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AZ's Running NCAA Tourney Thread

CatsTopPac

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Dedicated to the Dance
 

CatsTopPac

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What do you guys think about the draw this year? I think it'll be tough, and there are some interesting potential matchups, but I think it's best-case scenario. I really like the region, playing in the P12 footprint, and hopefully getting another shot at GU.

There are definitely some solid teams, and lots of opportunities for them to get hot and cause a lot of problems top to bottom. Who are the three teams you least want to face, and the three you most want to face?

I think the pressure play of WV and VCU could give us fits, and FSU could also get hot and be tough inside for us.

I most want to play Gonzaga and ND (for the fight), and St Mary's.

I think the AZ fans will really come out for these games compared to our opponents, until the potential EE game against GU. Hopefully we can come back to PHX for the final weekend, but a lot of work to do til then.
 

gordontrue

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Looks like North Dakota starts 4 guys under 6'4" and a 5th guy who is 6'7".
 

CatsTopPac

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Looks like North Dakota starts 4 guys under 6'4" and a 5th guy who is 6'7".

Hahaha, kinda like that one year we had Jesse Perry at like 6'7" starting C for us. Was that like 2012 or something?

Yeah, I'm not giving North Dakota much of a shot against us. One of the very very pleasant surprises from this year's team is that we have only lost to teams right around us (top 15 or so). Usually, every year we lose to someone we have no business letting win. In our defense, most teams lose a game or two against much lesser competition. But I really like our consistency so far this year, and I think it lessens the risk of losing before about the S16 or E8. And adding to that, we are definitely playing our best basketball of the season.

I saw somewhere that someone is only giving us like a 45% shot on making it to the S16 this year. I guess I just don't understand where that's coming from. Again, we haven't lost to a single team outside the top 4 seeds this season. It's March and could very well happen, I just don't see anything that shows it to be a realistic prediction.
 

CatsTopPac

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Triple digits is pretty impressive. It looks like our offense is really producing over the last few games. It's crazy to see us sacrifice defense for offense but it definitely appears we are, and it's paying off. People talk about guard play and offenses in March, so I guess we're jumping in with both feet.

We still stiffened up our D when they got within 7, but we need to be able to keep it up against better teams. They made their comeback in the second half because they didn't commit some of those careless turnovers they made in the first.

Good game, on to SMC
 

CatsTopPac

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Thanks for posting this. I know we scrimmaged them the past few years before this one, and some of the returners mentioned it. Glad we got to go up against them. We're really going to need to focus on those screens because our switches against N Dakota were garbage.

They (AZ players) also mentioned that SMC shoots a lot of 3s which is something else we did poorly against when facing N Dakota. Glad we played those scrimmages!
 

CatsTopPac

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I'm worried about X's zone. They locked FSU down with it, and we really have to put a good week of practice in on it to break it on Thursday. If not, it could be a long day.

We also need to keep our confidence high. We have to start off by punching teams in the mouth. I'm glad that we outscored them by 19 after starting down 10, Miller needs to remind them that it's all between their ears. We're not going to win many more games starting off down 10.

Keep up the cohesion and settle down.

BTFD
 

The Derski

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I just hope Miller's short leash and micro management loosens up a bit.

From an outsider perspective Miller can appear insensitive and overly controlling. Kobi is essentially a non factor now because Miller will sub and sit anyone who makes the slightest mistake. Kobi would be a significant role player at the least on every other PAC-12 team. Miller is flexing his muscle on him for some reason. I just hope he doesn't transfer. Sometimes CSM's impulsive decisions are detrimental to a players confidence in my opinion.
 
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CatsTopPac

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I just hope Miller's short leash and micro management loosens up a bit.

From an outsider perspective Miller can appear insensitive and overly controlling. Kobi is essentially a non factor now because Miller will sub and sit anyone who makes the slightest mistake. Kobi would be a significant role player at the least on every other PAC-12 team. Miller is flexing his muscle on him for some reason. I just hope he doesn't transfer. Sometimes CSM's impulsive decisions are detrimental to a players confidence in my opinion.

I agree. His constant switching seems to make it more difficult for players to settle in. I wonder if him doing that all season and year after year mitigates the difficulty by having the players developing more fluidity and gelling as a wider unit, but that also seems more difficult to accomplish.

I just don't know what's going on in practice or in the locker room with him. He definitely seems to be taking it well.

I just wonder if it's as simple as his defense not making up for his offense. All of that being said, we are definitely guard-heavy so I don't know where he gets his minutes from.

He might transfer or he might bolt for the draft. When he plays I definitely hope he does well on both sides of the ball. Getting 5 mpg to prove himself definitely seems to be an uphill battle for him though.
 

CatsTopPac

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X has a good zone, but we just gave up on trying to beat it. Resigned ourselves to living and dying by the three and too much 1 on 1.

When we did that, we just gave it to them. Too bad, this was one of our better teams. Miller needs to take a hard look in the mirror on if he wants to face his weakness with the zone.
 

The Derski

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X has a good zone, but we just gave up on trying to beat it. Resigned ourselves to living and dying by the three and too much 1 on 1.

When we did that, we just gave it to them. Too bad, this was one of our better teams. Miller needs to take a hard look in the mirror on if he wants to face his weakness with the zone.
We had a 8 point lead in the final stretch... Miller sure is bringing in a pretty paycheck for all of these early exits.
 

CatsTopPac

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We had a 8 point lead in the final stretch... Miller sure is bringing in a pretty paycheck for all of these early exits.

I think he does everything else well enough to have the success he wants (FF+). But he just refuses to acknowledge the elephant in the room, and as great as he is, he'll only get as far as his ability to beat the zone. It's been consistent throughout all the top recruiting classes, great seasons, Pac championships, top rankings, and great teams. At some point, he has to face it. Or, it'll just keep standing between him and the final weekend.

I think that everything else he has going for him is good enough for him to rest on not facing the zone and saying "We'll get 'em next time", and he is still banging on the door. That's why he keeps getting the nice paycheck.
 

CatsTopPac

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Well shit, pretty surprised right now.

Miller just admitted a couple times that he didn't get them ready for the zone, especially this late in the season. Great to hear. I will say this; when Miller saw what the lack of O boards in the UCLA loss, he made it a point to not get burned like that again. Now that he recognizes his problem with the zone, I feel good about his ability to beat it. Sucks to learn like this, but it's okay if recognizes it because he's shown the ability to fix something if he sees it. Pretty good sign.


Until next March...
 

The Derski

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Well shit, pretty surprised right now.

Miller just admitted a couple times that he didn't get them ready for the zone, especially this late in the season. Great to hear. I will say this; when Miller saw what the lack of O boards in the UCLA loss, he made it a point to not get burned like that again. Now that he recognizes his problem with the zone, I feel good about his ability to beat it. Sucks to learn like this, but it's okay if recognizes it because he's shown the ability to fix something if he sees it. Pretty good sign.


Until next March...
We can only hope. Learn from mistakes. Quit being stubborn.

Time for Wildcats baseball!
 

The Derski

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Back to basketball for a second. Markannen is most likely gone. I am praying Trier stays for a 3rd season and I'm also crossing my fingers for Ayton to make it to campus. I feel like a broken record saying we can be special but we really have the potential to be special next season. Especially if Miller is willing to make adjustments. Miller has made it perfectly clear that players need to grow and develop throughout their career...Well, so do coaches.
 
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