We Beat Gonzaga
- Thread starter slothrop8
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One of the issues that Gonzaga poses is our size advantage is basically nullified against them. They have 3 really good big guys. Karnowski is 7'1" and built like a house. Jonathan Williams is a hyper-athletic 4. Zach Collins is a future NBA first round pick coming off their bench. They have the size to deal with us.
My biggest concern though is if Joel Berry isn't healthy, this is going to be tough. I'm not sure Berry will be guarding Williams-Goss or not but a quality Berry is really important.
The main advantage we have is they have no one that can guard Jackson, so we need him to have a huge game.
Personally, I think Gonzaga is better. Their starting 5 vs our starting 5 is basically a wash, but they have firepower off the bench and that's something we don't really have.
I know Vegas has us favored by 2, but that's because UNC is a major public betting team. KenPom has Gonzaga winning by 4 and realistically, if you set any tournament line as UNC +4, the bet would be so one sided.
At the end of the day, these are probably the 2 best teams in the country playing one another for it all... But Gonzaga is firing pretty well on all cylinders. We don't know what Berry will be and we have no idea what's happened to Hicks. More questions on our team.
Williams-Goss rolled his ankle against South Carolina... He returned, but hopefully that swells up so he's not 100% on Monday.
I think Gonzaga's a little more well rounded team but they haven't faced a team that has our talent maybe since early December when they beat Arizona.
My biggest concern though is if Joel Berry isn't healthy, this is going to be tough. I'm not sure Berry will be guarding Williams-Goss or not but a quality Berry is really important.
The main advantage we have is they have no one that can guard Jackson, so we need him to have a huge game.
Personally, I think Gonzaga is better. Their starting 5 vs our starting 5 is basically a wash, but they have firepower off the bench and that's something we don't really have.
I know Vegas has us favored by 2, but that's because UNC is a major public betting team. KenPom has Gonzaga winning by 4 and realistically, if you set any tournament line as UNC +4, the bet would be so one sided.
At the end of the day, these are probably the 2 best teams in the country playing one another for it all... But Gonzaga is firing pretty well on all cylinders. We don't know what Berry will be and we have no idea what's happened to Hicks. More questions on our team.
Williams-Goss rolled his ankle against South Carolina... He returned, but hopefully that swells up so he's not 100% on Monday.
I think Gonzaga's a little more well rounded team but they haven't faced a team that has our talent maybe since early December when they beat Arizona.
I want us to win every single game every single year. In saying that, I don't know a team I've felt deserved a title more than this one. I literally hurt to even consider these kids not being the last ones standing given the heartache of last year and the shear toughness it takes to get back and get another shot. These kids are tremendous and I hope redemption is the theme on Monday night and our kids cement their legacy with a national title.
Gonzaga is a very good team but I'd rather face them Monnday night than last years Villanova team
I think we're way more talented than they are. I think we win the title Monday.
With a healthy Joel, we could overcome Isaiah's being virtually M.I.A. but he's not close to healthy. Gonzaga is very good. I'm going to be honest, I'm nervous as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I probably want this title more than any since Dean's first.
The main thing that gives me hope is that we've played tougher competition throughout the year. Most other numbers give them the edge.
We have to clean up our play in the last minute of the games. Nearly choked the last two away, 2 games with missed free throws and turnovers all in the last minute, including blowing a seven point lead with 50 seconds against Kentucky. The Zags are very good but we are playing the best team defence I would say in a very long time. Nate has played good too. Getting his hands on balls, creating steals and blocking passing lanes. We better shoot better, 37% will equal a long ride home. I think our guys will be ready for the challenge though. Let's hope Gonna doesn't see the North Carolina jersey and go lights out. If we do lose, Im glad it would be to the Zags though.
Something that no one seems to mention is yes Gonzaga is big up front and maybe we haven't played anyone other than Fl. State with that type of size but the reverse is true also. The Zags have not seen anyone with the size that the Heels bring to the game all year but the so called experts don't seem to notice this. The other big issue is Jackson. He is a match-up problem and if he is on, it opens the entire floor up and the Zags bigs can't camp under the basket. Don't know how it will end up but one thing is for sure there are only two teams with a chance to win it all tonight and the Heels are still standing.
RUN-RUN-RUN and then RUN some more. Their Big boy will be gassed before the half.
Need Hicks to show up and show out like he can.
Need Hicks to show up and show out like he can.
Hicks needs to be active. He can't let an early mistake take him out of the game mentally or physically. If the FSU size is comparable, Hicks played that way and netted 22. Looking for 2 teams to throw some haymakers, play inside out, and give us a classic CBB game, with the Heels leading when the clock hits zero. How cool would it be if Kennedy Meeks is MOP?
