Montanas in Ogden

[n.ogdencat]

Big Week! Montana schools visiting for the first time since 2017. Nice to be back playing home and home.

 

[griz5700]

Had a chance to walk around your campus a couple of summers ago. Beautiful setting + the Purple Palace :clap: :clap:

Should be a good one.

Go Griz.

https://twitter.com/MontanaGrizBB/status/1096109365398888448

 

[Chex]

Always a great game. I wish regular season winner had hosting rights to the tournament, that would really add to the intensity and importance.

Good that home and home is back. Safe travels to all Montana and Montana State fans coming down, and deepest sympathies to Coach Fish.

 

[the dan]

Damn..

 

[griz5700]

Cody John took like 15 steps on that late layup.

 

[Chex]

Slow starts, getting beat on the boards, and poor three-point shooting seems to be the constant weaknesses (can’t remember this poor a team at shooting 3 pointers). Great effort to get back to a chance to tie at the end. Hopefully they get a third chance against the Griz in Boise.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Ugh...two halves!!

 

[wsucatfan]

Slow starts, getting beat on the boards, and poor three-point shooting seems to be the constant weaknesses (can’t remember this poor a team at shooting 3 pointers). Great effort to get back to a chance to tie at the end. Hopefully they get a third chance against the Griz in Boise.

So maybe they should take less 3's and figure out how to get Chapman/Braxton/etc some easier touches down low. I'd like to see a shot selection chart for last night. Dribble penetration by UM guards killed us again, we can't keep the opponents out of the key.

 

[Chex]

Slow starts, getting beat on the boards, and poor three-point shooting seems to be the constant weaknesses (can’t remember this poor a team at shooting 3 pointers). Great effort to get back to a chance to tie at the end. Hopefully they get a third chance against the Griz in Boise.

So maybe they should take less 3's and figure out how to get Chapman/Braxton/etc some easier touches down low. I'd like to see a shot selection chart for last night. Dribble penetration by UM guards killed us again, we can't keep the opponents out of the key.

I totally agree. The Wildcats need to focus on developing the inside game and work for higher percentage shots. Even guard shooting should be off penetration inside the three point line.

They miss too many wide open three point shots to try and base their offense around that. Seems like a distant memory when Bamforth and Lillard were draining 3s with players draped on them.

If they could focus on defensive effort and rebounding to start the game, I think things would fall into place. It’s tough to see the Wildcats play this way at home...the Dee Events Center should be a great advantage, but they seem to be tighter at home than on the road.

 

[PURPLEFORLIFE]

Randy has 5 years left on his contract. Why should he care? He has the most stable job in DI Basketball.



OVERPAID by about 150K too.

 

[SonOfaGriz]

Slow starts, getting beat on the boards, and poor three-point shooting seems to be the constant weaknesses (can’t remember this poor a team at shooting 3 pointers). Great effort to get back to a chance to tie at the end. Hopefully they get a third chance against the Griz in Boise.

So maybe they should take less 3's and figure out how to get Chapman/Braxton/etc some easier touches down low. I'd like to see a shot selection chart for last night. Dribble penetration by UM guards killed us again, we can't keep the opponents out of the key.

I totally agree. The Wildcats need to focus on developing the inside game and work for higher percentage shots. Even guard shooting should be off penetration inside the three point line.

They miss too many wide open three point shots to try and base their offense around that. Seems like a distant memory when Bamforth and Lillard were draining 3s with players draped on them.

If they could focus on defensive effort and rebounding to start the game, I think things would fall into place. It’s tough to see the Wildcats play this way at home...the Dee Events Center should be a great advantage, but they seem to be tighter at home than on the road.

I agree partially with this---inside shots are not necessarily good shots, it generally depends on the type of look created (ex: Braxton didn't play last night, but orienting the offense around Braxton postups would not improve Weber's offense, as he's a sporadic/opportunistic scorer, and increased opportunities would just diminish his efficiency). But I agree with what you're talking about in terms of guard penetration over passing around outside the three and then launching contested shots.

I also believe Brekkot Chapman spends far too much time on the perimeter, and not enough in pick-and-roll situations with Harding or John. Chapman is the guy that kills me (FYI: I'm a Vandal fan, and mostly want a good Big Sky team to win an NCAA tournament game). He can take and make those stepback 3s, but a stepback three is a tough three, and the type of look he gets when he posts or when he cuts is dramatically better than him shooting contested threes like that. Really, if Chapman played the way Pridgett plays for Montana (type of looks he receives), he'd have a chance at MVP of the league.

