The St. Mary's game

We have been talking for several game about how important the next game is. This may actually be the one we have been talking about.

If we come out with of this game with a win, we'll be three games up with 4 games to go. We coast into the tournament in 2nd place with a near certainty of sitting for the first two conference games. Also, we push St. Mary's down the ladder so we May not have to have to face them with Mills in the tournament. Even if we did, it would be after they faced Gonzaga, he would no doubt be spent from the effort of beating the Zags and be out of shape.

It sure would be neat to be three games up on the field with 4 games to go. It's not mathematical certitude, but it would sure make it easier to watch the rest of the season.

We beat them before with their two top scorers having good games. With good D, we can do it again.

Agreed, this is "the" game to determine our double bye and #2 finish in the tourney and solidify our position in the new WCC order

GO PILOTS! BEAT THE GAELS!

This is from the notes on portlandpilots.com

"Portland-Saint Mary’s Series Notes
All-Time: SMC leads 47-27
At SMC: SMC leads 26-7
At UP: SMC leads 20-19
At Neutral: SMC leads 1-0
At Unknown: POR leads 1-0
Current Streak: UP, 1 win
Last Meeting: Portland 84, Saint Mary’s 66 (1/31/09, at Portland)"

I think this game needs to be played at an undisclosed location. That gives the Pilots the greatest chance of winning.

Last game Samhan was in foul trouble and Simpson didn't seem to dominate the Pilot's like in the past. Hopefully we can get one of those two in foul trouble.

I'm hoping Nik has a better game, that way TJ and Jarred won't have to be counted on for all our offense. Were going to NEED Nik come WCC tourney time. The Pilot's will need one guy during key time's during the game who is able to put the ball on the floor and create . Of all the player's he is BY FAR the best at this.

That little barn is hard to play in. Hopefully the Pilots don't get rattled in the game and start making stupid turnover's. I can take a turnover if it's in the offensive set. But silly turnover's trying to do to much or not being able to catch an entry pass right to you are ridiculous . Those are 4 pt turnarounds in my book. After Robin,Luke, and Kramer our post position really drop's off in offense. Too bad it look's like Hegarty will redshirt this year(hope not though). He has "soft" hands from what Ive been told first hand. His O moves are good and it would be nice to have those extra 5 fouls on the big men in the WCC.



BEAT THE GAELS,


MesaPilot1

@Lets Shoot for the NCAA's(WCC Tourney Champs.) and take the NIT(like kissing your sister), who would have though that at the beginning of the season ???? @

Good news: Libbey is reffing the UCLA @ Arizona game right now, so we shouldnt have to worry about him tonight in Moraga!

PilotNut wrote:Good news: Libbey is reffing the UCLA @ Arizona game right now, so we shouldnt have to worry about him tonight in Moraga!

Although maybe we could have used his penchant for helping out the road team...

The Gaels came out inspired against the Zags, and if Samhan would have played better they easily could have won. Simpson pulled down 15 boards and they got some excellent play from Wayne Hunter, who had a nice game against the Pilots earlier this season. He is definitely an X-factor for them.

For me, they key thing will be really trying to limit their outside shooting. You can almost pencil in Simpson and Samhan getting theirs, but if we can limit them from hurting us from outside we should hopefully be OK. The ones to watch out for are Hughes and Hunter. Walker also has some range and has been playing well recently... we'll have to watch out for him too.

For us, obviously we have to rebound WAY better tonight than we did against USF. If we give SMC as many second chances as we did the Dons we'll be toast. That's the big thing. Our offense actually was pretty efficient on Thursday even though it didn't seem like it... we need to keep that up and of course we'll need out outside shooting to stay hot.

And I agree about Raivio... he was awesome in the 1st half against Gonzaga but has now put up three straight mediocre halfs... we'll definitely need him tonight. But I'm not worried about Nik - he'll bring it every night - it's just a matter of making good decisions and the shots falling.

