UConn vs. Gonzaga (Who wins???)

[JimHurley]

Their bigs are better than ours but guards win games and we clearly have the better guards. I think UConn would win this one by at least 8.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Have no idea. Not sure who wins but i know in march id pick us to win. Gonzaga always manages to come up short in March.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I watched Gonzaga play a ton last season, so I think I have a decent handle on the type of team they should be.

I think the kid people are sleeping on is Perkins. I'm sure most of us around here remember him - five star recruit who played well at the beginning of the season for Gonzaga before missing the rest of the year with a broken jaw.

I suspect Wiltjer and Sabonis will be two of the best players in the country next year. We'll probably be able to limit one of them and be forced to live with the other making some plays. Sabonis is 6'10, 230 but he plays bigger than that - he'll catch the ball real deep in the post and he knows how to use his body to gain territory. He's one of those kids where you can tell his dad played. Rebounding rate and scoring efficiency off the chart for a frosh - he was essentially a poor man's Jahlil Okafor last season and by next year he might be the real thing.

For as good as Miller is, he's giving up a lot of size to Sabonis. In Wiltjer, you've got a fifth year senior with the entire catalog of driveway moves - he'll upfake, back you down, get you off balance, shoot over you...he's a nightmare guard, but if Miller's as good as advertised, you have to think he matches up about as well as anybody.

My guess is Ollie will send a hard double at Sabonis if he torches us early, as reacting out of the traps was one of the areas he had trouble last season. The other big man, Karnowski, won't let you do that - he can pass, and honestly, assuming Brimah picks up some early fouls - which he probably will - this will be one of those games where Phil is useful. He can at least give some fouls and make Karnowski, a bad free throw shooter, earn his points at the line.

I don't think Ollie lets post touches beat him in this game, at least not with Gonzaga trotting out as many unproven shooters - sans Wiltjer - as they are. Him and the coaching staff are masters at disguising coverages, and despite being outmanned up front for most of his tenure, you can never really say we've lost a game exclusively because of post points.

Gonzaga could have some trouble guarding us - they obviously are conceding some quickness with their ultra-big lineups, and none of their big men are particularly great shot blockers, but they're so big that we'll have to be precise with out passes and cuts to beat them.

I think UConn and Gonzaga are both preseason top five teams (of course, they will not be ranked that way by the media). Good thread topic. Would be an awesome game if it happens (and if it doesn't, maybe it will in the big tournament).

Great analysis.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I watched Gonzaga play a ton last season, so I think I have a decent handle on the type of team they should be.

I think the kid people are sleeping on is Perkins. I'm sure most of us around here remember him - five star recruit who played well at the beginning of the season for Gonzaga before missing the rest of the year with a broken jaw.

I suspect Wiltjer and Sabonis will be two of the best players in the country next year. We'll probably be able to limit one of them and be forced to live with the other making some plays. Sabonis is 6'10, 230 but he plays bigger than that - he'll catch the ball real deep in the post and he knows how to use his body to gain territory. He's one of those kids where you can tell his dad played. Rebounding rate and scoring efficiency off the chart for a frosh - he was essentially a poor man's Jahlil Okafor last season and by next year he might be the real thing.

For as good as Miller is, he's giving up a lot of size to Sabonis. In Wiltjer, you've got a fifth year senior with the entire catalog of driveway moves - he'll upfake, back you down, get you off balance, shoot over you...he's a nightmare guard, but if Miller's as good as advertised, you have to think he matches up about as well as anybody.

My guess is Ollie will send a hard double at Sabonis if he torches us early, as reacting out of the traps was one of the areas he had trouble last season. The other big man, Karnowski, won't let you do that - he can pass, and honestly, assuming Brimah picks up some early fouls - which he probably will - this will be one of those games where Phil is useful. He can at least give some fouls and make Karnowski, a bad free throw shooter, earn his points at the line.

I don't think Ollie lets post touches beat him in this game, at least not with Gonzaga trotting out as many unproven shooters - sans Wiltjer - as they are. Him and the coaching staff are masters at disguising coverages, and despite being outmanned up front for most of his tenure, you can never really say we've lost a game exclusively because of post points.

