Saint Mary's isn't quite the team they were last season. They still have Matthew Delavedova. Waldo is a year older and more coordinated. But they really have lost a lot without Rob Jones. They haven't really played anyone, though they mostly took care of business. They lost at Gonzaga, not surprisingly. They fell at Northern Iowa, which isn't awful, but isn't good for a potential 2nd-best team in a trying-to-rise conference. The losses to Pacific and Georgia Tech are a little puzzling. They needed a miracle finish to beat Harvard. They struggled at home against San Francisco.
Stil, BYU is still a beatable team for SMC, even in the Marriott Center. Though BYU has come together defensively, which surprised me. With Winder's injury and losing Abouo and Hartsock, I thought they would struggle mightily on that half of the floor. And they did for a time (and still do from time to time), but they are improving quickly. Sharp hasn't yet run into any mismatches yet in the WCC at the PF position (he will against Gonzaga). Haws hasn't had to guard any amazing off-guards just yet. That won't change tonight, as Saint Mary's won't challenge those two defensively. Davies should be able to handle Waldo. If they can keep Delavedova from getting more than 5 assists, that should be enough to put the game away. Now, if Delavedova is running free and scores 20 with 10 assists, it's ballgame, BYU's NCAA Tourney hopes gone.
So, stop the ugly mouthguard and stop Saint Mary's. It's time for BYU to declare it's tournament-worthiness. I think they get that first signature win tonight, although beating Saint Mary's this season isn't the same as it has been in the past. They just haven't figured it out yet. BYU 81, SMC 72.
What a finish - I agree that BYU may not be a tourney team this year.
ReplyDeletePS - From an ND student, what's your take on Manti? I haven't read the deadspin article, but it all sounds a bit weird.
I've been saying that from the beginning of the year...they have two guys in the starting lineup that wouldn't see the floor on most at-large teams...
ReplyDeleteIt is a little weird, but we knew he was hanging with a girl here (he brought her to the ward a couple of times), so the whole girlfriend thing never seemed quite right to us. ND and Manti maintain he wasn't part of the hoax, but still, it's weird...he SHOULD know better if he doesn't.