BYU vs Gonzaga Thread

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I imagine Craig Thompson was hoping for St. John's last night. I wonder how much CBS will talk about tomorrow being the beginning of the BYU/Gonzaga WCC rivalry?

[Flystripper]

I am not sure what you mean. I demonstrated the path to a winning score. Perhaps you'd like to take issue with my assumptions as opposed to a generalization?

I have not read the thread yet but the only faulty assumption is that Gonzaga will only score their average

[Art Vandelay]

i haven't read all the posts in this thread, so this likely has already said. Gonzaga plays terrible perimeter defense, shooting guards have killed them all year long. The guard from St. Marys had open shots in all 3 meetings, but couldn't get them to drop in the championship game. Jimmer, Jax and Chuck will have plenty of open looks; I trust 1/3 of that trio to make them.

Texts I received last night

BYU-GU will be fun.....for Jimmer

BYU received a gift from the committee with Gonzaga. They have absolutely no one to guard Jimmer.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

The guard from St. Marys had opened shots in all 3 meetings, but couldnt' get them to drop in the championship against them. Jimmer, Jax and Chuck will have plent of open looks; I trust 1/3 of that trio to make them.

The way Jax has been playing offensively I expect him to have 6-9 points then!

[ERCougar]

It will take the role players in Jax, Noah, Charles, Kyle to really be on their games and make shots if BYU even has a prayer of winning. Jax's shot has disappeared into "nowhere land" and I hope he gets it back, because he's been absolutely brutal since Davies has been gone.

This is exactly my point in the Davies thread. Davies is a really nice player, a nice bonus for our team. But with the exception of SDSU I, I can't think of another game where we've looked really good where one of these role players haven't done something well. We don't depend on Davies--we depend on someone besides Jimmer showing up.

And actually, if you really look at the numbers fairly, we rebound just as well or better without Davies.

[HBCoug]

The way Jax has been playing offensively I expect him to have 6-9 points then! (In the first half)

Agreed!

[TripletDaddy]

The way Jax has been playing offensively I expect him to have 6-9 points then!

And probably 6 of those points will come in the final 6 minutes of the game when the outcome has been decided, making his overall game look better than it really was.

[Goatnapper'96]

I think the keys to the game are this:

1.) Jax's shooting. I don't think BYU can beat the Zags unless Jackson scores 14 points.

2.) Chuck's fouls. Abouo needs to play 28 minutes for BYU to beat the Zags.

3.) Offensive boards for the Zags. Kyle Collinsworth needs to get at least 8 boards.

To win Jax must score 14 and BYU needs one of the other two to materialize.

Clearly these are not the same teams they were 1-2 months ago. Zaga is playing its best ball of the year and BYU is not the same team it was with Brandon. IMO, this would be a very good win for this team but it is not an insurmountable challenge. BYU is not deep but it still has some really good players and some tough role players.

[SeattleUte]

I would guess BYU -2.5

Gonzaga -1.5. Does this make you feel like a total dumb ass? It should but I doubt it will.

http://www.jvsportspicks.com/tag/byu...ga-vegas-odds/

[U-Ute]

That is one thing BYU has been lacking in the MWC....a peer that merits respect and that is continually raising the profile of the conference.

San Diego State got the higher seed....?

[ERCougar]

I think the keys to the game are this:

1.) Jax's shooting. I don't think BYU can beat the Zags unless Jackson scores 14 points.

2.) Chuck's fouls. Abouo needs to play 28 minutes for BYU to beat the Zags.

3.) Offensive boards for the Zags. Kyle Collinsworth needs to get at least 8 boards.

To win Jax must score 14 and BYU needs one of the other two to materialize.

Clearly these are not the same teams they were 1-2 months ago. Zaga is playing its best ball of the year and BYU is not the same team it was with Brandon. IMO, this would be a very good win for this team but it is not an insurmountable challenge. BYU is not deep but it still has some really good players and some tough role players.

Well put. These are exactly the keys I'd watch for. If Jax can't get his game going tomorrow against a poor perimeter defense, we don't deserve Sweet 16. And I'd argue these exact same keys if Davies were here.

[TripletDaddy]

San Diego State got the higher seed....?

Unfortunately they are not continually raising the profile of the conference although they have had a nice season this year. In fact, in their greatest season of all time, BYU beat them 2 of 3 and only lost after Davies was out.

Aztecs are no rival.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Gonzaga -1.5. Does this make you feel like a total dumb ass? It should but I doubt it will.

http://www.jvsportspicks.com/tag/byu...ga-vegas-odds/

Geez, counselor, your citation is only to "projected" odds, meaning it's the author's guess, kind of like yours. The current odds by Vegas are "pick em", meaning both contestants in your pissing contest are equal in dumbassdom.

[TripletDaddy]

Well put. These are exactly the keys I'd watch for. If Jax can't get his game going tomorrow against a poor perimeter defense, we don't deserve Sweet 16. And I'd argue these exact same keys if Davies were here.

In fairness, you could argue those same key points for every single game. Jimmer needs to play well, jax needs to play well, and one other needs to step up and play well for us to win.

My guess is that zags have a similar game plan. If 3 guys play well, they probably think they will win.

[pellegrino]

In fairness, you could argue those same key points for every single game. Jimmer needs to play well, jax needs to play well, and one other needs to step up and play well for us to win.

My guess is that zags have a similar game plan. If 3 guys play well, they probably think they will win.

earth shattering