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 fredocoug |
Well St Mary's I have no idea how this one is going to go. |
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Posts: 1 (03/16/09 09:49) |
I only was able to watch you play games, and it was just bits and pieces mostly vs Gonzaga(channel surfing addiction) so I do not know much about your team
minus Mills and Sanham.
Should be a great game, win or loose for both teams. Anything you want to know let me know. |
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outsideinside |
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Posts: 7 (03/16/09 10:33) |
Looking forward to the game. It is rare for us to get a quality opponent into our gym so as much as we wish the team was off playing in the big dance it does
give us fans another chance to appreciate the team. The question for the Cougs is which team shows up? The one the beat ASU and UCLA or the one that lost to
OSU? Is it your bigs that decide this or Rochestie? How will we be able to tell early if Wazu is on?
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fredocoug |
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Posts: 2 (03/16/09 12:26) |
The last truly poor overall game we played was agains OSU, wow do I want that one back. Something really clicked with this team after our loss to USC, they
have been a different team ever since. Most importantly 2 of the 3 freshman we rely on started to play very good defensive basketball and have taken over more
of the playing time from upperclassmen. Deangelo Casto played great D all season and only recently have Marcus Capers and Klay Thompson done so as well. That
is the way it has been from the start with first Dick and now Tony, if you are a defensive liability you will not play(except for Thompson with his offense).
Even the UCLA game last week showed that they have imporved and matured. They were down flat as a board coming out of the gates and down something like 18
points in the first and got it back to 5 with just a few minutes to go.
WSU is a wierd team to judge and has been for the last 3 years. When we are on it is never just one or two guys it is those two guys plus someone else who is hot that day and it is always a different player. It might be Casto, or Calebe Forrest you just never know. Yeah Taylor went nuts agains Oregon and UCLA, but in wins against ASU and AZ, Mississippi ST he did not really shoot well. That is the kind of beauty of the kids on this teams, since they could care less who scores they just want to win. If I were a betting man though I would say WSU is going to go after Samhan early with Baynes and try to establish his presence inside. Baynes has that great 6-7ft jump hook thats is so hard to defend. I either touches noting but net, or just klangs around the rim and eventually falls, since it is so soft. I would also venture to say that there will be a set 3 play if we win the tip for Thompson. I think Baynes has only lost 2 or 3 tips this season(much better jumper that I even thought). If he can get his feet set and hits that shot right off the bat his confidence will by sky high. In the games where he has dropped in 20 plus points that first or second shot tells alot about how it is going to go. The other thing that will show if we are going to be good out of the gate is the first few defensive trips down the floor. If you cannot get it inside the key and they will do everthing in their power to do that, shows the kids they are ready to play on both ends of the floor. |
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mills4prez |
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Posts: 52 (03/16/09 01:25) |
Looks like the WSU fans will be at McKeon in good force...
NIT Tickets Sold Out March 16, 2009 PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State University's allotment of 100 general admission tickets for its NIT first round game at St. Mary's have sold out. |
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fredocoug |
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Posts: 3 (03/16/09 01:34) |
WSU travels very well for BB and football. We actually have quite a good sized Alumni base in the Bay Area as well.
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tomgyrl31 |
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Posts: 697 (03/16/09 04:12) |
Anyone know - Are the Cougs only allowed 100 GA tickets? We need Saint Patty's Cathedral to rock!
Here's what they're saying about the Gaels - from the CougZone.com website: The NIT brackets are finally filled out and now the serious analysis and prognostication can begin. The Washington State University Cougars were awarded a seventh seed and sent to Moraga, California, where they will play the second-seeded Saint Mary's Gaels from the West Coast Conference. CougZone profiles the Gaels... St. Mary's Gaels West Coast Conference (26-6, 10-4) Seed: #2 RPI: 45 Big Wins: 11/30 vs Providence (81-75), 12/13 vs San Diego State (67-64), 2/21 Utah State (75-64) Bad Losses: 11/27 vs UTEP (62-75), 1/31 at Portland (66-84), 2/7 at Santa Clara (52-70) Head Coach: Randy Bennett
Probable Starters: Patrick Mills, Sophomore, Guard, 17.8 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 spg Mickey McConnell, Sophomore, Guard, 5.8 ppg, 2.3 apg Wayne Hunter, Junior, Guard, 6.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg Diamon Simpson, Senior, Forward, 13.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 1.7 bpg Omar Samhan, Junior, Center, 14.2 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg Key Role Players: Carlin Hughes, Senior, Guard, 8.4 ppg, 3.5 apg Ian O'Leary, Senior, Forward, 4.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg Lucas Walker, Senior, Forward, 3.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg Why They Can Surprise: Point guard Mills may get all the press, but Saintt. Mary's has a few players in the frontcourt who deserve some headlines. Simpson is a great slasher and will use his amazing vertical leap to be a dominating force on the glass and a solid shot blocker. He ended the regular season averaging 13.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Samhan, a 6-11 center, puts up numbers similar to Simpson's. However, Samhan is a pure big man who will hang out in the paint and play with his back to the basket. O'Leary usually gets the starting nod at the small forward position. He is not a big time scorer, but he does all the little things. At 6-7 he has pretty good size for a small forward and he will use that size to help Simpson and Samhan on the glass. In fact, outside of the starting frontcourt duo, nobody on the team averages more than 4.3 rebounds per contest. That would be a bad thing, but Simpson, Samhan and O'Leary do a good enough on the glass for the Gaels to rank 12th in the nation in rebounding margin.
