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Time: 7:20 pm Location: Orlando, FL TV: TNT Announcers: Brian Anderson, Dan Bonner and Kristine Leahy The Pack is in the Round of 64 after defeating t
[See the full post at: (12) NC STATE vs (5) SAINT LOUIS Preview]OMFG, did she get our group love letter? It wasn’t creepy at all, I swear!
We’ll even protect her from that rapey-looking winking mascot SL has.
I shall also boldly declare something very contrary to conventional wisdom, which I believe with all my cold, black heart:
Experience is overrated.
We are in a good place mentally and spiritually right now. Jeebus, even Cat and WBS are buddying it up on the front of my sports page this morning.
Looking forward to this one a lot. My guess is that Frenchy or KW guards the stretch 5. That has me a tad concerned. If Lewis plays like he did on Tuesday, we will be playing on Saturday.
My biggest concern is Jordair Jett…did his daddy favor a certain shoe brand back in the day or what? Geez, why name your beloved son after a freakin shoe. Anyway, aside from that, the dude is a cannon ball at 6’1″ and 215. That’s a good 60 pounds or so more that our points. I’m hoping Cat’s catlike ability to draw charges helps us there as long as it doesn’t kill him.
Positive thinking (and planning my Saturday couch time), CBS apparently hasn’t determine when their games will be slotted on Saturday, or at least they haven’t posted them. Can any of you wizards find the time slot where we play WHEN we make it to Saturday? Do the wait until they see the pairings to slot them?
Nothing has been released yet, but I’m sure something will be known by the end of the first game this afternoon.
We need better Indian Scouts….
1. A team of Seniors doesn’t go from 25-3 to 1-4 with out a reason… Since there is no reports of injuries… there must be some “chemistry” issues across the River… We need to ascertain the exact nature of their recent problems and exploit them…. If we had Mo Rivers playing.. he would already know that girl’s name….
2. Who’s gonna try and guard CUZ… or are we looking at a night full of ZONE ? The rest of the TEAM wants to know so they can be in position to win the game with CUZ.
3. What we know… they don’t know….The more the SLU coaches think about CUZ,,,, the bigger their headache gets… And while you’re figuring out your game plan…. don’t disrespect Tyler.
4. Who’s GOTT the pressure and can they handle it? This may be The PACK’s biggest advantage! More important and less obvious than playing with house money and a GetOutOfJailFreeCard…. is the Pack’s ACC Schedule…
We played close to twenty pressure-packed intense games this season… so don’t let that “we a young team.. just kids” stuff… fool you. Just ask Xavier what I’m talking about here…
Prediction…
The Team that does what they do best… wins…
and that’s the PACK.What we have seen develop all season… is this… CUZ with the left jab… TEAM with the right cross… eight minutes of trading baskets… two-three quick jabs by CUZ… TEAM with the stomach punch… sic minutes of trading baskets… TEAM with the jab; CUZ with the knockout punch… for about 35 minutes plus a game… then… shoot some free throws … make the last shot… win or lose the game …
That’s what we do… Get you all worried about stopping CUZ and then beat you some other way…. with good not great defense…
Ironically… the good D may be better most nights than the great D…
As long as the other Coach is having some success… he ain’t changing anything… in the meantime… we are just trading baskets at the rate of say 5 to 4.5 which gives us a 5-8 point lead somewhere around the Under8 in the second…. or we get a couple of short runs and go up double digits… and then fall back a little..
What does St. Louis do best? By all reports… it’s keeping the opponent from doing what they do best.
Good luck with that tonight…. Green light CUZ and it’s forty… and your team will be shaking it’s head hopelessly with 15 minutes left…
Which brings me back to the pressure thing… REMEMBER… this is the Tournament and all games should be coached / played as if there were 3 -5 minutes shorter than they actually are. Instead of being up three baskets, milking the clock and shooting free throws, the rest of the way with two minutes to go… you want to be up four baskets, milking the clock and shooting free throws, the rest of the way with five minutes to go.
The SLU Team does not appear to have a clear offensive identity.
There biggest weapon is that they GOTT a 6’11” center that likes to play guard and shoot threes… that tells me he doesn’t like contact… I GOTT three BIGS and I’m going to use them to bang him around all night… If I’m right… he’s crying to Mama… If I’m wrong and he bangs right back… maybe the ref’s will be watching and he gets a couple quick whistles… either way… I GOTT this…
Then let’s see who else wants to play…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!I know nothing about SLU but we are playing great and they are limping to the finish line. I agree with Bill in that a team like that does not drop off without a reason.
I wonder if we go small and let Buckets guard their center. Anya should own the lane. No reason for he and Baby Roo not to have huge games.I have a friend who follows them a bit, and he says their offense revolves around a f-ckton of screens. Meaning we will definitely need Heidi/Hipster Cat out of the litterbox tonight.
