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Post by bvrbooster on Mar 23, 2019 21:30:40 GMT -8
At the conclusion of the tournament each year, the Coaches Poll issues its final team rankings. (The AP doesn't do this.) Over the last 3 years, there have been exactly 5 teams that finished in the top 10 each year - Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina, and Oregon State. Stanford, Louisville, and Maryland have not accomplished this.
The first 3 are all locks to do it again. South Carolina is going to need a very deep tournament run to get there, and we're going to have a challenge as well. We're currently 11 in the AP poll and 12 in the Coaches. We need to win on Monday, and have at least 2 of the teams ranked above us lose.
Number 11 in the Coaches poll is Gonzaga, so we get to take care of that one ourselves. Number 10 is North Carolina State, and they play Kentucky. Number 9 Maryland plays UCLA, while number 8 Iowa plays Missouri. I like the chances of one of those losing, which would just leave us to take care of our own business.
Absent Kat, I just can't see this team upsetting Louisville next weekend. Making the Sweet Sixteen again and finishing in the top 10 again would certainly qualify in my mind as having lived up to as much of our potential as possible.
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Post by sonomabeav on Mar 24, 2019 8:20:05 GMT -8
I think we can get past Gonzaga if we play well. Beyond that, it doesn't look good, of course. The 5 position is simply our glaring Achilles Heel. Our opponents know we have no inside game on the offensive side of the ball and are pressuring our perimeter players. On Defense, when Jo is in the game, our opponents realize she is anchored deep in the paint, and run the high pick and roll well above the circle.
Our on ball defender gets hung up on the screen and with no Big there to hedge, the ball handler comes off of the pick and has nothing but daylight in front of her. The result is a wide open three or penetration into the lane drawing help and making our interior D vulnerable.
The alternative is to play Maddie, but against true post players, that is a poor match for the Beavs, as she isn't tall /big enough to guard a post with decent post moves.
So the trade off for our coaches is "pick your poison". Giving up a wide open 3 with a 40% chance of a made shot, or, give up an inside 5 footer with about a 60% chance of a bucket plus the probability of drawing a foul.
The calvary is coming next year.
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Post by Werebeaver on Mar 24, 2019 8:31:13 GMT -8
I think we can get past Gonzaga if we play well. Beyond that, it doesn't look good, of course. The 5 position is simply our glaring Achilles Heel. Our opponents know we have no inside game on the offensive side of the ball and are pressuring our perimeter players. On Defense, when Jo is in the game, our opponents realize she is anchored deep in the paint, and run the high pick and roll well above the circle. Our on ball defender gets hung up on the screen and with no Big there to hedge, the ball handler comes off of the pick and has nothing but daylight in front of her. The result is a wide open three or penetration into the lane drawing help and making our interior D vulnerable. The alternative is to play Maddie, but against true post players, that is a poor match for the Beavs, as she isn't tall /big enough to guard a post with decent post moves. So the trade off for our coaches is "pick your poison". Giving up a wide open 3 with a 40% chance of a made shot, or, give up an inside 5 footer with about a 60% chance of a bucket plus the probability of drawing a foul. The calvary is coming next year. The cavalry 🐴. Save the Calvary for Good Friday. |
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Post by jefframp on Mar 24, 2019 9:35:15 GMT -8
Our on ball defender gets hung up on the screen and with no Big there to hedge, the ball handler comes off of the pick and has nothing but daylight in front of her. The result is a wide open three or penetration into the lane drawing help and making our interior D vulnerable. Why don't our defenders on the screen cut behind the screen instead of trying to follow along behind the player with the ball? Seems like that would be a better ploy than what we are doing most of the time and loosing contact with our defense. |
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Post by zeroposter on Mar 24, 2019 9:49:21 GMT -8
Our on ball defender gets hung up on the screen and with no Big there to hedge, the ball handler comes off of the pick and has nothing but daylight in front of her. The result is a wide open three or penetration into the lane drawing help and making our interior D vulnerable. Why don't our defenders on the screen cut behind the screen instead of trying to follow along behind the player with the ball? Seems like that would be a better ploy than what we are doing most of the time and loosing contact with our defense. It is why Jo is getting so much playing time. With the smaller posts in the game, that driving person either has an easier lane to the basket or the perfect feed to the corner as defenders come to help. Boise State was killing the Beavers on just that. Jo clogged the middle playing a one person zone. Knock Jo all some posters want, but she did the job yesterday. |
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Post by believeinthebeavs on Mar 24, 2019 10:50:12 GMT -8
Why don't our defenders on the screen cut behind the screen instead of trying to follow along behind the player with the ball? Seems like that would be a better ploy than what we are doing most of the time and loosing contact with our defense. It is why Jo is getting so much playing time. With the smaller posts in the game, that driving person either has an easier lane to the basket or the perfect feed to the corner as defenders come to help. Boise State was killing the Beavers on just that. Jo clogged the middle playing a one person zone. Knock Jo all some posters want, but she did the job yesterday. Jo is a big 6'8". Just anchoring the inside defense under the basket makes the opposing team alter their game plan. Most teams and players just pull up for a jumper. |
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Post by bvrbooster on Mar 25, 2019 21:12:37 GMT -8
With the Maryland loss to UCLA (who we beat twice) and our win over Gonzaga, I would expect us to leapfrog both those schools and once again finish in the top 10 for the 4th year in a row, no matter what happens next weekend. Quite an accomplishment!
I would also expect the PAC 12 to have 5 teams ranked in the top 20 for , giving the conference 19 such rankings in the last 4 years. Pretty darn good.
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