MONTANA VS SYRACUSE PREDICTIONS

[Ashamed]

Be careful about prognosticating a win, Griz fans.

Jerry Punch will have to come in and tell you how wrong you are after the fact, and point out your foolishness in hoping your team might actually win.

You should live in "reality", because no 13 seed has ever won a game in the first round ever. Ever.


Ever.

I think he is busy eating his hat from his last prediction.

What hat? Are you talking about Jordy? You'll have to point out to me where I predicted he would be guilty. I never, ever, ever said that, and in fact stated that after only a few days of trial the accuser's story had completely fallen apart. So, if you can find those words, I will eat my hat. But not this time, bro.

http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60792&start=50" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Jerry Punch]

Huh? Yeah, it seems like quite the limb to go out on when you're saying that arrogance motivated many a Griz fan to pick themselves over Wisconsin. I don't blame anyone for thinking their team can win. That's what fans are supposed to do. But be realistic about it. That's all I ask.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

We will lose.

Tell my why you think we will lose rather than some blunt answer like your answering a 30 second pop quiz.. /rant

This is just a guess, but I think cclark believes Syracuse will have more points than UM at the end of the game.

 

[MissoulaMarinerFan]

I predict whichever team has the most points at the end of the game will win.

 

[Grizzlies1982]

Montana 71 (31 of 33 from FT line)
Orange 67 (with 50 inside the paint)

There it is done!

You may resume your lives now that you know the outcome. :ugeek:

 

[Silvertip]

The current Kaimin's video page has some great clips of classic NCAA upsets including #14 Northwestern State whupping a #3 Iowa. Unlikely? Yes...Impossible? No...

As for Vermont beating Syracuse, unbelievably they don't even have a football program to support. They should be semi-good having only basketball and women's field hockey to fund. Vermont: super wussy... :lame:

 

[BWahlberg]

I look at it in two ways:

What favors the Griz: This team is experienced in the tourneys and knows the humbling feeling of a major letdown loss in the 1st round. We're an excellent defensive team, great perimeter shooters, great free throw shooters. Syracuse has been on a downward spiral heading into their conference tourney, I think they'd lost something like 7 of their last 11. They have to fly cross-country for this game, it's on Thursday so there's one less day to adjust/adapt, they also play at 8pm or 10pm eastern, so later than usual. There's a lot of intangibles that could favor Montana.

What favors Syracuse: Well first of all... they're Syracuse. Big East team, formidable defense, one of the best coaches in all of basketball, one of the best conferences in all of basketball. Former national title winners, in the tourney every year. This is just another game for them, their goals are much loftier than just getting to the dance or winning 1 or 2 games in the tourney. Southerland is an amazing shooter, if he's dialed in beyond the 3-point line it's lights out. Even though they travel a lot further I expect they'll have more support in the stands. They're bigger than the Griz as well. More of the hard facts about this matchup favor 'Cuse.

In all honesty I see something like a 67-52 win for Syracuse. I'm worried their defense will frustrate our offense too much.

 

[fanofzoo]

So says CNN

Montana Grizzlies (25-6)

Big Sky Conference Tournament Champions




Strengths:

If they're hitting their shots from behind the three-point line, the Grizzlies can put any team in the nation in a great deal of jeopardy.

Montana shoots nearly 40 percent from downtown and can beat you if you if allowed to continue firing away and hitting the shots.

Mathias Ward leads the Grizzlies offense at 14.8 points per game.



Weaknesses:

It's not even fair to talk about the Grizzlies' rebounding skills...they don't have any.

How bad is it? They're ranked 309th-in-the-country-on-the-boards-level bad. That's just too bad to even continue discussing.

Montana is also like any other team that lives and dies with the three. If the Grizzlies are on, then they're dangerous. If they're not, it can get ugly for them.

 

[cclarkblues]

We will lose.

with all due respect, this is such a weak post/reply and not something I would expect from somebody who is a moderator on this forum. Sure, odds are against us, but just flatly saying "we will lose" with no further explanation or reasoning comes across as arrogant. I'd expect it from a fan from a rival team or maybe some of the other idiots on this forum, but not from someone who technically is a "senior" or "respected" poster. Again, I don't mean to single you out because I see it all the time, but what merit/value do you bring to the thread by posting that? Tell my why you think we will lose rather than some blunt answer like your answering a 30 second pop quiz.. /rant

I am taking the curmudgenly approach this year. We will lose because the Big Sky is nowhere near the Big East. Because Syracuse is used to playing in big venues and we aren't. Because they have more depth. Because when our young team walks into the arena they will be awestruck and it will be the largest game of their lives and the Orangemen will view us as with the thousand yard stare of a veteran team that sees us as a speedbump on the road to where they want to go. We will lose because they will own the inside. We will lose because we have to play a perfect game to win and they don't. If we get someone important in foul trouble or if we have one of our dry spells we will be left behind. Lots of reasons we will likely lose but as I stated previously, I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not getting my hopes up as much as I did previously. We barely beat Weber in our own house and we don't have a great track record in big games away from home.

