Pilots vs. Gonzaga @ 7pm on Thursday - Root TV

Rochin54 wrote:My thought: this zag team is a legitimate top 10 team. We showed a little bit of fight (especially with Oskars, as you mentioned) and toughness last night, which was good.

I agree that in other games I have seen, the Zags are worthy of their ranking... but I think, if nothing else, we did a decent job of making them not look like a Top 10 team last night, in a physical game. Our offense continues to struggle... Carr being out doesn't help that at all. I had noticed the line-up at one point being Barker, Nicholas, Pressley, Reinsfelds, Ahern... only 1 junior, 1 sophomore and 3 freshmen (1 of which was a walk-on), and yeah they looked decent.

I was glad to see us make a few mini-runs, and not let the game get too far out of hand too early. Unfortunately, we turned around and gave up runs right after ours, as well. But the truth is still that we are still waaaaayyyyy behind the top of the league now, and have a lot of ground to make up before competing for a championship...

For those who continue to profess that one need only maintain the right outlook to continue winning ways at the U . . .well Rev's comments to our intrepid Portland Tribune reporter would suggest he has that, if not a winning team. Nice mention of Wintering coming in next year. Reveno's possible intentions regarding the open scholarship are mentioned . . .he may be going for some backcourt help afterall.

Zags have way too much for PilotsCreated on Thursday, 17 January 2013 10:00. | Written by Kerry Eggers. |
The traditional list of things one can count upon in life (death, taxes, fake girlfriends playing tricks on guys over the Internet) includes a Gonzaga victory when it meets up with Portland on the hardcourt.

The Bulldogs’ 71-49 rout of the Pilots Thursday night at Chiles Center was their 19th straight win in the West Coast Conference series and their 33rd in 34 meetings since 1996.

Custer had a better chance at Little Bighorn.

I’ve seen Eric Reveno’s Pilots give Mark Few’s Bulldogs a pretty good run at Chiles several times over the years, but it didn’t happen Thursday.

Part of that is Portland (8-11 overall, 1-3 in WCC action) isn’t a very good team, especially with starting point guard David Carr lost for the season after knee surgery.

The other side is that the eighth-ranked Bulldogs (17-1, 4-0) are loaded.

Reveno’s game plan was to pack the middle, swarm 7-footers Kelly Olynyk and Przemek Karnowski and make the Zags beat the Pilots from the perimeter.

Olynyk got off only one shot and scored two points and Karnowski was blanked in the first half, but Gonzaga bombed in 8 of 15 3-pointers en route to a 36-26 lead at the break.

In the second half, Olynyk got loose for 19 of his game-high 21 points and the Zags did most of their damage inside in an arresting display of versatility.

“That’s what we can do,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “We have some nice balance this year. We can call on a lot of guys.”

The Zags hammered Portland on the boards (36-22) and in points in the paint (36-18), got off 14 more shots from the field than did UP and scored 30 points off 17 Pilot turnovers.

Reveno’s game plan was to limit Gonzaga’s post production, take care of the ball and keep the Zags off the glass. One-half out of three wasn’t nearly good enough.

The Pilots had plenty of open shots from the outside, especially early. They seemed reluctant to take them, other than Kevin Bailey, who hit his first six from the field and finished with 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and rambunctious freshman Oskars Reinfelds, who had a dozen points in 22 minutes off the bench.

“We had a struggle offensively,” said Reveno, in his seventh season on The Bluff. “We weren’t playing very confident. We were stagnant.”

Gonzaga’s suffocating man-to-man defense had something to do with that. The Zags have size and athleticism and are good enough to win even when the offensive production is only marginal.

Portland’s sophomore center, Thomas van der Mars, went scoreless with one rebound in 19 minutes. Starting shooting guard Korey Thieleke went 0 for 5 from the field in his 14 minutes. Leading scorer Ryan Nicholas made only two baskets and finished with seven points and eight boards in 32 minutes.

Senior point guard Derrick Rodgers (four points, two assists, two turnovers in 34 minutes) may be a capable backup, but he’s no Division-I starter. Rodgers’ backup now is true freshman David Ahern, a walk-on who was taken out of a redshirt season with Carr’s injury and was playing his second game Thursday night.

The Pilots lose only Rodgers from this year’s team and should be better next season, especially if they can beef things up in the backcourt. They could really use a Jared Stohl-type bomber from long range and a do-it-all point man along the lines of former Pilot T.J. Campbell.

Signed to come in next season is Alec Wintering, a 5-8 prep senior who plays for Muggsy Bogues in Concord, N.C. — the No.-3 ranked point guard in the state according to basketballelite.com.

“He’ll give us some playmaking,” Reveno said. “And we have one scholarship open. We’re looking for someone in regard to ballhandling skills.”

I’d go the junior-college route there, Coach.

As for Gonzaga, there is great promise in Few’s 14th season as head coach. With wins over Clemson, Davidson, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Saint Mary’s already in the bag and loss only to Illinois, the Zags are off to the best start in school history. Few programs in the country can match the talent in their 10-man rotation.