I'm nervously optimistic about tonight... the Gaels looked good against the Zags, but they also are still definitely trying to find their way without Mills - they are 1-4 without him (albeit against a very tough slate - two games against the Zags, one against us, one against Santa Clara). If we rebound better and our shooting stays hot... I think we'll have a very good chance to win. But if Simpson and Samhan dominate the glass and they start hitting some outside shots... watch out.

We've been saying just about every game is critical for quite some time, but THIS game tonight against St. Marys truely is the biggest of the season to date. If we win, we virtually lock up 2nd place. SCU and USD losing to Pepp/LMU Thursday night pretty much made this a two team race between us and the Gaels for 2nd place. By winning tonight, we would have the tie-breaker by virtue of winning the first game, and we would have to completely meltdown to lose hold of 2nd place (i.e lose to Pepperdine/LMU at home).

I'm really praying for a much better showing tonight than against USF. We'll need to play much better to have a chance. St Marys really does have a much more favorable schedule than we do the rest of the way, and if we lose, I think it weill be very tough to hold on to second place. The rammifications of finishing 2nd are major, as discussed before. We would get a double bye and would only have to win one game to make it to the finals.

GO PILOTS !!!

Oh man, the opening poem for the Comcast broadcast...that was hilariously bad. Greg Papa sounded like he was in pain reading that. Props to the producer who found so many rhymes.

This passing is terrible!

Hegarty!

So, no redshirt year!

yeah, it looks like the redshirt idea was just ours. Lets hope he can give us some good minutes. It looks like it will be in small bunches.

On thing that is amazing - Samhan looks small next to him.


St. Mary's is trying to do a lot with their guards. As far as I see, that's good for us. They don't have that much experience to make great choices for the whole game.

Jared hasn't gotten in rhythm. Walker is in foul trouble, so maybe that will help free Jared up

Ugh, lots of mistakes. But they're still up 2 at the half after all that.

And how ridiculous were those buzzer-beaters from TJ?

This announcing crew is fawning over the Pilots like ESPN does the Zags. Not that I'm complaining.

Wow, the TV guys just labeled the Oregon game one of our "bad losses"! I am surely disappointed we lost, but to play at "The Pit" and lose by a couple points being a bad loss says a lot about the direction the two programs have gone this year! Two year ago UO was a final Eight team!

Well this is getting ugly. Way to many mistakes, and no defense. Not over, but . . . . .

Good thing the next two are home games, although Pepperdine is coming on strong now. And USD appears to be fading fast, losing 6 of the last 7, including a bad road trip to LA this weekend. So, is it beyond reason to win 3 of the next four to at least tie for second?

Recall SD and SMC did beat the Ducks, both on the road.

St. Mary's really turned it around this half and shut the Pilots down. Too many times they've been able to pass to a cutter for a shot. The Pilots have gotten stronger since last season, but it seems like they really got outmuscled on the boards. Also a tough night for Nik and the big guys had trouble scoring as well.

I had a feeling this one would be tough. They'll need to get it behind them quickly, because Pepperdine won again and is now at 5-5. Next weekend will be harder than maybe we thought.

To your last question: I thought SCU would be the best chance for a road win, but now I'm changing my answer to USD. I still say they have a good chance in both games that last weekend.

But first, a home game against a different Pepperdine team than the one last month...

achh, not a good game for us.

We just have to regroup and play well next week. We are a better team than we showed tonight.

Let's hope Pep and LMU haven't figured out the road yet.

St Marys will likely win the rest of their games and finish 10-4. They have a free falling USD team at home, and then finish on the road at Pepperdine and LMU. I know the two LA schools are playing much better of late, but I don't see them beating St Marys - especially when the Gaels know that 2nd place is on the line.

We will likely have to win 3 out of 4 to even tie St Marys, and then it will depend on tie-breakers.

I don't disagree with anything that's been said.