 

[Grizzlies1982]

So says CNN

Montana Grizzlies (25-6) Big Sky Conference Tournament Champions

Weaknesses:
It's not even fair to talk about the Grizzlies' rebounding skills...they don't have any. How bad is it? They're ranked 309th-in-the-country-on-the-boards-level bad. That's just too bad to even continue discussing.

Question to those in the know: I've wondered about our lack of rebounding.
Is this a coaching strategy to save our energy for other aspects of the game?

 

[OptimusPrime]

I have to say 74-69 Cuse

Where did you get that sig picture. That's sweet, regardless of what it says.
On another note:
Orange: 75
Yous guys: 68
Eat that Seth Davis!

 

[Zootown Rox]

We have a good shot at the upset, and I would bet we will beat the 15 point line Vegas has right now. Long trip for SU, plus good outside shooting by UM against the zone, and boom you got an upset. That said I'm still worried about our inside defense and wouldn't be surprised if they tear us apart under the basket. I'd give us a 30% chance, and I'm definitely filling Montana into the thrid round in my bracket.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Probably the only way we avoid having Syracuse exploit their inside advantage is to pressure their guards and cause some turnovers. Unlike years ago, when we always had big strong post players and couldn't compete in terms of quickness, now we have the ability to pressure with Cherry, Jamar, Gregory, DeShields and Henderson.

That said, unless we can shoot them out of their zone, I see about a nine-point loss extended to double digits with free throws down the stretch.

Syracuse 73
Montana 61

 

[Grizzly Oredigger]

So...
We get to play in our two best player's backyards...
Against an east coast team...
Who thinks they have an easy draw to the Sweet 16...
At 10 pm Eastern Time...
In an arena that will be rooting for UM to pull the upset...

I feel like this was the best possible scenario for UM (Thanks Fullerton)...If we were to ever upset a #4 as a #13 this would be the time.

Do I think we will win? Likely not...but I don't put anything past Cherry and Jamar right now. They will play better than last year. Obviously with the zone our key will be hitting 3's. Third Time is the charm for Tinkle (& Cherry). Player of the Game Weisner hitting 5 treys.

Griz win (I can dream can't I?) 66 to 63

 

['68griz]

So...
We get to play in our two best player's backyards...
Against an east coast team...
Who thinks they have an easy draw to the Sweet 16...
At 10 pm Eastern Time...
In an arena that will be rooting for UM to pull the upset...

I feel like this was the best possible scenario for UM (Thanks Fullerton)...If we were to ever upset a #4 as a #13 this would be the time.

Do I think we will win? Likely not...but I don't put anything past Cherry and Jamar right now. They will play better than last year. Obviously with the zone our key will be hitting 3's. Third Time is the charm for Tinkle (& Cherry). Player of the Game Weisner hitting 5 treys.

Griz win (I can dream can't I?) 66 to 63

I like your attitude. I'll dream along with you.

 

[indian-outlaw]

So...
We get to play in our two best player's backyards...
Against an east coast team...
Who thinks they have an easy draw to the Sweet 16...
At 10 pm Eastern Time...
In an arena that will be rooting for UM to pull the upset...

I feel like this was the best possible scenario for UM (Thanks Fullerton)...If we were to ever upset a #4 as a #13 this would be the time.

Do I think we will win? Likely not...but I don't put anything past Cherry and Jamar right now. They will play better than last year. Obviously with the zone our key will be hitting 3's. Third Time is the charm for Tinkle (& Cherry). Player of the Game Weisner hitting 5 treys.

Griz win (I can dream can't I?) 66 to 63

I like your attitude. I'll dream along with you.

No dream here, griz win 70-69. I love the pairing, griz just need to be able to shoot from the perimeter, make a few free throws and keep them from dominating the offensive rebounding.

 

[Stoney]

Ehhhhh....no disrespect, but your fanbase that posts on your board is very much taking us lightly. In fact, I would go far beyond that and say that none of them posting there have any respect for UMs program, or the fact that were here again in the tourney.