Gonzaga could have some trouble guarding us - they obviously are conceding some quickness with their ultra-big lineups, and none of their big men are particularly great shot blockers, but they're so big that we'll have to be precise with out passes and cuts to beat them.

I think UConn and Gonzaga are both preseason top five teams (of course, they will not be ranked that way by the media). Good thread topic. Would be an awesome game if it happens (and if it doesn't, maybe it will in the big tournament).

You talked about going small with Gibbs, Adams, Purvis, Hamilton and Miller (I believe that is your smaller lineup). Do you think this could be an interesting counter vs. Gonzaga and their size. (using speed). Does removing Brimah work to our advantage at all in a Zag vs. Husky prime time showdown for the ages? Just trying to tap into your smaller lineup strategy and its applicability in this match-up. Karno can definitely thread the needle out of the post especially to Wiltjer (they work very well together). The wildcards for Gonzaga in my opinion are either of Melson or Dranginis. If either fills the shooting void then the Zags enter Final4 potential. I am sold on Perkins also. The kid can really handle and pass the ball. I think the Perkins we see in Atlantis may be different than the 1 we see in March. There could be a experience learning curve similar to Adams. So we may see Perkins before he peaks. Last year though in the games he played he was very impressive. He could just take off. Sabonis is lottery pick material.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Impossible to make even a reasonable guess without having seen Adams, Enoch, Gibbs, or Miller in a UConn uni.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Impossible to make even a reasonable guess without having seen Adams, Enoch, Gibbs, or Miller in a UConn uni.

I think its reasonable but still speculative.

 

[champs99and04]

You talked about going small with Gibbs, Adams, Purvis, Hamilton and Miller (I believe that is your smaller lineup). Do you think this could be an interesting counter vs. Gonzaga and their size. (using speed). Does removing Brimah work to our advantage at all in a Zag vs. Husky prime time showdown for the ages? Just trying to tap into your smaller lineup strategy and its applicability in this match-up. Karno can definitely thread the needle out of the post especially to Wiltjer (they work very well together). The wildcards for Gonzaga in my opinion are either of Melson or Dranginis. If either fills the shooting void then the Zags enter Final4 potential. I am sold on Perkins also. The kid can really handle and pass the ball. I think the Perkins we see in Atlantis may be different than the 1 we see in March. There could be a experience learning curve similar to Adams. So we may see Perkins before he peaks. Last year though in the games he played he was very impressive. He could just take off. Sabonis is lottery pick material.

Your guess is as good as mine. If that were the case, it would present some pretty severe mismatches for both teams. A kid like Sabonis can't guard Hamilton on the perimeter any more than Hamilton can guard him on the block.

The thing in UConn's favor is the rebounding ability of their three and four men. When you can slide your three to the four and your four to the five without losing much on the glass, that's a luxury most teams don't have. The problem, of course, would be the size those two would be giving up on the interior.

Honestly, Gonzaga is probably one of only a couple of teams - with UNC being the other that stands out to me - that UConn's small lineup might not be palatable against. But I wouldn't for a second bet against it after what I saw during the 2014 tournament.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Your guess is as good as mine. If that were the case, it would present some pretty severe mismatches for both teams. A kid like Sabonis can't guard Hamilton on the perimeter any more than Hamilton can guard him on the block.

The thing in UConn's favor is the rebounding ability of their three and four men. When you can slide your three to the four and your four to the five without losing much on the glass, that's a luxury most teams don't have. The problem, of course, would be the size those two would be giving up on the interior.

Honestly, Gonzaga is probably one of only a couple of teams - with UNC being the other that stands out to me - that UConn's small lineup might not be palatable against. But I wouldn't for a second bet against it after what I saw during the 2014 tournament.

My thoughts exactly before posing the question. Always fun to read your posts. Thanks for contributing to the thread with everyone else. This game could be epic! SO much to look forward to. Need to stay healthy.