Bear Down Wildcats

Seems like we should have a dedicated thread to each opponent rather than comments spread around....

Interesting that they have 7 players from Australia on their roster. I really don't know much about them but will throw out a few stats / comments to get this started.

Overall: 29-4, 2nd place in WCC, only OOC notable wins Nevada 81-63, @ Dayton 61-57, @ Stanford 66-51...Lost at home to UTA 65-51. Looks like they go 9 deep with 8 averaging > 10 mins / game.

Top Players:. Wow, they look like the biggest team we've played yet. All stats are rounded averages per game and ranked in order of point production:

Starters:
1. Landale - Center (Jr.), 6-11, 255 lbs., 17 pts, 9 RPG, FG: 61% (wow), FT: 72%. STUD.
2. Hermanson - F (Jr.), 6-6, 200 lbs., 13 pts, 3 RPG, FG: 50%, FT: 82%, 3pt: 44%, 3pt attempts: 6 / game.
3. Naar- G (Jr.), 6-1, 195 lbs., 10 pts, 2 RPG, FG: 45%, FT: 86%, 3pt: 43%, 3pt. attempts: 3, A/TO: 6/2.5.
4. Rahon- G (Sr.), 6-2, 195 lbs., 8 pts, 4 RPG, FG: 43%, FT: 73%, 3pt: 38%, 3pt. attempts: 3, A/TO: 6/2.
5. Pineau- F (Sr.), 6-9, 225 lbs., 7 pts, 6 RPG, FG: 61%, FT: 55%.

Key Reserves:
6. Fitzner- C (So.), 6-10, 230 lbs., 6pts, 3 RPG, FG: 46%, FT: 70%, 3pt: 44%, 3pt attempts: 3 / game
7. Krebs- G (Fr.), 6-6, 200 lbs., 4pts, 2 RPG, FG: 36%, FT: 90%, 3pt: 35%, 3pt attempts: 2.6 s game. A/TO: .3/.4
8. Clark - F (So.), 6-7, 215 lbs., 3pts, 1.5 RPG, FG: 43%, FT: 84%, 3pt: 38%, 3pt attempts: 1.5

Last game vs. VCU: FG: 56% (25-45), 3pt: 35% (6-17), FT: 74% (29-39). Out-rebounded VCU 37-29 with balanced scoring of 5 players over 12 pts each (Landale 18 pts, 13 boards, 2 blocks, 2 assists).
They did lose the TO battle 15-9.

Their players are mostly upper-classmen, good 3pt shooters....other than this, I got nothing else to add. Thoughts?

More:http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/03/16/m ... h-arizona/

Quick take is we need to get Landale in foul trouble to cripple their inside-outside game. Also, typical Bennett stratagem, they are going to want to slow temp us and shorten the game.

Here is also their fan board: http://godisagael.yuku.com/topic/8168/A ... Mu9LJFXehA

This is going to be a tough test for us. BTFD and let's impose our will Team!

And number 14 on Kenpom vs. our 19. Similar efficiency ratings on both sides of the ball. Kenpom matchup would probably favor them by a couple of points over a hundred possessions.

Bangkok Wildcat wrote:Seems like we should have a dedicated thread to each opponent rather than comments spread around....

Interesting that they have 7 players from Australia on their roster. I really don't know much about them but will throw out a few stats / comments to get this started.

Overall: 29-4, 2nd place in WCC, only OOC notable wins Nevada 81-63, @ Dayton 61-57, @ Stanford 66-51...Lost at home to UTA 65-51. Looks like they go 9 deep with 8 averaging > 10 mins / game.

