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Next up at #10 Gonzaga 12/8

grizindabox said:
Does anyone really think this game will be close....
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Well, we do have a bit of statistical analysis to give a clue: Northern Arizona lost to the Zags in Spokane (just before Thanksgiving) by 39 points.

KenPom has the Griz at somewhere at between +9-to-15 points PG over the Jacks on a neutral floor. Which means the Griz could realistically lose by anywhere between 18-30 points. Kenpom predicts Montana will lose 76-60, with a 7% chance of winning in Spokane.

Arizona beat Gonzaga yesterday by 5 in Spokane. NAU travels to Arizona next Saturday.
 
grizindabox said:
Does anyone really think this game will be close....
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No... But the Griz have not played good for 40 minutes yet, if they do and the Zags play average or lower... who knows!

I will say this, the Griz better defend and score at least 75 points.
 
The Griz probably have better guard play, which is the main thing in college BB in my opinion. The Zag guards looked like absolute shit against AZ. Perkins couldn't even get the ball up the court without turning it over. I think the Zag bigs will probably be the difference, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a close game in the first half if the GU backcourt comes out like they did against Arizona.
 
LivingstonNative said:
This game will also be on ROOT SPORTS NORTHWEST. Root does most of the Gonzaga bb games.
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Tape delayed on Root....looks like 11:30 mountain....for anyone in the Spokane area....it is on local tv and SWX
 
I'd say there is a strong chance the Griz bigs will be in foul trouble all game. Not sure they really have anyone to guard Wiltjer either. Unless they want to gamble with Breunig. I'm expecting a twenty to thirty point blowout. Hope i'm wrong
 
Inland NW Griz said:
I'd say there is a strong chance the Griz bigs will be in foul trouble all game. Not sure they really have anyone to guard Wiltjer either. Unless they want to gamble with Breunig. I'm expecting a twenty to thirty point blowout. Hope i'm wrong
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Wonder if this is part of the reason Boehning was getting more minutes recently. He'll be overmatched, certainly, against the bigs of Gonzaga of Kansas. But hopefully he'll be able to bang around with them some, maybe get a few rebounds, maybe keep them from dominating the paint too much.
 
Inland NW Griz said:
I'd say there is a strong chance the Griz bigs will be in foul trouble all game. Not sure they really have anyone to guard Wiltjer either. Unless they want to gamble with Breunig. I'm expecting a twenty to thirty point blowout. Hope i'm wrong
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Hate to say it but a 20-30 point blowout may be a blessing.
 
Remember, the Montana basketball program is about where the Gonzaga program was back in the late 90's. Back then, '97-'98, they just failed to make the NCAA tournament (sound familiar?) but instead won a first-round game at the NIT (we lost to Texas A&M, but played credibly well for a half.) Coach Don Monson had a few good players in Matt Santangelo and Casey Calvary (Martin Breunig, Michael Ogunine?) but then the next year he hit the road, Jack. If teams wouldn't play him home and home, he'd play them there. The result? The Zags not only made the NCAA tournament that year ('98-'99), but they went on a Cinderella run, making the Elite Eight. And the rest is history: Big Dance every year since then. TV exposure. Top-flight recruits. But it all began back there in '98-'99, by playing the best, so when they got to the tournament they played to win, not to be intimidated, not to lose graciously.

Of course, we don't have the athletes to match Gonzaga. It doesn't take a genius to come on this board and say we're gonna lose by 30. But that's not what this game is about. It's about upgrading our schedule, just like the Zags did, bringing in better talent (in the pipeline) and getting to a point where our kids and our program our competitive with the elite teams. It's all part of the larger program that DeCuire is putting in place in Montana. I'm hoping the young kids--Oguine, Moorehead, Boehning and DeJong--see plenty of playing time. This isn't about tonight. This is about a much brighter future for Montana basketball.
 
citay said:
Remember, the Montana basketball program is about where the Gonzaga program was back in the late 90's. Back then, '97-'98, they just failed to make the NCAA tournament (sound familiar?) but instead won a first-round game at the NIT (we lost to Texas A&M, but played credibly well for a half.) Coach Don Monson had a few good players in Matt Santangelo and Casey Calvary (Martin Breunig, Michael Ogunine?) but then the next year he hit the road, Jack. If teams wouldn't play him home and home, he'd play them there. The result? The Zags not only made the NCAA tournament that year ('98-'99), but they went on a Cinderella run, making the Elite Eight. And the rest is history: Big Dance every year since then. TV exposure. Top-flight recruits. But it all began back there in '98-'99, by playing the best, so when they got to the tournament they played to win, not to be intimidated, not to lose graciously.