Few’s best team?

“Everybody is asking me that,” he said. “It’s mid-January. Who knows? But up to this point, none of my teams have done what this team has done.

“I was telling (former Gonzaga great Jeremy) Pargo, his teams posted some big wins in February and March. We’ll see if we can do that. That’s to be determined. Right now, (his players) have done a nice job of handling the gauntlet of schedule I threw at them.”

The Zags have mostly been disappointing in the postseason over the years, making the NCAA Tournament every season in the Few era but never advancing beyond the Sweet Sixteen. Reveno won’t be surprised if this is the year that changes.

“This is the best Gonzaga team that has come into Chiles since I’ve been here offensively, and they proved it tonight by doing something different — making (perimeter) shots,” he said. The Bulldogs “are better than they have been offensively, and defensively, year in and year out, they’re underrated. I’m not sure they’re better defensively than they have been, but they’re as good.”

The Pilots are destined for a lower-echelon finish in the WCC, though Reveno won’t accept that.

“I told our players, the next step for us is to learn from this one,” he said. “We need to improve on some things, with self-inflicted turnovers at the top of the list.

“What this showed tonight is we’re not good enough to beat a top-10 team in our building right now. It doesn’t prove anything else. We have a lot of positive stuff going on, and we have to grow from that.”

kerryeggers@portlandtribune.comThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

“We had a struggle offensively,” said Reveno, in his seventh season on The Bluff. “We weren’t playing very confident. We were stagnant.”

That was really obvious to me.

Not really anything new to this specific game, either...

I'd like to applaud the efforts of Oskar last night. He played hard & he played well!

Gonzaga has athletes, bar none. Really amazing to watch! Harris is an absolute stud, and there isn't a single player they had out on the floor last night that wouldn't start for us. I think the results and the play speak for themselves, no need to beat a dead horse!

It was great to see the students there last night. It was great, too, to see what a tremendous effort the pilots put forth. Near the end, it got out of hand. But that's what happens when you're up against athletes that are that much more, well, athletic than us.

Once again, I was surrounded by a lot of expert and seasoned "coaches" last night. lol. Some of these guys should think about opening up shop as consultants, because, let me tell you, they know what they're talking about!

Overall, the score was no reflection on my enjoyment of the game. We don't have to win, in order for me to walk away from a game at the Chiles center with a smile--although, it does help!

GO PILOTS

bctigard wrote:
there isn't a single player they had out on the floor last night that wouldn't start for us.

I could make a joke about Rex Walters here but I'll show some restraint.

Just watched the recording of the game:

1. I want to applaud the Athletic Department for "giving" the game to Root TV and Bill Kruger instead of CSN....Root presented it very well, and it goes to a much wider audience.

2. Although I'll admit to being as frustrated as anyone at losing to GU over and over again....I have to say UP was in the game all the way until the 7:15 mark in the second half....but we never scored another point the rest of the game.

3. I enjoyed reading the relatively upbeat and well thought-out comments by PN readers who I think recognize just how good GU is, and how well a number of the UP players responded to such a huge challenge.

Good crowd; good game (until the 7:15 mark in the second half).

DTLegend wrote:Ryan's play was not good. I think he was frustrated early and never recovered. He looked slow out there. He had some TERRIBLE passes, he forced his offense a little. Granted he was probably focused more on the defensive end of the floor with the Gonzaga bigs, but still. Our best chance of winning is when Ryan is efficient and effective rebounding the ball.

Here's Ryan's response in an interview with CSNNW:
http://www.csnnw.com/video_content_type/ryan-nicholas-stay-together-stay-calm

Really nothing new from Rev in his interview with CSNNW....he's obviously correct when he says, "We need to get stronger with the basketball."
http://www.csnnw.com/video_content_type/coach-reveno-self-inflicted-wounds

Refresh my memory.


When is the last time we stayed within 22 points of the #8 or better team in the country?

Don't say UCLA.

PurpleGeezer wrote:Refresh my memory.


When is the last time we stayed within 22 points of the #8 or better team in the country?

Don't say UCLA.

Yea, the 122-57 loss to UCLA in Westwood (I was there, it was Christmas (winter) Break) in 1966 was a thrashing….and as I recall we lost to GU twice that season and lost to Oregon at home too.

But we did beat a very good Oregon State team in the Homecoming game at Memorial Coliseum that year in a very low scoring affair. No, it wasn’t “Nacho Night”, it was “Dam the Beavers Night.“

Actually, I was referring to the win over UCLA a couple years ago...

Oh yea, when we reached #25 before losing to PSU at home.....

I remember the game, but UCLA was #8 or better?

That's why I said don't say UCLA....

Time's up.


The answer is West Virginia in the same 76 classic in 2009 when we beat UCLA by 27.
Final score 84-66
They were ranked 8 at he time.

Ah jeez, Geez, it's been too long a day already.....

I could sense you were fading. That's why I figured I better give the answer before you head hit the down pillow.