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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on Jan 13, 2023 0:35:08 GMT -5
This and the Gonzaga games are the only conference games that I really do not expect us to win at all. Going into the season we were picked to finish ninth. That can still happen, but as of right now the team is exceeding expectations. Will worry about next year after this season. Hopefully these guys can continue to play hard and well.
As long as we beat San Diego on Saturday, there’s nothing wrong with splitting these two games.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 13, 2023 1:13:51 GMT -5
I didn’t see tonight’s game but the result is nothing unexpected. I see the game was close early then the Gaels broke out to a low double digit lead that they maintained. While not a nail-biter, it wasn’t a blowout and it wasn’t an embarrassing loss. I think St Mary’s is the best team in the league right now.
The Lions do need to win Saturday if they want to be considered a second tier WCC team (meaning a step below St Mary’s and Gonzaga. If the Lions stay in the fight for the 3/4 slots, we should consider the season a success. If they end up near the bottom of the standings, then we’re merely treading water and Coach Johnson will need to reconsider his ways. At this point I can’t predict where they’ll end up. I’m watching the USF/Portland game. Both are playing tonight well enough to beat LMU. It’s going to be an interesting season!
Regarding the future, the changes in the transfer rules have radically changed how coaches need to build their teams. Each year now there are dozens of quality players available. We can no longer just look at the freshman recruits to predict the future. Coaches can pick and choose experienced, quality players who are ready to make an immediate impact. I have no idea who Coach J is looking at. Only time will tell if he can bring in some quality players … but I’ll admit I’m nervous because to date his track record isn’t very good. We’ll see what happens!
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 13, 2023 23:16:03 GMT -5
So, I watched the game film. First of all, I’ll take issue with some of the snide (perhaps resulting from long suffering frustration) remarks made by a couple commentators.
The Lions were neck and neck with the Gaels for the first quarter of the game. Issanza and Graham did an excellent job containing a very good Gaels’ center (Saxon). A couple of really bad calls really disrupted the Lions’ game. If the Lions had hit even a couple of their 3-point attempts, they would’ve gone into halftime even with the Gaels.
The Gaels are a really complete team with some excellent individual talents. Freshman Matheny is already an accomplished PG, and he’s going to be a real star for Coach Bennett. Logan Johnson is a great slasher. Coach Bennett is an outstanding game coach, one of the best in the business. His guys buy into his disciplined approach, creating some great team ball. In short, beating St Mary’s is a real accomplishment.
On the negative side, the Gaels’ strong individual talents really highlight the Lions’ poor one-on-one defense. When they retain focus, their team defense is quite effective but there’s not much they can do when stuck in one-on-one situations.
This is driving me crazy and I’ve commented on it more than once - the Lions were desperate for an easy basket yet not once in the first half was there a screen set for either Ahrens or Stevens. One or two good, open looks could’ve made a world of difference in the game’s outcome.
The Lions are getting close to success. Let’s hope they play strong on Saturday and find ways to win future close games.
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