Why They Can Disappoint: The only thing really lacking on this team is a shooting guard who can consistently knock down the three-pointer. Mills is easily the most prolific shooter on the team, but getting some help from the rest of the backcourt would be beneficial. Hughes is one option. The 6-2 senior can knock down some three's, but he hit under 32 percent from beyond the arc. Hunter's numbers are not much better from long range. If Mills is not hitting the outside shot, somebody else better or it could be a short tournament. Who To Watch: Mills - if he is back at full strength. The Australian superstar broke his right hand on January 29th against Gonzaga. Including that game, which the Gaels were dominating before Mills left, the team lost four of their next five games. St. Mary's eventually learned to play without Mills and finished the regular season strong, but if Mills is not playing like he did earlier in the season, the Gaels will struggle offensively and defensively. At this point, Mills appears to be close to full strength and if that is the case, his injury should not be much of an issue in the tournament. McConnell was Mills' replacement and did a decent job running the point. However, he is nowhere near the scorer of Mills and will have stretches where he commits too many turnovers. By the Numbers: Scoring Offense: 73.7 (76th in nation, 2nd in conference) Scoring Defense: 63.3 (65, 3) Field-Goal Percentage: 44.9 (112, 4) Field-Goal Defense: 40.8 (54, 2) Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.7 (124, 4) Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (173, 5) Free-Throw Percentage: 69.0 (162, 6) Rebound Margin: 7.2 (12, 1) Assists Per Game: 13.9 (108, 3) Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (84, 2) Wazzu will be the #7 seed and will play #2 seed Saint Mary's at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 in Moraga in a game televised on ESPN2.
Pre-Olympics Shanghai ESPN basketball announcer: "If you're Mark Few watching from Gonzaga, you're having nightmares - he'll have his hands
full (next year)............This dude (Patty Mills) can PLAY!" 8-5-08
Last Edited By: tomgyrl31
03/16/09 05:20.
Edited 1 times.
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DesMoinesWACoug |
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Posts: 1 (03/16/09 07:58) |
This should be a very entertaining game. I'm really looking forward to it.
Like most Coug games, I think this one is going to be a 1-2 possession game with about 2:00 min left. Here's to a well-officiated, spirited contest. |
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Nevtelen |
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Posts: 34 (03/16/09 08:46) |
Even though I think the Gaels are the better team, I think this will be really tough for you guys. WA St really packs it in the lane, almost completely denies
transition opportunities by sending almost all their guys back to stop any break, has great help D, doesn't turn it over that much, and makes driving
really really tough. They also slow the game down and play a grind-it-out, tough, possession by possesion style that is pretty much the antithesis of what St
Mary's wants to do. GU was able to get lots of TOs @ WSU and blew them out of the gym, but they are playing a lot better now than they were then.
They're also pretty happy to be in the NIT, I think, so there's a psychological difference from SMC there.
I don't think SMC will have lots of problems with Baynes - he's good, no question, but a very similar player to Samhan (including his skill level) and I don't think Wazzu has anyone to match up well with Simpson. I also think Mills will do fine with Rochestie (though if Rochestie is hitting from deep, watch out). I think you guys will have problem matching up with Klay Thompson, too, but he's up-and-down and a freshman, so it could not be a problem. Overall, offensively, WSU shouldn't be a huge problem for you guys IMO. It's their D and ball-control that will win or loose the game. The tempo will be the biggest problem - the Gaels will have to be hitting from the outside to win this, I think. Otherwise, WSU will have an excellent chance. I usually cheer for WSU, but am pulling for you guys to win the NIT this year, so I hope you kick some Coug butt! |
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