BYU vs Zig Zags smoke 'em if you got 'em

[San Juan Sun]

The Score
BYU 2
Gonzaga 0

We're only 1-2 in recent history against our real rival SMC.

[Blueintheface]

I can't wait to hear about The Dude's haircut. I'll wait up.

[myboynoah]

I bet they learned how to give up from Ray Giacoletti. He is a great guy to have on the staff.

You're killing me, MP. lol

[Jeff Lebowski]

I can't wait to hear about The Dude's haircut. I'll wait up.

I wore a cap. Sorry.

[Surfah]

Solid win. Loving Carlino pushing the ball and getting to the hoop. He finishes better than anyone else not named Noah on this team. Big props to our freshmen. Loved the insertion of Winder over Zylchstra. That was big. His long arms give opposing players fits. And Harrison played well in his minutes. Noah is encroaching on Jake Schoff territory for favorite BYU player ever. The dude is a a hoss. He struggled with his shot the first half and I think was 3-9. But the dude is going to hit his average. He finishes shooting better than 50% with 24 points and 15 boards. I think we're going to miss him next year. Maybe more than we miss Jimmer this year. I know that sounds blasphemous but I am starting to believe it. Davies was solid despite being hampered by foul trouble. Our bigs outplayed their NBA bigs and it wasn't close. Carlino was better than Pangos and Bell. Hell David Stockton was the best guard for GU tonight.

Ugly game for the most part with some really sloppy play in the first half, but I am happy with the win. It was a must win to get into the dance. We just need to win out and make the championship game in the tourney. We can. At Spokane will be our most difficult game. But I think if we pound it inside like we did tonight we can win. We'll need to shoot better from 3 though. I still can't believe how bad we're shooting from there.

[LA Ute]

Great win for you guys over a tough opponent.

[EuropeanFootballMale]

No steaming nuggets of basketball knowledge from higherroad yet? Seems odd.

[higherroad]

BYU deserves credit, Gonzaga was the goat.

As predicted, BYU in a blow-out.

I stated a 6 pt loss -- in the end, BYU won by 10 pts. Still continue my hot streak and winning $ on WCC predictions, nearly a 95% winning WCC record on WCC Bet'em & Sportsbet(both legit sites). Good for me, bad for Gonzaga tonight.

The Cougars were the better team in EVERY phase of the game. I mentioned this beforehand. Read my post on Page 2. BYU seemed focused, while GU was sleep walking through interviews, practice, and preparations. I sensed this early on and expressed this worry prior to the game.

It displayed itself on the court. Our best players sucked it up. Our worst players played OK. Unreal to watch Elias Harris(our very best) only play 20 mins while Carter/Dower/Stockton play majority of mins this game. Go figure.

The officiating was NOT the reason for once...no excuses(except for the few offensive fouls on Zags in 1st half it was OK for WCC officiating which is saying a lot over the yrs).

BYU was simply better, more physical, clearly wanted it more, and made things happen.

Gonzaga was aloof, played with zero purpose, and possibly the worst effort overall I've seen all season.

This has no bearing on BYU's effort and terrific game. Very balanced, gritty, and deserved to win.

Most teams SHOULD win at home yet the WCC is held to a different standard, imho. Which isn't entirely fair...

I felt in my heart of hearts BYU would win this game and as you know, chalked this up to a loss long ago, I just didn't expect our best players to play with ZERO life and effort all night long. Not strong with the ball, didn't demand anything, and couldn't muster up any consistency...pathetic game as a Zag fan to watch...our message board is in full melt-down.

BYU Cougars deserve all the credit. They were the better team. They wanted it more. They executed.

Congrats on the win. Much-neeeded. Much-deserved.

As stated earlier, hopefully, this is the game that ignites a spark. Zags kinda suck this season, definitely a "down" year. The worst I've seen us play since '98 overall.

I'm just hoping we can respond and salvage a season to make the NCAA's. Same with BYU. We're in the same boat. Outside looking in, until we can prove ourselves.

We play BYU in 2 wks in Spokane. From what I've seen tonight, I fully expect a BYU blow-out at our place. We stink, until proven otherwise.

Good win. Celebrate appropriately and we'll see you in a few...its most likely 1 of 3 match-ups on the season...

BYU spanked us Game 1.

As it stands right now, I'm not sure Gonzaga will compete in the remaining matches either...

[old_gregg]

We play BYU in 2 wks in Spokane. From what I've seen tonight, I fully expect a BYU blow-out at our place. We stink, until proven otherwise.

seems like this kind of expectation management is common in the wcc.

[higherroad]

seems like this kind of expectation management is common in the wcc.