I have a friend who follows them a bit, and he says their offense revolves around a f-ckton of screens. Meaning we will definitely need Heidi/Hipster Cat out of the litterbox tonight.
If there is one thing I learned from the weave and weave ™ days is if you can make them burn a lot of the shot clock they will be forced into a bad shot.
My Xavier preview request was granted when State took the lead three minutes into the game and never gave it up. The Charlotte Observer called the win a trouncing. Tonight, I would like Cat to sport the Samurai ponytail which is where he currently hides his switchblade. It used to be in his sock per Bill. I want Cat to go off with defense, assists and 20 or more points. I know, I’m greedy but I want Cat to be a huge part of this run. 7:20 can’t get here fast enough. Go Pack!!
St. Louis Basketball is so big that I couldn’t find a single blog to try and glean any first hand information on this team.
I’d plant V or KH in the middle of the paint on defense to stop any drives around screens. As for guarding the 3 there are Only 4 to concentrate on, McCall, Barnett, Loe, and McBroom. Can’t afford to go below screens and allow them to get their confidence back.
My Xavier preview request was granted when State took the lead three minutes into the game and never gave it up. The Charlotte Observer called the win a trouncing. Tonight, I would like Cat to sport the Samurai ponytail which is where he currently hides his switchblade. It used to be in his sock per Bill. I want Cat to go off with defense, assists and 20 or more points. I know, I’m greedy but I want Cat to be a huge part of this run. 7:20 can’t get here fast enough. Go Pack!!
I like it. Kill Bill(ikins) Cat.
Is it just me or is anyone else not like the fact that we are the trendy pick? I know they limped to the finish, but I’m not sure 1-4 is enough of a decline for me to feel confident. 3-9 or something like that would tell me more. And I never like picking against a good team that lost in the first round of their tournament. They’ll be ready to play even more. I know they play in a weaker conference, but if our boys have been listening to the media and overlook this game even a little bit to Louisville, we’re going home early. Guarding against lots of screens has not been our strong suit this year, but I have enjoyed the increased focus on D the last few games.
Like the last several games, if we stay focused on BOTH ends of the floor for a full 40 minutes, we should be fine.
Also, if they’re smaller, could we see some Cat and Lewis in there tonight? Don’t want to take the ball out of Lewis’ hand right now, but really need Cat’s quickness on D and driving the lane.
Also, if they’re smaller, could we see some Cat and Lewis in there tonight? Don’t want to take the ball out of Lewis’ hand right now, but really need Cat’s quickness on D and driving the lane.
I like that idea, too. Their guards are uber small.
I really think this game will be decided in the first 5 minutes. St. Louis is going to come out focused given how many have picked NC State, how much they’ve fallen off at the end of the year, etc.. I fully expect their coach to be playing the underdog card. They’ve also go 5 seniors who don’t want to go out that way.
The question to me is whether NC State comes out with the same focus and intensity. If we do, then I like our chances. Get behind by 5-8 early and it is going to be a long night.
I like the suggestion of planting Vandy/BJ firmly in the lane. St. Louis doesn’t have much height. Swat a few back at them and they’ll have to beat us from the perimeter as opposed to bulling inside with the cannonball.
I won’t fully repeat my comments from the Xavier preview here, but they still apply. In brief:
Chemistry
Team play
Improved defense
TJ WarrenWolfpack by five.
I really think this game will be decided in the first 5 minutes.
If so… it won’t be in SLU’s favor…
Since Feb 5th….Billikens have averaged 64 points a game in the last nine regulation games while going 5-4…
That’s scoring at the rate of 1.6 pts per minute… over our last 11 games .. we’ve averaged 70 pts a game or 1.75 pts a minute….Worst that could happen at the end of five minutes is SLU 8 Pack 0… and that is a long way from deciding the outcome of the game…
Most likely scenario is both teams will still be getting settled in and feeling each other out…
SLU 6 — PACK 8 at the end of five…————–
Tyler + ANTHONY as mentioned above could be very strong tonight… if ANTHONY is close to 100%…
————–You can’t “kill” Bill’s Cat…
’cause this is my Cat…… and he’s GOTT the right “attitude” to play defense for the Red & White… in fact… Coach DD called the other day looking for another DB…
#NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!I haven’t seen St. Louis play but they’re supposedly comparable to UVA and Clemson in terms of their man-to-man defense. Unfortunately, these are the teams that give us fits. Do they have anybody, like Clemson and UVA, who can guard Buckets?
As always, shot selection, turnovers, and contributions from others will be key tonight. I think you have to try to speed them up. If we get into a slugfest, halfcourt kind of game, I think we’re asking for it. Very important to defend, rebound, and push after misses.
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