Pac Play

[CatsTopPac]

Zeus is clumsy. I like the guy but he has no coordination and has stone hands. He should be an imposing figure by now but he isn't. He has a lot of work ahead of him.

It's weird but this is the least interested I've been in a wildcat team in some time. I can't quite put my finger on why this team hasn't peeked my interest. Just weird...

I think this team is still struggling to find their identity, and their leader. Without it, it makes them kind of ho-hum to me a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very interested, but in year's past, there were clear identities and leaders of the teams. You could see their chemistry on court, and this year the always look like they are still putting it together.

There also aren't as many fast breaks and nice oops, etc.; plays added not just because of opportunities, but because they are called to get the team/crowd fired up, or to really put pressure on the opposition. Seems like games are like practices to them. TJ is the only one playing with emotions, and it seems a little contrived sometimes.

Whatever. March is coming and between the end of the season, the P12 tourney, and the dance, I'm sure I'll be as ready as I've ever been to watch. Hopefully they are as ready to play.

 

[The Derski]

Gotta beat Washington tonight.

 

[The Derski]

Rondaes failed dunk trending right now.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Fortunately, he is alright. Looks like it was nothing more than a slippery floor.

 

[The Derski]

Fortunately, he is alright. Looks like it was nothing more than a slippery floor.

Looked scary at first. Glad he's ok too. Kinda bummed it wasn't a highlight slam. I guess the Washington court is natorious for random slippage.

 

[The Derski]

ESPN game day coming to Tucson next Saturday for the game vs UCLA.

 

[The Derski]

Everyone played great today.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Everyone played great today.

Yep. I'm still concerned with SJ's turnovers, and our FT shooting. That's more nit-picking than anything, but still, a Pac title game or the second weekend in March (and beyond) are times when those could mean the difference between winning or going home.

 

[The Derski]

GAMEDAY in Tucson!!!

 

[johnson]

Watching Zags v. St. Mary's. Gaels had 'em but they are about to blow it. Too bad, probably would have jumped them in the rankings had Gonzaga lost.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Watching Zags v. St. Mary's. Gaels had 'em but they are about to blow it. Too bad, probably would have jumped them in the rankings had Gonzaga lost.

Gaels ran out of gas.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Not only is it a good day whenever KU loses, but the KState win gives us a nice little bump for beating them in Maui. They need to play like that (and the way they played us, OU, and Baylor) more often and finish the season strong.

 

[CatsTopPac]

Well, tomorrow is the big game. I've circled @Utah as the best gauge for knowing where we are heading into March. I guess I could argue that the P12 title game against Utah would be more accurate, but both teams would have to get there first.

We've definitely had to develop more this season, as opposed to last year where we just seemed to start the season ready for March. This year's team had to develop a bunch of cohesion, chemistry, and roles. I like SJ's progression, Rondae seems to be getting to the basket better (in addition to his ridiculous defense), TJ looks more and more comfortable in increasing his scoring to bolster his offense. York looks like he's playing the best ball of his career. Pitts looks much better (especially on defense). I'm still a little disturbed by Zeus' lack of consistency, and BA sometimes looks like a beast on both sides, and sometimes he looks like he doesn't know what's going on. Ristic and PJC are certainly better than I could have dreamed heading in.

The Huntsman Center is going to be rocking like the 90s, and it's going to be such a tough environment. It'll be a close one regardless of who wins. It's going to come down to who wants it more. If we can pull it off, I think it'll be our biggest win of the season, and put us in a great place finishing the season and heading into both tourneys.

I'm so stoked for this game.

 

[johnson]

Utah will definitely be ready. They humiliated ASU. Speaking of which...anyone catch the end of that game? Utah is up a mere 41 points with 10 seconds to go and execute a perfect alley-oop dunk to increase the lead to 43 before the buzzer.

Not something Sean Miller would order, but I was LMAO.

 

[The Derski]

Idk if it's the new SportsHoopla layout but this board seems really dead in just about the pinnacle of the NCAA season. Lets go Cat fans!!!! ITS MARCH

 

[The Derski]

Someone with espn insider wanna post the rest of this please?
NCAAM Arizona looks a lot like Kentucky - ESPN

 

[CatsTopPac]

Idk if it's the new SportsHoopla layout but this board seems really dead in just about the pinnacle of the NCAA season. Lets go Cat fans!!!! ITS MARCH

For me personally, I've been pretty busy with school. I'm also back in Tucson, so I have been going to almost all of the games instead of being able to post during games like last year. But just within the season, I think last year it was a forgone conclusion that we were NC contenders from the gate, until BA went down. This year it seems that we needed more development. It's not an excuse, but I think our expectations took a hit compared to last year. But we have developed pretty well this season, and the Utah game proved it to me. We are pretty close to where we should be. I also think that playing against Duke in MSG last year, @SDSU, and @Mich were all monster games that kept us going throughout the season. Also, the Pac was better last year.

Finally, GS and nogi are all but off of here, which sucks.

I can't wait to see them cut down the nets on Thursday (given a win).

Final charge to get a 1-2 seed in the West! Last weekend, and then on to the P12 tourney before Selection Sunday!

 

[johnson]

It's weird...we are healthy this year and have more talent than ever, but I agree, expectations seem more tempered than last year. To me, last year, just watching them, I felt they were the best team in the Nation. Having seen Kentucky play, it doesn't feel that obvious.

When you are an elite program, even having one team you can look at and think "they might have it down a little more than us" can probably cause some pause. Oh...and losing to three garbage teams, esp ASU, is always reason for concern.

But I'll be just as pumped as ever for the tournaments. Really hoping they win the PAC 12 tourney...been too long for the best team in the conference to go without winning it.

 

[CatsTopPac]

It's weird...we are healthy this year and have more talent than ever, but I agree, expectations seem more tempered than last year. To me, last year, just watching them, I felt they were the best team in the Nation. Having seen Kentucky play, it doesn't feel that obvious.

When you are an elite program, even having one team you can look at and think "they might have it down a little more than us" can probably cause some pause. Oh...and losing to three garbage teams, esp ASU, is always reason for concern.

But I'll be just as pumped as ever for the tournaments. Really hoping they win the PAC 12 tourney...been too long for the best team in the conference to go without winning it.

I agree. I do think that we are close to last year's team (even with BA), right now, and have the ability to be better by deep March. But you're right, last year I did think we were the frontrunner with BA. I think the competition is better too, though.

I'll say this, too. I really liked that Utah game. We had so much pressure on us. That place was rocking, and Utah is really good. At first, we weren't handling the pressure to make shots, and Utah's defense was very solid. But we finished it. We hadn't had a physical chess match game since Gonzaga, and we showed resiliency in both. I liked the Utah game because it was on the road, against a similar team to GU (in my opinion), and it was at the end of the season so we can use it as a better gauge. I really like our chances if we face them in Vegas.

Not to look too far ahead, but I like us also playing 3 games in 3 days in Vegas, and hopefully finishing against Utah. It's really time to start looking at the changes with every win and loss around the country for those top 2 seeds and heading into the dance. Everything is going to have correlations from here on out.

 

[The Derski]

A lot of people believe us and Wisconsin are the two teams that can beat UK.