Well, Zags are just so-so at home this season and atrocious on the road(solid neutral road team)...it could go either way, but what I/you/us saw tonight...BYU was the better team, no doubt. No ifs, ands, buts about tonight...hell, our lowest bench players were our best players...that says it all. Considering our overall youth, I feel Coach Few has made things too complicated as the season progressed, b/c we've certainly regressed. BYU on the rise? Very well could be.

[Viking]

As predicted, BYU in a blow-out.

I stated a 6 pt loss -- in the end, BYU won by 10 pts. Still continue my hot streak and winning $ on WCC predictions, nearly a 95% winning WCC record on WCC Bet'em & Sportsbet(both legit sites). Good for me, bad for Gonzaga tonight.

The Cougars were the better team in EVERY phase of the game. I mentioned this beforehand. Read my post on Page 2. BYU seemed focused, while GU was sleep walking through interviews, practice, and preparations. I sensed this early on and expressed this worry prior to the game.

It displayed itself on the court. Our best players sucked it up. Our worst players played OK. Unreal to watch Elias Harris(our very best) only play 20 mins while Carter/Dower/Stockton play majority of mins this game. Go figure.

The officiating was NOT the reason for once...no excuses(except for the few offensive fouls on Zags in 1st half it was OK for WCC officiating which is saying a lot over the yrs).

BYU was simply better, more physical, clearly wanted it more, and made things happen.

Gonzaga was aloof, played with zero purpose, and possibly the worst effort overall I've seen all season.

This has no bearing on BYU's effort and terrific game. Very balanced, gritty, and deserved to win.

Most teams SHOULD win at home yet the WCC is held to a different standard, imho. Which isn't entirely fair...

I felt in my heart of hearts BYU would win this game and as you know, chalked this up to a loss long ago, I just didn't expect our best players to play with ZERO life and effort all night long. Not strong with the ball, didn't demand anything, and couldn't muster up any consistency...pathetic game as a Zag fan to watch...our message board is in full melt-down.

BYU Cougars deserve all the credit. They were the better team. They wanted it more. They executed.

Congrats on the win. Much-neeeded. Much-deserved.

As stated earlier, hopefully, this is the game that ignites a spark. Zags kinda suck this season, definitely a "down" year. The worst I've seen us play since '98 overall.

I'm just hoping we can respond and salvage a season to make the NCAA's. Same with BYU. We're in the same boat. Outside looking in, until we can prove ourselves.

We play BYU in 2 wks in Spokane. From what I've seen tonight, I fully expect a BYU blow-out at our place. We stink, until proven otherwise.

Good win. Celebrate appropriately and we'll see you in a few...its most likely 1 of 3 match-ups on the season...

BYU spanked us Game 1.

As it stands right now, I'm not sure Gonzaga will compete in the remaining matches either...

It was 15 points, but who's counting?

[Guest]

BYU still can't buy a bucket from the outside to save their lives. I thought it was a solid win but don't think Gonzaga will play like shit at home. I expected their freshmen to be well freshmen on the road. Pangos and Bell will play better at home. Winder played great! He deserves more and more of Zylchstra's minutes. Chuck was invisible this game and continues to get worse as the season progresses. Something is just not right with that dude. I get that he was in foul trouble most of the game but for a Senior he just is not consistent. He is the opposite of Hartsock who is straight up M O N E Y.

Our defense was great. Carlino played great too. He pushed the ball but did not play out of control. This kid is gonna be a player! Davies played great too. He is a beast on the block and is almost unguardable 1 on 1. If he can continue to progress, I expect next year to be really great for BYU hoops. Winder was terrific. He had a handful of steals, he played aggressive and he was able to stop penetration, which Zylchstra can't do. Let Zylchstra come in and spell guys here and there and that should be it. 15 minutes a game tops.

[Jeff Lebowski]

It was 15 points, but who's counting?

Not you, apparently.

[smokymountainrain]

Hell David Stockton was the best guard for GU tonight.

Based on what I've seen of Gonzaga this year, Stockton is the best guard on Gonzaga's team. Pangos has been getting all kinds of love and recognition from the media this season as one of the top freshmen in the country, but every time I've watched, Gonzaga has been better with Stockton running the team.

[Green Monstah]

Based on what I've seen of Gonzaga this year, Stockton is the best guard on Gonzaga's team. Pangos has been getting all kinds of love and recognition from the media this season as one of the top freshmen in the country, but every time I've watched, Gonzaga has been better with Stockton running the team.

I was impressed with his quickness. I was irked with how much Jerry Sloan was shown on the screen last night.