Top Players:. Wow, they look like the biggest team we've played yet. All stats are rounded averages per game and ranked in order of point production:

Starters:
1. Landale - Center (Jr.), 6-11, 255 lbs., 17 pts, 9 RPG, FG: 61% (wow), FT: 72%. STUD.
2. Hermanson - F (Jr.), 6-6, 200 lbs., 13 pts, 3 RPG, FG: 50%, FT: 82%, 3pt: 44%, 3pt attempts: 6 / game.
3. Naar- G (Jr.), 6-1, 195 lbs., 10 pts, 2 RPG, FG: 45%, FT: 86%, 3pt: 43%, 3pt. attempts: 3, A/TO: 6/2.5.
4. Rahon- G (Sr.), 6-2, 195 lbs., 8 pts, 4 RPG, FG: 43%, FT: 73%, 3pt: 38%, 3pt. attempts: 3, A/TO: 6/2.
5. Pineau- F (Sr.), 6-9, 225 lbs., 7 pts, 6 RPG, FG: 61%, FT: 55%.

Key Reserves:
6. Fitzner- C (So.), 6-10, 230 lbs., 6pts, 3 RPG, FG: 46%, FT: 70%, 3pt: 44%, 3pt attempts: 3 / game
7. Krebs- G (Fr.), 6-6, 200 lbs., 4pts, 2 RPG, FG: 36%, FT: 90%, 3pt: 35%, 3pt attempts: 2.6 s game. A/TO: .3/.4
8. Clark - F (So.), 6-7, 215 lbs., 3pts, 1.5 RPG, FG: 43%, FT: 84%, 3pt: 38%, 3pt attempts: 1.5

Last game vs. VCU: FG: 56% (25-45), 3pt: 35% (6-17), FT: 74% (29-39). Out-rebounded VCU 37-29 with balanced scoring of 5 players over 12 pts each (Landale 18 pts, 13 boards, 2 blocks, 2 assists).
They did lose the TO battle 15-9.

Their players are mostly upper-classmen, good 3pt shooters....other than this, I got nothing else to add. Thoughts?

Might be steady team few mistakes with a lot of upper classmen. Seemed confident. TO's become more important. Could be a slow grind out game. Ugh. Dangerous team.



Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star Mar 16, 2017 Updated 4 hrs ago

But on Saturday, the Wildcats may have to rev it down quite a bit against Saint Mary’s, which runs an-almost-polar-opposite tempo that ranks 350th out of 361 teams.

PJC is confident about that, too. Asked about the expected change in pace Saturday, he said:

“Everyone’s different,” he said. “That’s what makes this team so unique. I think we can switch our tempos fast and slow. It’s not about the pace. It’s about doing what makes us good all year.”

Something else Saint Mary’s does differently: The Gaels make 39.9 percent of their 3-point shots, the 16th best mark in the nation.

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... e53c4.html" target="_blank

take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

Rohan is very good, rotate players on him starting with Allen.

Arizona should wear st Mary's down and pull away in the second half.

take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

Arizona's staff obviously has this team well scouted, but once the game is unfolding, we'll all see that there are defensive matchups that just won't work against Saint Mary's methodical half-court execution, where you have to prevent outside shots while dealing with Landale.

The answer is to make Landale defend, and to make Saint Mary's try to beat you with Landale as for as long as he can stay on the court foul-wise. Last night VCU let them score 85 points. But if you stay accountable on the perimeter, Saint Mary's guards and wings aren't going to "go off" the way some other teams are still able to do against Arizona. In three games, Gonzaga held them to 56, 56, and 64. In those three losses to Gonzaga, Landale scored :

10 points (5 fouls, 19 minutes)
24 points (4 fouls, 25 minutes)
10 points (4 fouls, 26 minutes)

Arizona can't weigh down Landale with a Karnowski, so I'd look to that middle line (24 points) as a model, whereby Gonzaga only beat Saint Mary's by 10 instead of like 30. In order to achieve something like a 24-point game from Landale, you have to give him somebody to defend. All three of Arizona's bigs fit that bill. But you're going to need him to defend Lauri for a while, who can take him out of position.

Great stuff guys.....thanks! Please keep it coming......extremely interesting intel so far. Bear Down.

The easiest way to attack a big guy is to make him run and defend multiple guys.

