The 2021-2022 Season Thread

[UAEebs86]

Are we making up the UsC and ASU game or are they just donezo?

[EastCoastCat]

Can't wait for the beatdown at McKale North!

[ChooChooCat]

[FreeSpiritCat]

I am not so sure that Zu will play. I don't want to see him on the floor unless his ankle is close to 100%. I don't want to see him reinjure himself, especially in a game that isn't really that important compared to games in March. Let Zu heal first.

[Beachcat97]

Kier said he was playing and AT was seen without a boot so I bet he gives it a go

If AT plays tomorrow, I have to think the injury was very minor. Maybe not even an "injury." He just tweeked it and got some extra rest over the weekend.

[Beachcat97]

I am not so sure that Zu will play. I don't want to see him on the floor unless his ankle is close to 100%. I don't want to see him reinjure himself, especially in a game that isn't really that important compared to games in March. Let Zu heal first.

This is where I'm at too, but maybe his ankle wasn't even that bad to begin with.

[azgreg]

Still number 3, but got one first place vote this week.

I bet it was Seth Davis.

[Beachcat97]

AZ could win the national title, and Seth Davis would still have us in the 7 to 10 range.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Can't wait for the beatdown at McKale North!

I don't know whether to be confident because of how hard Hurley and the Devils are melting or scared that it seems like the weird game they pull out of their butts to be competitive.

[azcat49]

We beat UCLA on the road and that will help. The conference is absolute dog poo this year. Our win against Michigan is ordinary and we lost to a .500 SEC team

Just give me a 1 or 2 seed and beat the other three teams in the conference at home and in the conference tourney and I will be very happy going into the tournament

[dovecanyoncat]

The ShitShovels will play out of heir minds against us.

[84Cat]

We beat UCLA on the road and that will help. The conference is absolute dog poo this year. Our win against Michigan is ordinary and we lost to a .500 SEC team

Just give me a 1 or 2 seed and beat the other three teams in the conference at home and in the conference tourney and I will be very happy going into the tournament

Michigan just beat Indiana so they might end up being a tournament team

[azcat49]

Yep their best win of the season. Hopefully they start a run and make our win more relevant.

Regardless, we are going to get our shot and I think we will go deep

[Alieberman]

Kier said he was playing and AT was seen without a boot so I bet he gives it a go

If AT plays tomorrow, I have to think the injury was very minor. Maybe not even an "injury." He just tweeked it and got some extra rest over the weekend.

you think a little ankle injury can keep this guy down?

[Beachcat97]

Just give me a 1 or 2 seed and beat the other three teams in the conference at home and in the conference tourney and I will be very happy going into the tournament

If we hit everything on your to-do list, we'll be a 1 seed. You'd be talking about two wins over UCLA, wins over USC and Oregon, and an otherwise glowing tourney resume.

[Alieberman]

Tomorrow we play on toughest game of our regular season on paper... Highest ranked opponent on our schedule on the road.

Just something to keep in mind.

[Beachcat97]

Tomorrow we play on toughest game of our regular season on paper... Highest ranked opponent on our schedule on the road.

Just something to keep in mind.

We're also playing on only two days rest (to their three) and are a little banged up at the moment.

Strangely, though, I think we match up better with UCLA than with Tennessee.

Will probably be a close game. Hold Juzang to around 15 points, don't let Campbell get open looks, and make the other guys beat you. Don't turn the ball over. UCLA is good, but they've been eking out some wins over mediocre opponents lately. It's a winnable game.

[dmjcat]

Still number 3, but got one first place vote this week.

I bet it was Seth Davis.

Nope. Seth has us ranked #4.

This is the guy who ranked us #1. Wilner has us as #2

https://collegepolltracker.com/basketba ... 21/week-12

[97cats]

leading the nation in average margin of victory (24.3 points)

[Alieberman]

5 people have us ranked 5 or worse.... 1 of them is our very own Columbo... Bruce Pascoe

[Beachcat97]

leading the nation in average margin of victory (24.3 points)

Yeah. When this team smells blood in the water, it's a damn feeding frenzy. We can get up by a lot of points very quickly. On the other hand, we've also shown the ability to play from behind and win a close game in a hostile environment (Illinois).

[Chicat]

5 people have us ranked 5 or worse.... 1 of them is our very own Columbo... Bruce Pascoe

Bruce should find another line of work that doesn’t involve being able to see, hear, or form coherent thoughts.

[dovecanyoncat]

5 people have us ranked 5 or worse.... 1 of them is our very own Columbo... Bruce Pascoe

Dude could fuck up a wet dream.

[UAEebs86]

Probably the best compliment Pascoe gets at work is "at least you're not as bad as Hansen".

[SabinoDrifter]

5 people have us ranked 5 or worse.... 1 of them is our very own Columbo... Bruce Pascoe

Bruce should find another line of work that doesn’t involve being able to see, hear, or form coherent thoughts.

Arizona can only play the opponents on their schedule, but the reasoning about who have they beat is so flimsy at this point. Arizona is 4-0 against Tier B KenPom teams and 2-1 against Tier A teams.

[Beachcat97]

5 people have us ranked 5 or worse.... 1 of them is our very own Columbo... Bruce Pascoe

Bruce should find another line of work that doesn’t involve being able to see, hear, or form coherent thoughts.

Arizona can only play the opponents on their schedule, but the reasoning about who have they beat is so flimsy at this point. Arizona is 4-0 against Tier B KenPom teams and 2-1 against Tier A teams.

This is all true. The only outcome tomorrow that would really impact our seeding would be a lopsided UCLA victory. A close game would just reinforce the perception that both teams are contenders, and that one was just a little better this time out. If we beat them by 20, I don't even think we'd move up that much in the key metrics. We're already soaring in the categories that matter!