The game may end up one-sided (and maybe not), but as yet there is less than zero respect there or credence to your assertion that no one is taken lightly. :twocents:

I know, it's insane because there you sit with an RPI of 76 so you are obviously better than our fellow BE member St Johns who is at 92 RPI. But we certainly take St Johns seriously. So not sure I know the answer to the lack of respect. I think we'll win the game but it won't be a cakewalk.

Early in the year we were playing very well, trouncing SDSU on the Midway. Maybe we got a bit smug after that but we came slamming back to earth in the second half of the BE schedule only to win three straight in the BET before 'Ville stomped us.

I think the biggest reason we are so confident though, is because Montana is not synonymous with top 20 basketball. Not sure when the last time you were ranked and we just don't lose very many games to teams that aren't ranked. Our fan base was in meltdown mode when we lost to Temple - RPI 41...

 

[ordigger]

Ehhhhh....no disrespect, but your fanbase that posts on your board is very much taking us lightly. In fact, I would go far beyond that and say that none of them posting there have any respect for UMs program, or the fact that were here again in the tourney.

The game may end up one-sided (and maybe not), but as yet there is less than zero respect there or credence to your assertion that no one is taken lightly. :twocents:

I know, it's insane because there you sit with an RPI of 76 so you are obviously better than our fellow BE member St Johns who is at 92 RPI. But we certainly take St Johns seriously. So not sure I know the answer to the lack of respect. I think we'll win the game but it won't be a cakewalk.

Early in the year we were playing very well, trouncing SDSU on the Midway. Maybe we got a bit smug after that but we came slamming back to earth in the second half of the BE schedule only to win three straight in the BET before 'Ville stomped us.

I think the biggest reason we are so confident though, is because Montana is not synonymous with top 20 basketball. Not sure when the last time you were ranked and we just don't lose very many games to teams that aren't ranked. Our fan base was in meltdown mode when we lost to Temple - RPI 41...

I don't think we've ever been ranked.....we are ranked 13th in the mid-majors poll. We have beat a few ranked teams in our history. The biggest was against #6 Idaho at home in 1982. That Idaho team went on to play in the Regional semifinal that year. More recently we beat our former coach Mike Montgomery when he was at Stanford, but I cant remember their ranking at that time.

 

[putter]

Ehhhhh....no disrespect, but your fanbase that posts on your board is very much taking us lightly. In fact, I would go far beyond that and say that none of them posting there have any respect for UMs program, or the fact that were here again in the tourney.

The game may end up one-sided (and maybe not), but as yet there is less than zero respect there or credence to your assertion that no one is taken lightly. :twocents:

I know, it's insane because there you sit with an RPI of 76 so you are obviously better than our fellow BE member St Johns who is at 92 RPI. But we certainly take St Johns seriously. So not sure I know the answer to the lack of respect. I think we'll win the game but it won't be a cakewalk.

Early in the year we were playing very well, trouncing SDSU on the Midway. Maybe we got a bit smug after that but we came slamming back to earth in the second half of the BE schedule only to win three straight in the BET before 'Ville stomped us.

I think the biggest reason we are so confident though, is because Montana is not synonymous with top 20 basketball. Not sure when the last time you were ranked and we just don't lose very many games to teams that aren't ranked. Our fan base was in meltdown mode when we lost to Temple - RPI 41...

This. Tinkle is recruiting the talent necessary to compete but Montana is not there at every position yet. Bad luck with the big recruits but that will take care of itself with the recruiting that being on national TV will do

 

[Griz Grad 47]

As an avid Big East basketball fan, I try to watch every game that is televised. I will say this, Syracuse is extremely talented. James Southerland is one of the best spot shooters in the country (14 ppg), Brandon Triche is one of the best guards in the Big East (14 ppg), and Rakeem Christmas (6'9" 242 jumps out of the building) is a damn monster and extremely difficult, if not impossible for Hutch to guard.
In order for the Griz to stay close: Cherry and Jamar will do everyting they can defensively to keep the Orange at bay. Gregory will need to shoot extremely well and play the best defense of his season. Hutch can not get into foul trouble because if he does, Martin will get flat out beat up in every sense of the term. Cherry and Jamar will need to combine for 40 points. Gregory and Coleman will need to combine for 20 and DeShields will need to give some quality minutes. If we keep it close down the stretch, we have a shooters chance (and we will need everything to fall). My honest prediction is Cuse 72, Griz 59.
The Cinderlla dancin', want to believe, die hard Griz fan in me wants to say Griz 61 Cuse 57 (if everything went the best possible way)