Let Landale get a taste of guarding Dusan, Chance and Lauri a lot. See if we can force him to guard Lauri a bit so he has to to chase on the perimeter. I actually like the idea of a smaller lineup against their starters so that Landale has to guard Lauri on the perimeter and off the dribble. Play Rawle at the 4 and they have no choice.

Beyond that, we need to do what got us here. Solid on D. If they slow us down, not turning it over and rebounding are super high priority.

Cats favored by 3.5 points

97cats wrote:take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

Rohan is very good, rotate players on him starting with Allen.

Arizona should wear st Mary's down and pull away in the second half.

take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

Bingo. This game was meant for Allonzo Trier.

Moving up to -4 and -4.5 already

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-bas ... las-vegas/" target="_blank

Expect it to be close and hopefully they are motivated.

Gilbertcat wrote:Moving up to -4 and -4.5 already

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-bas ... las-vegas/" target="_blank

Expect it to be close and hopefully they are motivated.

Interesting. We'll see what it is at game time.

5-7 pts maybe?

Opening Vegas lines are the most predictive from what I understand. Which makes sense, because there's a whole lot of money at stake if they get these things wrong.

HiCat wrote:

Gilbertcat wrote:Moving up to -4 and -4.5 already

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-bas ... las-vegas/" target="_blank

Expect it to be close and hopefully they are motivated.

Interesting. We'll see what it is at game time.

5-7 pts maybe?

Not a shock. From pretourney predictions and fan base sizes, I would expect most of the money coming in will be on Arizona.

Was really surprised by the tame Arizona crowd last night. The SLC locals dont have much love for us, so it wont be a case of root for the conference like we would for anyone but ASU or UCLA. St Marys will get a lot of love too because they are the mid major underdogs and all white. Racist ass SLC will always root for the white guys extra hard

Northwestern has by far the most fans there from what I understand. If they lose I think there's a chance they will root for Arizona in a my enemy's enemy is my friend sort of way. I think they will realize Arizona is the best chance for someone to keep The Zags out of the final four. Conversely, if NW pulls off the upset then it's going to be a very hostile environment.

Fwiw, I have been surprised at the disdain for Arizona on many boards I've traversed in the last few days. I don't really think of us in that Duke sort of way, but I guess regionally some other fan bases certainly do.

It always happens, Im sure Zaga fans did some hating last night. I wonder if they will cheer for St Mary now.

Gilbertcat wrote:It always happens, Im sure Zaga fans did some hating last night. I wonder if they will cheer for St Mary now.

It started before game 1. I do understand Gonzaga's issues with us. We're their Wisconsin to some extent.

One thing I noticed about St. Mary's last night is that it seemed that the majority of their perimeter guys are set shooters rather than jump shooters. I'm hopeful that our length on the perimeter can affect their accuracy.

RaisingArizona wrote:Northwestern has by far the most fans there from what I understand. If they lose I think there's a chance they will root for Arizona in a my enemy's enemy is my friend sort of way. I think they will realize Arizona is the best chance for someone to keep The Zags out of the final four. Conversely, if NW pulls off the upset then it's going to be a very hostile environment.

Fwiw, I have been surprised at the disdain for Arizona on many boards I've traversed in the last few days. I don't really think of us in that Duke sort of way, but I guess regionally some other fan bases certainly do.

We take over arenas in road games, have a damn good future hall of fame coach, embarrass teams, get home cooking on the road (every game at Hass) and have a cheer that demonstrates just how dominate and passionate our fans are. We are a good mix of old money (lute era) and younger generations that come out in force.

If I wasn't blessed to be a uofa alum/fan, I could see some merit in their insecurities re:Arizona as a dominant program.

If we treat them like we do UCLAs guards we will be more than fine. It wont be like chasing Bryce Alford around the floor, but they move the ball well in general, and make effective use of the pick and roll and inside/outside with Landale. If we double or help, they will make the needed passes and find an open shooter if we don't do a good job rotating.

rgdeuace,

Do you think we need to double Landale or just let him get his and focus on the outside game?

