slu72 Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 How? So many weapons including a Larry Bird Clone. A PG who can hit the 3, a good big man, a solid bench....hmmm seems impossible. Give Morrison his points and concentrate on shutting down Ravio (trap him, pressure the ball) and Batista (deny him the ball). Morrison can't beat us all by himself. Make it ugly high 50's low 60's...defend...defend...defend... We aren't going to be able to run on these guys. They like scores in the 90's witness the MSU game and UW game (which they lost by the way). And we've got to make the most of every trip down the floor. There is no way we can win on a poor shooting night. The key is how IV fares against Batista and how we defend Ravio, because I don't care who we put on Morrison he's not gonna be stopped unless he has a poor shooting night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kshoe Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 it can be done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwyjibo Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Gonzaga has a lot of offensive weapons. They move, pass and shoot well on offense (and they seem to enjoy scoring). However, after seeing bits of games against Portland State and now E. Washington I am not too worried about their defense which was supposed to be better this year. They do have some defensive intensity but both PSU and EWU were able to pass and dribble around for easier baskets. I would definitely give the impressive Zag offense the nod but if SLU plays all out on D they should be able to generate enough offense to keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 I wish they didn't get a wake up call right before us though. I'm sure it will be noted that they can't take anyone lightly. After the close call they will probably come out more than ready to play. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted December 20, 2005 Author Share Posted December 20, 2005 Was thinking the same when I saw the score. Hoping for a bit of blowout against EW. The knock on the Zags in SI's preview was who will defend. Morrison is really supposed to be lazy on D. They're kind of like UNC last year, they can score so often in so many ways they don't need to defend. It'll take a huge effort to win, but it can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU_Nick Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Looking at the schedule at the beginning of the year. Did you guys think Gonzaga or UNC was a more winnable game. I thought it was Gonzaga, but after seeing how Morrison refuses to lose, I really dont know anymore. Do you think we will do better or worse than UNC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Better. It's a home game. Every home game is winnable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted December 20, 2005 Author Share Posted December 20, 2005 Nah, I thought UNC since they returned no one and were starting a lot of Frosh. We gave them a run. Zags are loaded. Beatable? Based on last night against EW, it looks like it if you don't get caught up in their tempo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SShoe Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 When you're at home in front of a large excited crowd, anything can happen. I think we can win this game. Maybe thursday will be one of those nights where everything just works. If we play like we did against NC we have a chance. If nothing else, we get to watch our boys go up against arguably the best player in the country. I'm excited and like I said, you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKZAG Posted December 20, 2005 Share Posted December 20, 2005 Last night was another one of those games for the Zags. They kinda ho-hummed it, got behind early and finally surged ahead in the last five minutes. Few called the effort "Pathetic" after the game. I'd love to say that alone would be a wake-up call, but we just had four grind-it-out games in a row - all wins, but far from easy. We would prefer an up-tempo game to maximize our "offensive efficiency," but should expect that the Billikens would like to slow it down (?). At this point, it really is a question of which Zag team shows up. They tend to play to the competition, which can be maddening as a fan, but we just aren't a team that blows people away. More and more, I am convinced that the way to beat us is to cut off the head - Raivio. Get him in foul trouble and then pressure our young guards. Versus EWU we had only 6 turnovers (they had 6 in the first say seven minutes against Virginia), so we are starting to protect the ball better. I really think I like this team better when they play away from home. They just seem more focused on the road. Guess we'll see Thursday. Good luck y'all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogshawn Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Hey everyone, another zag has made it over. Looking forward to Thursday's game, as I grew up in St Louis a big Billiken's fan. Have lost track of them over the last 3-4 years when we moved away, and it seems the program has really suffered without me So, here's a couple questions for you: do you feel romar leaving SLU hurt your team? He has been great up here at UW the last few years, and was really picking up the Billikens before he left. I know this was several years ago, but this is the time where his loss would be most strongly felt, as his last recruiting class would be upperclassmen who had worked with him for several years. How do you see yourselves matching up with the Zags? someone on our board posted something about your first 6 being pretty small, leaving a big problem in size, as we have batista at 6-9, Mallon at 6-9, and Morrison at 6-8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 We've got problems at power forward, namely the lack of a good one. Justin Johnson at 6'8" has that skills and most of the time the heart and not always the brains (imo) We've got a terrific Center in Ian Voyoukas and a bunch of good guards. Romar left us at the roadside like a two bit lady of ill repute. He nearly missed on a few prize recruits and his second choises were academic nightmares. The one highly sought after kid he did get is now playing for UCLA (Hollins.) The cubboard wasn't dry for Brad starting out, it was freaking reposessed. A few Bills fans will give LoRoad the benefit of the doubt that he might have started hitting on the big time recruits. Not me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUinSTL Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 I too, will be at the GU vs SLU matchup. As a Zag fan now living in St.Louis, I will have to cheer on my Bulldogs, though. I'm really hoping for an exciting game. Like AK said, it's just a matter of which Gonzaga team shows up. Good luck to everybody! ~B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Hopefully it'll be the jet lagged, ice cold shooting variety. In any case it's good to play ya. GU is what SLU is aspiring to be...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUinSTL Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Haha. Yeah, travelling can be rough, but they're no strangers to big games out of town. I'm picking up my parents from the airport (from Spokane) about 2 hours before gametime. Hopefully the players will have gotten a little more time to settle in than that! I went to see SLU play Marquette here last year, and I was really impressed with the pep band. Very nice atmosphere. I imagine having 14k people there tomorrow night will definitely make it a more memorable experience, though. What is Savvis' capacity? It will be really interesting to see how a midwest town accepts Adam Morrison & Co. I mean, how many people will be Zag fans, or just big college b-ball fans in general, who are looking to see what all the fuss is about. I can't wait! ~B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 savvis i believe holds around 22k for a basketball game. i have to tell you zaga guys. i am tremendously impressed by your visits. typically when a team's cyber fans visit, we get trash talked and all of you have been nothing but nice. thank you. btw, what would be the addy of the most active gonzaga message board? it is always fun to visit the opponent's nest before a game and see what is being said about the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billiken Rich Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 The great thing about playing in a big arena is that you can pack'em in for the big games. The downside is that you can be outnumbered by supporters of the other team. I've never seen a team travel like Louisville. There was a couple games where they brought as many people as we did....... The band is THE best. I haven't been everywhere obviously but I've never heard better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUinSTL Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 Thanks for the compliment. I like to keep it fairly clean. That's just my personal preference since I've been on the Gonzaga forum just a short while, and people from other teams have come in and cluttered every single post to the point where it's beyond annoying. But anyway... www.Gunation.com will point you in the right direction. It's a good group of very knowledgeable fans in there. you'll be welcomed, since they always seem up for a good debate. just don't mention the 'stache! haha! I'm going to get a little farther off topic here, but where do you guys recommend parking before the game. My intend is go out after the game with my family and few friends for drinks. Would Houlihan's be a good spot to go where we would only have to park once for the whole night? Thanks again. ~B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 a lot of the lots around the savvis want to close shortly after the game so if you are planning to do something like houlihans at union station or hard rock, after the game, you might be best parking at union station and walking up the street to the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted December 21, 2005 Share Posted December 21, 2005 It's supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, so the walk won't be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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