tournament of any team over that stretch.
What a bunch of pansies 2019 and then-#1 Duke was with Zion and RJ Barrett for losing to the Zags in Maui. 2017 UNC could only win the Championship by 6 points over a weak and scared Zags squad?! That’s gotta make them the worst championship team, ever, right?
To the extent that Musselman was throwing shade at the WCC, it feels a bit like a misguided “overrated” chant: if the Zags are so weak for playing in the conference, why is it such an accomplishment when the likes of Arkansas squeak out a win against them in the Sweet 16? Arkansas’ “brutal” SEC schedule clearly hasn’t gotten them to the title game twice in four years. Perhaps they should move to the WCC to be better prepared for a deep Tournament run?
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100% with you Patty.
Musselman has been a successful coach but has also always struck me as a bit of an A-hole. In this case certainly not acting like a gracious winner. And strange to bash the WCC considering he played at USD. Also, forgetting the details, but I thought he was considered for at least 1 WCC head coaching position prior getting the Nevada job…maybe a chip on his shoulder he didn’t get the WCC gig???
On the ‘weak WCC’ hurting GU in the tourney…it’s a tired, lazy and simple minded argument IMO. So the weak WCC didn’t stop GU from being the national runner up 2 of the 4 previous seasons the tourney was held plus an Elite Eight in 2015, have more tourney wins than anyone in the country over the past 6 tourneys (I think…forgot that actual stat) but they lay an egg in the Sweet 16 and it’s now the fault of the weak WCC???
If the SEC is so great at preparing teams for the tourney then what happened to #2 seeds Auburn and Kentucky and #3 seed Tennessee…none of whom even made the Sweet 16???
Besides…blaming the WCC, misses the more relevant point…that GU’s rotation has lacked (this season and last) a stronger/physical type. Playing in the SEC or ACC doesn’t make you strong and physical…being strong and physical makes you strong and physical…and GU’s rotation hasn’t been that the last 2 seasons. Consider:
- last season: they had no true center and just 2 forwards in their rotation (Timme and Watson). Watson, who is really a 3 - 4 tweener was their backup center and they were playing a wing, Kispert, as their 4. They had zero rim protection. And while Timme is a skilled post with off the charts footwork, an array of moves and counter moves and great touch around the rim, he was not and is not a banger and is just an average rebounder and post defender.
- this season: yes they added a unicorn in Holmgren and he filled the rim protection void. But he isn’t a center or a banger. He’s a stretch 4 with wing/guard skills who happens to be really tall/long enabling him to rebound and block shots. But their rotation still lacked anyone with physicality. They really could have used someone like Karnowski or Sabonis or going back many years, Turiaf. Someone with some toughness in the paint with the size/strength/mentality to back it up.
Just my opinion.
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I don’t mind musselman - he gives some fun interviews and does not lack personality.
Maybe the beef comes from playing wcc teams while at Nevada. Or potentially from losing out to recruits to this new powerhouse in Spokane. I think Gonzaga’s success definitely aggravates some power conference schools.
Tough to take a ricochet shot at scu during a sweet 16 postgame presser.
With Musselman’s reasoning, the Metro Atlantic must have really toughened up St. Peter’s. I saw Musselman at a coaching clinic Kerry Keating hosted in 2007. He was the most joyless red ass I’ve ever seen.
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A Kerry Keating coaching clinic?? The ultimate oxymoron.
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Five Star PG Anthony Black is planning to make his decision today, and it seems to be between Gonzaga and Arkansas. It’s possible these anti-WCC comments were made as a direct message to Anthony Black about why he should choose Arkansas over Gonzaga.
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Black committed to Arkansas.
That one must sting, especially after Arkansas bounced them out of the tourney.
I think most were expecting him to commit to GU, you know Musselman was in Black’s ear immediately after they beat GU.
Zag fans licking their wounds right now…Nembhard and Bolton likely gone so they’ll have a new starting backcourt.
If NIL money is the deciding factor, seems like Arkansas is going to beat Gonzaga every time. Gonzaga will get plenty of good players with their culture and track record of first round picks, but I think their days of being pre-season #1 in the nation are probably over.
Arkansas has 3 McDonalds AAs and 6 top 100 recruits. Arkansas would like to thank you America, by going to Walmart and eating Tyson Chicken, you have made this all possible #NIL
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) March 29, 2022
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Portland lost to Southern Utah in The Basketball Classic, and sadly had one of their players, Chris Austin, suffer a devastating leg injury.
Parker Braun is getting some TV time sitting behind Kansas bench.
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