RaisingArizona wrote:rgdeuace,

Do you think we need to double Landale or just let him get his and focus on the outside game?

I know I'm not who you asked, but I'd like to see us do something similar to our home game against Cal in how we handled Rabb. We mixed our looks and had some big to big doubles mixed with singling him. I was a big fan of how we executed in that game and think it would tranistion nicely against St. Mary's.

RaisingArizona wrote:rgdeuace,

Do you think we need to double Landale or just let him get his and focus on the outside game?

I think we should mix up the looks he sees. Different defenders, straight up but still double and show/bluff double to keep him and his teammates off balance. If you double too much, their shooters are going to get a lot of attempts and it's only going to help w their rhythm. They also space the floor REALLY well, which makes it even harder. Ball denial and denying him ideal position and making him work to get the ball should be the focus. Lauri did very wall against Karnowsky in this regard. Chance is going to have to do a better job (without fouling). I just see Ristic getting torched no matter what.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

RaisingArizona wrote:rgdeuace,

Do you think we need to double Landale or just let him get his and focus on the outside game?

I know I'm not who you asked, but I'd like to see us do something similar to our home game against Cal in how we handled Rabb. We mixed our looks and had some big to big doubles mixed with singling him. I was a big fan of how we executed in that game and think it would tranistion nicely against St. Mary's.

Great example. A great reason behind our success in doing that was having Lauri on him primarily, and that was one of Lauri's best efforts defensively. Do you think we are going to have to be more selective with that when Dusan is defending him, rather than any combination of Chance, Lauri, and Pinder on the floor? If I see a double coming or it already came, im going hard to whichever side Dusan is on and knowing there's still a good chance I am drawing a foul, getting a good shot off, going to have a clear passing lane, or just go around him altogether and he we shield off Lauri and I have an opening to the hoop or vision of the wide open man that Lauri cannot get back to because Dusan is in his way. Landale isn't quick, but he is smart and has outstanding footwork.

I believe St Mary's is our pre-season training partner, so these two teams know each other better than you would think.

They've slaughtered us year after year in that game that's never played.

rgdeuce wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

RaisingArizona wrote:rgdeuace,

Do you think we need to double Landale or just let him get his and focus on the outside game?

I know I'm not who you asked, but I'd like to see us do something similar to our home game against Cal in how we handled Rabb. We mixed our looks and had some big to big doubles mixed with singling him. I was a big fan of how we executed in that game and think it would tranistion nicely against St. Mary's.

Great example. A great reason behind our success in doing that was having Lauri on him primarily, and that was one of Lauri's best efforts defensively. Do you think we are going to have to be more selective with that when Dusan is defending him, rather than any combination of Chance, Lauri, and Pinder on the floor? If I see a double coming or it already came, im going hard to whichever side Dusan is on and knowing there's still a good chance I am drawing a foul, getting a good shot off, going to have a clear passing lane, or just go around him altogether and he we shield off Lauri and I have an opening to the hoop or vision of the wide open man that Lauri cannot get back to because Dusan is in his way. Landale isn't quick, but he is smart and has outstanding footwork.

I picked the Cal game because it stands out for me as the best Dusan has ever looked in double and recover situations. I don't know whether it was just a good game for him or a particularly tailored game plan, but he produced well in that weak part of his game.

I like the mixing idea bc it hopefully keeps Landale off balance. If you can make him burn a half second with recognition of whether the double is or isn't coming, that strings things out and lets your primary defender be prepared for him. Dusan needs that because he can't recover from being out of position if his man goes right away.

I was joking that Landale vs Dusan might be the world's most deliberate series of one on one postups.

