• BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    The Aggies will try to bounce back after a disappointing effort last night in a blowout loss to Weber State when they take on the Drake Bulldogs at 3 pm in the consolation bracket.

    One of the concerns that Coach Les and his staff had about this year's team coming into the season was that they had a tendency to be very inconsistent. We got off to a pretty good start and built an early 11 point lead but, once the Wildcats made their first run as all good teams will, we essentially fell apart on both ends of the floor. Weber stayed hot and we did not respond and that was it. Game over.

    I was cautiously optimistic about this team after the Santa Clara tournament. We played better than I expected overall and showed just how well we can play in the first half of the game against Northern Arizona. Then I thought we looked solid, poised and fundamentally sound against Sac State. Things were looking up; maybe Les had assembled a group that, although we don't have any particular stars, can play pretty good basketball by committee.

    In last night's game we showed just how inconsistent we can be and some weaknesses that will be hard to shore up. We are a team that doesn't particularly have a "go to" player or two with the shooting skills to consistently ignite the team. Since we don't have that we struggle offensively when nobody is having a particularly good night on offense and we end up shooting below 40% like we did last night. And, oddly enough given that Les builds guard oriented teams, we don't appear to have deadly 3 point shooters like we had a couple of years ago.

    We also got pounded on the boards 36-23 even though the Wildcats were not a huge team. We are simply not that big inside, and although our big men have some athleticism, the Wildcats punished us on the boards. Did our rebounding just fundamentally breakdown or did Weber State expose a serious weakness that we have in being able to compete with teams who are bigger and stronger inside?

    Les says his teams lead by defense first. Last night the Wildcats shot 55.4% from the floor including 52% from 3. Was this just a case of running into a team that just simply caught fire or did our defense not play up to par or both?

    I hope it was just the perfect storm combination of Weber State getting red hot while we just had a totally off night. But, my cautious optimism took a hit last night.

    Go Ags!
  • oldschool
    15
    Weber State did a great job adjusting to our pressure defense. When you send two people to trap the ball so high on screens, it inevitably leaves you vulnerable to smart teams who can move the ball and knock down shots, which Weber State did routinely after the first 10 minutes. We are going to be inconsistent offensively, it appears, but most teams we play will not be as good as Weber State, who returns four starters from a tournament team last year. They were simply better than we were and especially so last night when they had hot shooters. Hopefully we bounce back today!
  • Oldbanduhalum
    589
    We certainly could have used Goode last night, though he wouldn't made a difference in the outcome. Just would have been nice to have a full team

    Hopefully we play with better intensity today
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    Weber State surprised me in just how good they were last night. I also think that the best teams in the Big West this year, which appear to be LB State, CSUN and UC Irvine, are on par or better than Weber State. I'd like to see us competing on even ground with those programs but I'm not sure we are there yet. Hope I'm wrong!
  • aggie6thman
    158
    Once Weber started adjusting to the high double teams we backed out of it and then didn't mix up the defense until the second half when we went to a three quarter court 2-2-1.

    Les is going to have to become a river boat gambler. If we can't outshoot or out rebound teams, we better get creative.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    Even with creativity it is awfully hard to win when you get out shot and out rebounded.
  • aggie6thman
    158
    Being outshot, I can live with that. Out rebounded because of a lack of effort? Heck no.

    Last night we had guys running back the other way before the ball hit the rim. That is not acceptable. Box out, get position, show me some sort of fight. Rebounding is all hustle and heart.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    I hear that. We still have to have the players that have the ability and size to execute the hard work of rebounding. I've been watching CSUN play New Mexico and the Matadors athleticism and ability in the paint is impressive. Really not sure we have the talent to match up with teams like that.
  • ucdavisaggie05
    96
    With efforts like last night in conference play we will get destroyed in a similar fashion by the top half of the conference.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    Ags get off to a good start and are up 12-5 at the 16:21 mark.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    19-9 Ags with 12:01 to go in the half...deja vu from last night..hope not..keep it going Ags!
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    35-30 Aggies at the half. Les is playing a variety of player combinations. Lamar has 9 and Mooney 8 as the Ags shot 54% while holding the Bulldogs to 39%. We controlled the boards 15-9 also.

    Georgi played 11 minutes. No White or Goode. Not sure why Lawrence is out today.
  • oldschool
    15
    Is the game on TV or how are you watching it?
  • ucdavisaggie05
    96
    A bagel on the scoreboard thus far in the 2nd half for the Ags, 4:06 in.......
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    Aggies win 64-58 to move to 5-2 on the season. They will now play the Oakland Golden Grizzlies tomorrow at 3 pm.
  • PortlandAggie
    61
    Nice W, would love to come how 6-2
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    I was just listening to the radio broadcast and checking live stats periodically. No tv today or tomorrow.
  • aggie6thman
    158
    Good to get the W. Need to rest and get ready for Oakland, they're quick and big.
  • Oldbanduhalum
    589
    Nice win by the Ags. I like the tenacity to come back after such a beat down yesterday.
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.1k
    It sounded like the game was not pretty but we ground out the W. This was a win by committee as the Ags had 9 players with 12 minutes or more of PT.

    Lamar showed his leadership again and lead the Ags with 17 while shutting down the Bulldogs' leading scorer, Reed Timmer, who averages 17 ppg. Timmer, from New Berlin, Wisconsin, was recruited hard by Les but chose to go to Drake. Lemar is our stopper defender and he's doing a really good job against the best the opposition has to offer.

    We did some really nice things in this game. For one, we played well down the stretch on both ends of the floor with the game on the line and hit some big shots when it counted the most. Drake had some size but we won the battle of the boards 33-18 and that's a significant improvement from last night. We also shot a good percentage: 49% overall and 41% from 3. However, we had 18 TO's and that's way too many and will need to take better care of the ball against good competition. Overall, it was a nice win and a good recovery from last night's blowout.

    The Ags will play their 3rd game in 3 days tomorrow when they tangle with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies from Rochester, Michigan, located in the northern outskirts of the Detroit area. They are big, strong and athletic and they will be a very big challenge for the Aggies. We'll need to bring our A game to stay competitive with the Grizzlies.

    Go Ags!
bold
italic
underline
strike
code
quote
ulist
image
url
mention
reveal
youtube
tweet
Add a Comment

Welcome to Aggie Sports Talk!

AggieSportsTalk.com, the pulse of Aggie athletics. The home of Aggie Pride. Create an account to contribute to the conversation!