Happy Cougar
Football Basketball Saturday,
So after an epic come-from-behind win, the likes of which have not been seen by Cougar Athletics since the 2008 Apple Cup, can these young Cougs keep the momentum from Thursday night rolling into Pauley Pavilion? A win would represent 3 victories at Pauley all-time, or 3 in their last 6 attempts. Read on for my thoughts plus other predictions from around the Pac 10 Conference....
UCLA needed a last second buzzer beater by a walk-on guard on Thursday night.
Beautiful.
Anyway, there is reason to believe Ben Howland will have this Bruin squad fired up to take on our fledgling youngsters. I have a feeling Coach Bone is going to go with the same attack that melted the Men of Troy down in the second half. We should see a very healthy dose of Reggie Moore and Klay Thompson; that’s a given. However, I think the key will be whether or not Nikola can continue to stroke the jumper like the rim is ten feet in diameter. If we can execute offensively like we have the past two games and avoid turning the rock over, which KILLED us in the first half against USC, I believe the Cougs will pull a Kurt Russell and have a joyous flight back to the Palouse. A win would be huge headed into next week’s match-up at Hec Edmondson Pavillion. The Dawgs will be 3-5 when they return from
their vacation in So Cal and that should make for a game of very evenly matched teams; solid point guard play, with shooters on the wings, and no true #5 for either team.
That said, let’s take a look at today’s action:
Oregon State at Cal: After the Bears took the Ducks behind the proverbial woodshed on Thursday, I don’t see this game going any differently. OSU struggled to score 35 points against the Cardinal, and Cal’s guards should destroy the zone. Does the First Brother and Law bolt for the DePaul opening next week? There has definitely been that talk of late.
Cal 84 – OSU 51.
Oregon at Stanford: Remember a week or so ago when
I said to dump your stock in the Ducks? Well since then, the Ducks have dropped three straight, and I don’t see the end in sight for these guys. Ernesto will not be employed by Uncle Phil come early March. Well at least he has his son Jordan’s NFL $$. Wait a minute, Jordan isn’t in the NFL anymore?
Stanford 57 – Oregon 44.
Arizona at Arizona State: Conventional wisdom here tells me to pick Sparky. It's at home, the Herbivores play some of the best defense in America, and the Mildcats have been, well, mild. I just don't think ASU can keep up their hot shooting all year and I predict that it starts today!
Arizona 59 - ASU 54.
Washington at USC: The Dawgs still haven’t won a game
away from Montlake this season. Something tells me they won’t fare any better in the Galen Center than they did in Westwood. The loss of Jon Brockman, and any inside presence for that matter, has really killed this “team.” I see a major meltdown coming from Romar, Instant Turnover (IT) or Venoy (which kills any NCAA aspirations for the Dawgs, as quote me here, they have as bad a chance of winning the Pac 10 Tournament as USC does) after the
Dawgs lose at USC 64-61.
Wazzu at UCLA: Sure the Cougs have a some things working against them, such as two wins all time at Pauley, and a recent bout of slow starts. But in this game I see the team with more talent winning, pure and simple, from start to finish; and that team is our Cougs. Nik, Reggie, and Klay all keep the hot hands going, and the Cougars shut down the Bruins.
WSU 73 – UCLA 69.
That's all I have for you, have a great Saturday, and Go Cougs!
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Couple of Add-Ons:
1) Cougs v. UCLA. Totally agree that our talent is better than theirs. Period. The key then to the game is perimeter play and perimeter shooting. Expect UCLA to just pack it in, jam our inside game, jam Moore's ability to penetrate, and then see if we can make jumpers. So, look for Klay, look for Nik, look for Moore's jumpers, and here's the big one: Look for Xavier Thames. Don't know about you all, but everything that X throws up looks like its going to be good. If he can get solid minutes, I expect 10 or more out of him today. And that will be a game changer.
Finally, the key for UCLA is the play of their Nik, that and getting Casto in foul trouble. If they don't get production out of their Nik, I don't see how they win.
That said, a fourteen point road win? I'm looking for a 4-6 point spread. But, in the end, who cares as long as we win. Again, this is a HUGE game: Win today and we guarantee no worse than a 5-4 first half on our 4-5 home-road split. That is great (and damn that Oregon game again).
2) USC v. Washington. People can talk all they want about the loss of Brockman. But the real loss for this Dawg team is Justin Dentmon (spelling). Remember, last year, he was a POY candidate all the way through and was just HUGE from the perimeter. The reason why the Dawgs are tanking on the road is that they've had no consistent perimeter threat. This game is going to be a slugfest. And man, it sure would be nice for the Dawgs to be 3-5 going into next weeks game.
But, we'll get to that post-game.
WE'VE GOT TO WIN THIS GAME!!!!