Edit: another given is the importance of not allowing a catch inside 10 feet. Dusan, Lauri and Chance aren't the sort of shotblockers that can negate bad position with a block. If Dusan worries me the most, it is his tendency to give up a deep catch because he gets out of position.

rgdeuce wrote:Was really surprised by the tame Arizona crowd last night. The SLC locals dont have much love for us, so it wont be a case of root for the conference like we would for anyone but ASU or UCLA. St Marys will get a lot of love too because they are the mid major underdogs and all white. Racist ass SLC will always root for the white guys extra hard

RaisingArizona wrote:Northwestern has by far the most fans there from what I understand. If they lose I think there's a chance they will root for Arizona in a my enemy's enemy is my friend sort of way. I think they will realize Arizona is the best chance for someone to keep The Zags out of the final four. Conversely, if NW pulls off the upset then it's going to be a very hostile environment.

Fwiw, I have been surprised at the disdain for Arizona on many boards I've traversed in the last few days. I don't really think of us in that Duke sort of way, but I guess regionally some other fan bases certainly do.

RaisingArizona got it right. This place has been overrun by NW fans, it's crazy. There were a surprisingly large number of UND fans too. The other thing is we are the huge favorite, so naturally everyone who isn't pulling for us is going to cheer for the underdog. The crowd may be a little more balanced tomorrow, but Gonzaga fans aren't going to cheer for us either. Hopefully we pick up the NW contingent, but I don't expect it to feel a whole lot more "comfy" than last night. I do think that most west coast fanbases dislike us, purely as a result of us being good and tending to bring UofA chants wherever we go.

Saint Mary's is potentially deliberate and methodical with their offense, but it's really a 4-out, 1-in formation where the individual players get overpowered by quicker athletes and become flustered and turnover-prone. When that happens, the 4 out stand still and camp behind the arc, and it becomes much easier for the defense to recover from helping guard the post.

If you watched Saint Mary's play VCU, you saw a team that looked like a smooth, smart, patient European national team with fluid motion and passing that makes their opponent pay for their mistakes. But when they play against Gonzaga's level of talent, they look rushed, helpless, and flailing.

I've watched them play VCU, BYU, and Gonzaga twice. There are two Saint Mary's, and I think we'll get just enough of a stretch of the game where Saint Mary's looks like they do against the Zags. It won't be so much about Miller gearing a defensive strategy as it will be about execution and intensity.

Jock Landale

The junior is not athletic by any means — he actually looks pretty awkward moving around the court — but he is plenty skilled and knows how to use his 255-pound frame.

And the Gaels toss him the ball on the low block a lot.

When Landale is on the court, 30 percent of the Gaels’ possessions end with him taking a shot and evidently that has proven to be a good thing for Saint Mary’s given its overall efficiency.

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball ... ns-tv-time" target="_blank

In the post: do we front Landale? Never seen him play, but if he isn't excellent at establishing position it might work every once in a while.

Saint Mary's better be really good with their "sometimes" zone defense because that's the only way they'll be able to slow the game down. And if they do that, they better manage somehow to maintain their high level of defensive rebounding, which correlates to their bread-and-butter man-to-man.

On the other end, if Arizona struggles to defend St. Mary's, then Arizona really isn't near Gonzaga's level, and so going out now doesn't really matter anyway.

Puerco wrote:In the post: do we front Landale? Never seen him play, but if he isn't excellent at establishing position it might work every once in a while.

I'd rather we use feet to make him work for his position. Fronting can make it easier because they just lob or rotate. 3/4ing him and driving him out is my preference.

I'm worried more that they use motion to free him for position.

I agree with Longhorned. If we can't take Landale, FSU or Zaga would whip us. St. Mary's is good, but if we are truly a FF level team, we have to beat good ones and better.

Puerco wrote:In the post: do we front Landale? Never seen him play, but if he isn't excellent at establishing position it might work every once in a while.

Landale spends much of the possession setting screens and rolling and passing on the perimeter. He doesn't have such an elite post-up game in the four games I've seen.

UAEebs86 wrote:Cats favored by 3.5 points

WOW!

BRB

Up to 4 now.

Longhorned wrote:Up to 4 now.

