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Merrimack Game thread

Griz til I die

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DONOR
Alright, it's time for night 2 of the Zootown Classic. I was very impressed with our performance in the 19 point win over St. Thomas last night (their largest loss of the year), especially since DT hardly played last night with foul trouble and only had 2 points in the game. It was great to see others step up last night and to see us shoot and defend at a high level. I was pleased. Here is tonight's slate:

5:00 St. Thomas vs. Troy. Troy looked mighty impressive last night against Merrimack in a game that was a complete and total foul fest with 42 total fouls called in the game last night. Troy went on to win by 19, and they should roll tonight.

7:30 Merrimack vs. Montana. Similar to St. Thomas, Merrimack got in to a deep hole early and couldn't pull themselves out of it. I think Merrimack is probably the worst of the 4 teams at the tournament so the Griz should roll headed into a big finale against Troy on Saturday.

Should be another fun night of hoops. Go Griz!
 
I agree. I thought Merrimack was the worst of the field coming in and that was before seeing that their 6’8 2x All-Conference Forward Jordan Minor didn’t play last night. Not sure what the deal is, but if he doesn’t play it should give the Griz a chance to get guys rested and ready for what appears to be a very competitive game tomorrow against Troy.
 
Moody sure gets a lot of shots off! Nice if he made a couple. Bannan's goofy jumper won't allow him to turn and shoot from the key. He's made a couple nice drop passes to the baseline but that 12 footer in the key is what busts a zone.
 
Really missing Mack tonight as well. I think he would provide a threat down low with the baseline slide triangle offense (probably has an actual name) against the zone. I think I remember it twice with a feed from Bannan to Dischon who had wide open dunk and another to Oke who missed it when he tried to throw it down extra hard but who also had an open look.
 
Nice run and turnaround by Moody and the Griz. Regardless of whoever Merrimack is and how tough their defense may be, Griz should win this game and did.
 
Regardless of the score, this was a good game and fun to watch live. Two very solid defensive teams... and the D was fun to watch. Montana struggled with its perimeter shooting game until Brown buried a trey from the left wing on a play designed for him.After that, treys by Moody and Martin pushed the Griz to the eventual 11 pt win. Dischon Thomas had an outstanding second half in the key, but it's obvious he's still learning the options when he gets the ball at the high post. Looks like Brandon Whitney suffered a signigficant (high) ankle sprain. Vazquez, Moody and Brown played solid floor game, but Josh is really stsruggling with his shot. Still, a good test vs. a Big Sky caliber team. I'd much rather watch the Griz play vs. tough mid-major opponents like those featured in this tourney than to blow out a NAIA team or get blown out by a power 5 school. This tourney will be good prep for the Griz in Big Sky play.

I also watched the first game where St Thomas beat Troy State on a last split-second shot. Fun.
Love watching Montana hoops when the weather gets nasty. Go Griz.
 
Don't really have a true point guard.
Brown looks like a nice addition.
Played hard on D (no surprise).
Going to need Moody to hit 3s, hope Josh can find his freshman stroke.
Thomas is going to feast around the rim with Bannan feeds, nice chemistry developing there. A guy that can finish strong.
Should be better at not allowing way too many opponent O rebounds.
Some nice stretches of ball movement and spacing in the 2nd half, looked promising.
Bannan is going to have a triple double in a game this year. He had 5 dimes with a couple blown bunnies off his passes tonight. He will be a main facilitator from the high post, he's right at home there. Could run a 16/9/5 stat line and be MVP.
Spacing and ball movement are paramount, we lack guys that can beat people off the bounce. If they can find team chemistry with all the new faces they can make some noise in conference. i guess that is the story everywhere now with free agency.
I'll stay optimistic about the finished product even though I see more offensive challenges in the crystal ball. (I know, I know...)
 
Hoops watcher said:
Don't really have a true point guard.
Brown looks like a nice addition.
Played hard on D (no surprise).
Going to need Moody to hit 3s, hope Josh can find his freshman stroke.
Thomas is going to feast around the rim with Bannan feeds, nice chemistry developing there. A guy that can finish strong.
Should be better at not allowing way too many opponent O rebounds.
Some nice stretches of ball movement and spacing in the 2nd half, looked promising.
Bannan is going to have a triple double in a game this year. He had 5 dimes with a couple blown bunnies off his passes tonight. He will be a main facilitator from the high post, he's right at home there. Could run a 16/9/5 stat line and be MVP.
Spacing and ball movement are paramount, we lack guys that can beat people off the bounce. If they can find team chemistry with all the new faces they can make some noise in conference. i guess that is the story everywhere now with free agency.
I'll stay optimistic about the finished product even though I see more offensive challenges in the crystal ball. (I know, I know...)
:thumb: Agree with all your brief observations regarding the 2022-23 Griz. Also agree with your optimisim! This team has a high ceiling, despite some issues in game-control at point. The Bannan-Thomas combo dynamic in the front court could be something special. Re: Josh (this is not criticism)... he's putting pressure on himself that only he can resolve. I sneaked a look at a late Oct. practice on inside-outside offense where I counted 18-straight makes by JV.
 
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