Gonzaga @ Chiles Center, Feb. 22, 6:00pm

GU comes to Chiles this week, for an early start game, which means rush hour traffic. I cannot say I am looking forward to this game. Two weeks ago, coming off a loss to SMC where they shot poorly from 3P range, the Pilots gave them open looks, and they quickly made 4 3-pointers and opened with a 19-1 lead on the way to a 32 point win. They ended up 15-33 on 3P shots, much better than their season average of 34%.

They then went to Kentucky and got their only Quad 1 win (they are 1-5) of the season. Since then they have easily defeated LMU and UOP.

KenPom has GU at #20, actually ahead of #22 SMC. The NET has GU ranked #23 with SMC #14. They know they can't afford a loss to UP for their NCAA at-large chances, and they don't want to rely on having to win the WCC tournament to get in. So they will be focused.

6'9" Graham Ike (a portal transfer from Wyoming) is their leading scorer, and is averaging 22 ppg his last three games. Hickman shoots the most 3P shots. Watson leads in rebounds, steals and blocks.

ESPN's matchup predictor gives UP a 2.3% chance of winning. I hope the Pilots play smart with good effort, at least.

Vegas puts the Zags at 21.5 point favorites, and the over/under at 160.5. That projects to a final score off something like 91-70 (coincidently, exactly the score of the PU game). I don't expect GU to hit 3s like they did on Spokane or like PU did. Hopefully the Pilots have been focusing on 3P defense. And I am thinking the game will be more of a grind it out style, with lower scoring. We'll see.

NoPoNeighbor wrote:That stat would suggest that no, the Pilots have not been focusing on 3P defense. I don’t know if I can bring myself to watch tonight.

Well, I was hoping recently, like this week. We'll see. I have only walked out on one Pilot game ever; during the Porter years when they were maddeningly awful. If they give up 7 of 10 3P shots in the first half, can't swear I'll stay for the second.

Dean Murdoch wrote:

up7587 wrote:I have only walked out on one Pilot game ever; during the Porter years when they were maddeningly awful.

Well now I've got to know. Which game was it that finally broke the camel's back?

I don't even remember what game. It was a game later in the season where they kept making the same dumb turnovers again and again and taking the same bad shots over and over. I couldn't take it anymore. I was too frustrated to be around, so I left.

up7587 wrote:Vegas puts the Zags at 21.5 point favorites, and the over/under at 160.5.  . . .
And I am thinking the game will be more of a grind it out style, with lower scoring.  We'll see.

Haha, I do not bet sports, and this is exactly why. GU first covered the 21.5 spread with a little over 2 minutes to go. When Pilots fouled to get Tyler Harris out and Drew Stack in, the 2 FTs put GU up by 24 points with 36 seconds left. Drew's first basket of his Pilot career, a 3 pointer, brought Pilots back to a slimmest of covers.

GU is very skilled, and with their height and strength advantages they made 59% of their 2P shots, including a lot of floaters and drop shots. The Pilots struggled to finish those shots against the GU defenders, making only 35% of 2-point shots. Masic and Austin combined to shoot 4-16 on those shots. They matched GU on 3P makes at 8, and had a better percentage, 42% to 35%. But GU got 5 more offensive rebounds than the Pilots, again due to inside strength and quickness.

The Pilots left 5 to 7 points on the FT line, with uncharacteristic misses on 10 of 21 including a front end of a 1-1.

They did well avoiding fouls and getting GU in some foul trouble. Six Pilots contributed to the 14 assists on 23 makes.

Ike dominated inside with 20 points on 9-14 shooting, and he really took advantage of the defensive switches that left Juanse on him several times. That's never going to work out well.