It could probably go up to about 8 and I'm still a buyer

Longhorned wrote:Saint Mary's better be really good with their "sometimes" zone defense because that's the only way they'll be able to slow the game down. And if they do that, they better manage somehow to maintain their high level of defensive rebounding, which correlates to their bread-and-butter man-to-man.

On the other end, if Arizona struggles to defend St. Mary's, then Arizona really isn't near Gonzaga's level, and so going out now doesn't really matter anyway.

This. The Zags have contained them by simply having better athletes. If we can't, well, we should have. And, man, will I hear about it.

gumby wrote:

Longhorned wrote:Saint Mary's better be really good with their "sometimes" zone defense because that's the only way they'll be able to slow the game down. And if they do that, they better manage somehow to maintain their high level of defensive rebounding, which correlates to their bread-and-butter man-to-man.

On the other end, if Arizona struggles to defend St. Mary's, then Arizona really isn't near Gonzaga's level, and so going out now doesn't really matter anyway.

This. The Zags have contained them by simply having better athletes. If we can't, well, we should have. And, man, will I hear about it.

Exactly on both counts.

As far as the line goes, I think everyone is giving credence to the metrics and how St Marys played against teams other than Gonzaga. I'm basically only giving credence to how they played against Gonzaga because I don't particularly see any reason why we can't replicate the problems Gonzaga created for St Marys.

97cats wrote:take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

This could, and should, be be repeated every single game. This should be the first option every time.

Rawle should be ready!

I expect our depth and versatility - we are going 9 deep now with a variety of ways to play inside and out - to provide the answers tomorrow.

Olsondogg wrote:

97cats wrote:take the ball to the front of the rim every time.

every time

This could, and should, be be repeated every single game. This should be the first option every time.

I prefer taking the ball inside the rim myself, but different strokes for different folks.

I also like penetrating the gap, firm ballhandling and lots of backdooring. What are we talking about again?

Based on the line now up to -5, don't think alot of people read kenpom lol

The Kenpom math is absolutely correct that Saint Mary's season-long efficiency is slightly higher than Arizona's season-long efficiency. If that's a reliable basis for predicting the contest, then Saint Mary's should indeed be favored over Arizona.

Longhorned wrote:The Kenpom math is absolutely correct that Saint Mary's season-long efficiency is slightly higher than Arizona's season-long efficiency. If that's a reliable basis for predicting the contest, then Saint Mary's should indeed be favored over Arizona.

I actually think the information that's out there is very interesting as far as this game goes. So what in the end is more important information wise; the amalgamation of their results against teams like Pepperdine and Pacific (so their Kenpom numbers), or just their three games against Gonzaga?

This is going to be my biggest bet of the tournament for sure and it will be very interesting to see it unfold.

SCCats wrote:

Longhorned wrote:The Kenpom math is absolutely correct that Saint Mary's season-long efficiency is slightly higher than Arizona's season-long efficiency. If that's a reliable basis for predicting the contest, then Saint Mary's should indeed be favored over Arizona.

I actually think the information that's out there is very interesting as far as this game goes. So what in the end is more important information wise; the amalgamation of their results against teams like Pepperdine and Pacific (so their Kenpom numbers), or just their three games against Gonzaga?

This is going to be my biggest bet of the tournament for sure and it will be very interesting to see it unfold.

Arizona is going to kill Saint Mary's.

Longhorned wrote:

SCCats wrote:

Longhorned wrote:The Kenpom math is absolutely correct that Saint Mary's season-long efficiency is slightly higher than Arizona's season-long efficiency. If that's a reliable basis for predicting the contest, then Saint Mary's should indeed be favored over Arizona.

I actually think the information that's out there is very interesting as far as this game goes. So what in the end is more important information wise; the amalgamation of their results against teams like Pepperdine and Pacific (so their Kenpom numbers), or just their three games against Gonzaga?

This is going to be my biggest bet of the tournament for sure and it will be very interesting to see it unfold.

Arizona is going to kill Saint Mary's.

That's my bet. We will see if we're right.

Saint Marys is undefeated when they out rebound their opponent. I just don't see that happening tomorrow