Of course, we don't have the athletes to match Gonzaga. It doesn't take a genius to come on this board and say we're gonna lose by 30. But that's not what this game is about. It's about upgrading our schedule, just like the Zags did, bringing in better talent (in the pipeline) and getting to a point where our kids and our program our competitive with the elite teams. It's all part of the larger program that DeCuire is putting in place in Montana. I'm hoping the young kids--Oguine, Moorehead, Boehning and DeJong--see plenty of playing time. This isn't about tonight. This is about a much brighter future for Montana basketball.
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Like your perspective citay!
 
citay said:
Remember, the Montana basketball program is about where the Gonzaga program was back in the late 90's. Back then, '97-'98, they just failed to make the NCAA tournament (sound familiar?) but instead won a first-round game at the NIT (we lost to Texas A&M, but played credibly well for a half.) Coach Don Monson had a few good players in Matt Santangelo and Casey Calvary (Martin Breunig, Michael Ogunine?) but then the next year he hit the road, Jack. If teams wouldn't play him home and home, he'd play them there. The result? The Zags not only made the NCAA tournament that year ('98-'99), but they went on a Cinderella run, making the Elite Eight. And the rest is history: Big Dance every year since then. TV exposure. Top-flight recruits. But it all began back there in '98-'99, by playing the best, so when they got to the tournament they played to win, not to be intimidated, not to lose graciously.

Of course, we don't have the athletes to match Gonzaga. It doesn't take a genius to come on this board and say we're gonna lose by 30. But that's not what this game is about. It's about upgrading our schedule, just like the Zags did, bringing in better talent (in the pipeline) and getting to a point where our kids and our program our competitive with the elite teams. It's all part of the larger program that DeCuire is putting in place in Montana. I'm hoping the young kids--Oguine, Moorehead, Boehning and DeJong--see plenty of playing time. This isn't about tonight. This is about a much brighter future for Montana basketball.
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I agree to a point but a bad blowout loss can hurt recruitment as well. I think it was Kennedy that scheduled Auburn and Duke and that seemed to confirm the Big Sky as a much lesser league. That being said, the game tonight might just show how far the Griz have come and if the guards can remain calm, and Breunig and Krislovic stay out of foul trouble, and if the refs let them play, as they did at Pepperdine this could be an interesting game. I am no pollyana but I think UM can play with Gonzaga. I guess that puts me in a class of one. The big problem is that GU is one of the best at preventing the 3 pter.
 
citay said:
Remember, the Montana basketball program is about where the Gonzaga program was back in the late 90's. Back then, '97-'98, they just failed to make the NCAA tournament (sound familiar?) but instead won a first-round game at the NIT (we lost to Texas A&M, but played credibly well for a half.) Coach Don Monson had a few good players in Matt Santangelo and Casey Calvary (Martin Breunig, Michael Ogunine?) but then the next year he hit the road, Jack. If teams wouldn't play him home and home, he'd play them there. The result? The Zags not only made the NCAA tournament that year ('98-'99), but they went on a Cinderella run, making the Elite Eight. And the rest is history: Big Dance every year since then. TV exposure. Top-flight recruits. But it all began back there in '98-'99, by playing the best, so when they got to the tournament they played to win, not to be intimidated, not to lose graciously.

Of course, we don't have the athletes to match Gonzaga. It doesn't take a genius to come on this board and say we're gonna lose by 30. But that's not what this game is about. It's about upgrading our schedule, just like the Zags did, bringing in better talent (in the pipeline) and getting to a point where our kids and our program our competitive with the elite teams. It's all part of the larger program that DeCuire is putting in place in Montana. I'm hoping the young kids--Oguine, Moorehead, Boehning and DeJong--see plenty of playing time. This isn't about tonight. This is about a much brighter future for Montana basketball.
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Great post. The other thing to keep in mind is that the competitive pre-conference schedule will pay dividends once conference rolls around.
 
BTW the game is on dtv channel 788 I think. You need the sports pack, it's one of the espn extra channels. They the delay is on root.
 
FYI: My Directv guide shows this game being televised on Root NW (channel 687) at 7:00 PM. I will be working but am recording it.
 
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