[UAEebs86]

Spiff, please don't jinx us with any of this Dylan Smith or PJC talk.

Geez.

Are you saying PJC single handedly drove our height metric below where it needed to be for a NC on Kaibab's scale?

Speaking of PJC:

[azgreg]

[Jefe]

Opening line has us as 2 point favorites over the Bruins

[azgreg]

When was the last time we were favored at Pauley?

[Alieberman]

When was the last time a PAC 12 team ever won 3 consecutive road conference games by 25+?

A hint: Never… Until Tommy Lloyd and AZ just did it

[Beachcat97]

When was the last time we were favored at Pauley?

Maybe the Ayton season? Can't remember who they had that year.

[RondaeShimmy]

[EastCoastCat]

Oh Jesus no.

[dovecanyoncat]

When I read this aloud my wife just said "Keep the fucking sound down!" I'm lucky that on principle I agree with everything my wife says.

* edit: And then she heard the tapping and she said "You're posting that you bastard!!"

Sheriff Bell: "I love you more and more every day."

[Alieberman]

This is not a Walton game… fuck

[Fishclamps]

[AZCatGirl]

They always have Walton do UCLA games against us. Why is anyone surprised?

[Beachcat97]

I always figured it's because Walton is connected to both schools. He went to one, his son to the other.

Also, let's face it: love him or hate him, his personality draws casual fans, a little like Vitale.

There are times I wish Bill would drop the silliness now and then and just fucking focus. He actually knows a lot about the sport. It just gets lost beneath his distractions and digressions and free-associations.

[RichardCranium]

There is no thread for the game yet, but the Bristolonions seem to think it is 11:00 pm Eastern on Tuesday.

This makes it 15:00 on Wednesday, my time. "Invasion Day" public holiday.

Just needed to make sure I'm prepared, I've been getting in late to the games lately because I haven't been paying attention.

[RichardCranium]

It almost like the Brose Bamburg guys didn't understand what that white line meant. PJC just kept hitting unguarded 3 after unguarded 3 after unguarded 3.

[ChooChooCat]

Anyone heard anything about Tubelis and/or Kier? Kinda expecting both will be out tomorrow.

Kier is fine, Tubelis is a gametime decision. If I had to guess Tubelis sits this one and probably the ASU game out though.

[Beachcat97]

Anyone heard anything about Tubelis and/or Kier? Kinda expecting both will be out tomorrow.

Kier is fine, Tubelis is a gametime decision. If I had to guess Tubelis sits this one and probably the ASU game out though.

If there’s even a slight chance he’s not ready, why push it tonight?

Still traumatized by the Brandon Ashley situation. It’s a tough pill when one injury can keep you from a FF.

[ZagCatFan]

Thanks for posting.

Go Cats Go Zags

#catszagsneworleans

[ChooChooCat]

Anyone heard anything about Tubelis and/or Kier? Kinda expecting both will be out tomorrow.

Kier is fine, Tubelis is a gametime decision. If I had to guess Tubelis sits this one and probably the ASU game out though.

If there’s even a slight chance he’s not ready, why push it tonight?

Still traumatized by the Brandon Ashley situation. It’s a tough pill when one injury can keep you from a FF.

Yup, zero point in pushing it. Arizona is playing the long game here. If it comes down to one road loss to a top 15 Kenpom team or having a fully healthy Tubelis from here on out, they're going to choose the latter.

[azcat49]

Makes sense to rest him for those games. Big Oumar might be a tough match up for them when he and Koloko are on the floor together.

Really hoping two guys especially shine tonight. Koloko and Larrson. We get great play from those two and I think we win

[dovecanyoncat]

Thanks for posting.

Go Cats Go Zags

#catszagsneworleans

RAT POISON!

[Spaceman Spiff]

Anyone heard anything about Tubelis and/or Kier? Kinda expecting both will be out tomorrow.

Kier is fine, Tubelis is a gametime decision. If I had to guess Tubelis sits this one and probably the ASU game out though.

If there’s even a slight chance he’s not ready, why push it tonight?

Still traumatized by the Brandon Ashley situation. It’s a tough pill when one injury can keep you from a FF.

It's holistic, IMO. You want to tread the line between not pushing someone too hard and not holding someone back.

Everyone sees the negative in pushing too hard. I think there's a negative in holding someone back more than most. They decondition and it makes it harder to hold an aggressive mindset. Deconditioning risks injury too and you just don't want someone thinking an injury is a bigger deal than it is because injuries get in your head.

[Beachcat97]

Anyone heard anything about Tubelis and/or Kier? Kinda expecting both will be out tomorrow.

Kier is fine, Tubelis is a gametime decision. If I had to guess Tubelis sits this one and probably the ASU game out though.

If there’s even a slight chance he’s not ready, why push it tonight?

Still traumatized by the Brandon Ashley situation. It’s a tough pill when one injury can keep you from a FF.

It's holistic, IMO. You want to tread the line between not pushing someone too hard and not holding someone back.

Everyone sees the negative in pushing too hard. I think there's a negative in holding someone back more than most. They decondition and it makes it harder to hold an aggressive mindset. Deconditioning risks injury too and you just don't want someone thinking an injury is a bigger deal than it is because injuries get in your head.

These are all good points, Spiff. We'll just have to trust AT and the coaches get this one right. If he's suited up and available, I think the severity of his injury may've been overstated or he's simply been faster to recover. I really, really doubt they're going to cut corners on his recovery timeline if he's still in pain.

Enough on AT, anyone wanna go on record with a score prediction for tonight? This game's in about 12 hours.

[Alieberman]

The name of the game tonight - Foul Trouble

We need to avoid it