A few observations....good to see Hegarty he must still be a little out of shape because I felt alot more comfortable with him in there against Samhan instead of Hanibal. He also can catch an entry pass and display SOME offense. I almost had a heart attack, Ito made a basket and finished with 5 pt.s.....The announcers did very little research on the Pilot's and play by play guy was a total "homer". They did make some important observation's during the game--Nik was trying to play waaayyy,waayyy to much one on one and it showed in the 2nd half. T.J. could and should shoot more. Jarred got 1 or 2 open looks all game...because he didn't get any good screens from a usually well disipled offense. Nik tryed to beat SMU by himself. Luke got his 4th foul way to early, that hurt the Pilot's on the board's and with hi-low passing that he was doing great with.

The game is over. The lack of a "team offense" really killed the Pilot's.. ...The game is over,the Pilot's were at a "QUIET" HOME arena where they had a great chance to "steal" one.

The game is over,the game is over, the game is over thank goodness .



BumedOutPilot1 aka MesaPilot1.

Mesa, I hear you. I know it's tough to win on the road, but the last two outings seem like we've taken a few steps backward in terms of focus and playing smart. Way, way too many turnovers tonight and we realy did have an opportunity to claim our stake on 2nd place and slam the door shut. I am impressed with how well St Marys has survived without Mills. I'll admit, I thought they would sputter down the stretch, and their only bad game was losing to USD. It's very impressive the way they took Gonzaga to the limit without Mills. It makes you wonder what they could do if completely healthy.

It will be good to get back to the friendly confines of the EACC. I don't think Pepperdine and LMU will take anyone by surprise, given their play of late. I'm sure Coach Rev will remind the boys of that all week. We must win these two games - no two ways about it. Then I think USD is there for the taking - even at their place. It may very well come down to that last game at Santa Clara on February 28th - 2nd place that is...because I really think SMC will finish out 10-4. It would be nice to get some help, but I'm not counting on it.

Sometimes it's just not your night. SMC's big strength other than Mills has been rebounding, and we outrebounded them. If you had told me we would do that, I would have chalked up a win.

Mickey McConnell is 19-49 on the season from 3 pt range, and tonight he's a 4-4 all American. Carlin hughes plays better than he has all year.

And on our side, we go 6-18 from three's, something that I don't think has happened all season.

It could have been a worse score. They shot horribly from the stripe in the first half, despite getting every call but two on contact. Had they connected respectably, it could have been a 20 point game.

We just didn't play well. We didn't run our offense, Nik pressed. nobody screened for Jared, Ethan didn't hit.


All kinds of stuff went wrong.

Just regroup and play like we can. We'll be OK.

Your right in one respect Geezer, ,the sky isn't falling. I didn't mean to sound so negative. Next game I will have to give myself a 12 hour probation before I can post.

I know many of you don't like burning John Hegarty's red-shirt year. But, If you can't tell I like his game ,just wait until the game starts with Bryant,Pomare.Even if they probably take him to school. We need a "SPACE EATER" to come in relief/foul trouble,etc of Robin,Luke,and Kramer who can catch the ball and score inside. He made Samhan look small. He has what the kids say "skill's" ,just wait. In the whole picture it will be nice to have him with experience next year for high-low game. The following yr with Kramer and Luke. when Robin graduates he will be there solid.Finally,my goofy self says after HS,Prep school,etc,etc....he's the same age or older than Kramer or Luke ,it's not like he's some 17 yr old kid. He's ready to play.Redshirt years help kid who are hurt,need help academically, or need help not being toothpicks(Poling-Gonzaga) or to overweight. AS LONG AS REV. AND ACADEMIC COUNSELOR'S,STRENGTH COACH-BRAD SCOTT, AND MAINLY FAMILY AND JOHN FEEL EVERYTHINGS OK, WHOHA,PLAY BALL!!!


Make me happy in person,


MesaPilot1

Enough of my big,hot self.............I bet the Pilot's will be running a few wind sprint's this week ,especially after the USF rebounding performance.

Yeah, the sky definitely is not falling... for me, though, the turnovers are the most upsetting part of last night. We've done such a great job in that area most of the conference season, and last night we reverted back to some of our old ways. I'm hoping it was just a fluke.