Agree with everything here.
I think the point that they haven't seen anyone like us is a good one. Have they played anyone yet that has our size and can run it down their throat? Hope they are a little shell shocked with our skill level.
That said, Hicks needs to be a force. Over 15 points and over 8 rebounds for him and I don't see how we lose.
I think the point that they haven't seen anyone like us is a good one. Have they played anyone yet that has our size and can run it down their throat? Hope they are a little shell shocked with our skill level.
That said, Hicks needs to be a force. Over 15 points and over 8 rebounds for him and I don't see how we lose.
Hicks is the key in this game. As good as Kennedy has been, he won't overwhelm them with his athletic ability. In other words he's a lot like them. Hicks brings that element of oh shit he can get up and down like nobody we have played against at the 4 or 5, alongside Meeks and Bradley. Throw in Maye and his ability to stretch their 4 on the defensive end. We need good production from both and likely a big game from at least one of the Hicks or Maye combo. We need Kennedy to continue and tear it up on the glass.
I'm just going to put this out here, a little reverse mojo from the game picks contest can't hurt. Everybody do their part. Whatever Steat or Bleed would set the line at, I'll go with
Gonzaga
Under
(my picking against them, seemed to boost the Heels most every time this year and last).
Go Heels!
Gonzaga
Under
(my picking against them, seemed to boost the Heels most every time this year and last).
Go Heels!
I'm climbing on the bandwagon hoping Hicks has one of his best games. We need it. His NBA hopes need it. I'm sure he wants it.
I hope the refs don't get in the way of him giving his best effort.
I hope the refs don't get in the way of him giving his best effort.
Honestly I feel as if Justin is the best player on the floor and they don't have a great matchup for him so I think that's the biggest difference maker between the teams.
I think they are a well balanced, fundamental, experience team. I still don't believe they have faced or been challenged by a Top Tier team. The only team they beat with elite talent/athletes/coaching is Az....who did NOT have 2 of their starters, and it was early in the year against freshman.
Don't get me wrong..not saying it will be easy, but I'm not buying how great they are.
NWG is a stud, and the majority of their offense solely depends on his production. If he goes off..it will be a long night..if he is neutralized like we did Oregon/UK stars..its our game to win or lose.
Don't get me wrong..not saying it will be easy, but I'm not buying how great they are.
NWG is a stud, and the majority of their offense solely depends on his production. If he goes off..it will be a long night..if he is neutralized like we did Oregon/UK stars..its our game to win or lose.
This.
If we get into a track meet with them, they won't have enough players at the entire school to hang with us. If they control the tempo and force us into a half court game, it will be a dog fight. They know this. We know this. Heck, everyone in the country knows this. All a matter of who can exert their will on the the other. If we can force tempo, I love our chances. If not, well, we have our work cut out for us.
Anyone else have a Carolina flag on their car or am I the only one? Did that fad go away? Is there something I don't know? Is it against the law now? LOL HELP!
JJ can bother NWG plenty, too. Depending on how healthy JB's ankles are, JB could really pester NWG, but NWG is quite a bit bigger than JB, it seems.
While I'm pretty certain Theo would be starting over Kenny, it sure would be nice to have a healthy Kenny for his D this game. Oh well, it is what it is.
I hope we win easily. Better for my heart. And I'd like to see all our guys get real minutes in a national championship game.
Wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit to go up by 20+ at halftime and increase that by another 20 by the time we got to 5 minutes left so Roy could clear the bench and enjoy the moment.
Don't see that happening, but I would love it if it did!
Don't see that happening, but I would love it if it did!
After the close games of late, my aging ticker would prefer an '09 NC style game versus a '57, '82, '93, or '05 version.
You are forgetting about Killian Tillie, who is a 6-10 freshman and is pretty solid.
I think Berry will be on Matthews and Pinson will be on Goss
You mentioned Williams, and he is more than capable guarding jackson with even better size.
I am not sure I agree with this. There was this guy named Luke that exploded during the regionals, and Tony has been known to put a bucket up or two.
I think both teams are equally well rounded. My only concern is that we have two players that are capable of big things that played very poorly Saturday, and we relied too heavily on Kennedy. I also was concerned with how Theo and Justin played in the second half. JJ didn't do much during the last 15 minutes of the game, and Theo missed two easy lay ins.
Hopefully we will get better games out of Berry and Hicks, Luke/Tony will provide something off the bench, and Theo contributes some layups and avoids shooting threes.