Last---I also don't get the turnovers. Weber commits a ton of awful turnovers and awful near-turnovers before the offense is even a threat to score. That's part of how they trailed Montana by 20 in each game. I hope they can get that turned around, but this late in the game, it just feels like part of the team's DNA.

 

[Chex]

Slow starts, getting beat on the boards, and poor three-point shooting seems to be the constant weaknesses (can’t remember this poor a team at shooting 3 pointers). Great effort to get back to a chance to tie at the end. Hopefully they get a third chance against the Griz in Boise.

So maybe they should take less 3's and figure out how to get Chapman/Braxton/etc some easier touches down low. I'd like to see a shot selection chart for last night. Dribble penetration by UM guards killed us again, we can't keep the opponents out of the key.

I totally agree. The Wildcats need to focus on developing the inside game and work for higher percentage shots. Even guard shooting should be off penetration inside the three point line.

They miss too many wide open three point shots to try and base their offense around that. Seems like a distant memory when Bamforth and Lillard were draining 3s with players draped on them.

If they could focus on defensive effort and rebounding to start the game, I think things would fall into place. It’s tough to see the Wildcats play this way at home...the Dee Events Center should be a great advantage, but they seem to be tighter at home than on the road.

I agree partially with this---inside shots are not necessarily good shots, it generally depends on the type of look created (ex: Braxton didn't play last night, but orienting the offense around Braxton postups would not improve Weber's offense, as he's a sporadic/opportunistic scorer, and increased opportunities would just diminish his efficiency). But I agree with what you're talking about in terms of guard penetration over passing around outside the three and then launching contested shots.

I also believe Brekkot Chapman spends far too much time on the perimeter, and not enough in pick-and-roll situations with Harding or John. Chapman is the guy that kills me (FYI: I'm a Vandal fan, and mostly want a good Big Sky team to win an NCAA tournament game). He can take and make those stepback 3s, but a stepback three is a tough three, and the type of look he gets when he posts or when he cuts is dramatically better than him shooting contested threes like that. Really, if Chapman played the way Pridgett plays for Montana (type of looks he receives), he'd have a chance at MVP of the league.

Last---I also don't get the turnovers. Weber commits a ton of awful turnovers and awful near-turnovers before the offense is even a threat to score. That's part of how they trailed Montana by 20 in each game. I hope they can get that turned around, but this late in the game, it just feels like part of the team's DNA.

I agree that you don’t base your offense around Braxton as he isn’t a prolific scorer, but you could build the post up game with Braxton and Chapman and have guard penetration and pick and rolls....and then you might have kick out three point shots as a result.

The turnovers are strange. It seems like a regular occurrence that they are in the teens on turnovers, and many are careless and unforced. Combine that with getting outrebounded every game, especially offensive rebounds, and it’s a losing formula. They have lost three or so games where are they had a higher shooting percentage but lost due to the opponent having 6-10 more possessions. It pretty much is built into the DNA, and you don’t have win streaks or tournament wins with that, and it gives me the impression Rahe isn’t coaching them up on important fundamentals.

 

[Colter_Nuanez56]

https://twitter.com/SkylineSportsMT/status/1097002596814868480

 

[UtahPirate]

We played our two best conference games (so far) against Montana State. Not sure why we look like we can hit 3's against them and no one else. In the ups and downs of this season, it was another fun one to watch. And when they play that well, it underscores the frustration of watching a first half like Thursday's. Still in search of 40 minute consistency from game-to-game, but it's fun to watch in the rare times it has happened. Having Nero look like his early self helped a ton.

SonofaGriz on your comments about Chapman, I sure agree. I'm not sure we utilize him to the full extent of his talent, which would include more interior offense from him.

 

[Chex]

We played our two best conference games (so far) against Montana State. Not sure why we look like we can hit 3's against them and no one else. In the ups and downs of this season, it was another fun one to watch. And when they play that well, it underscores the frustration of watching a first half like Thursday's. Still in search of 40 minute consistency from game-to-game, but it's fun to watch in the rare times it has happened. Having Nero look like his early self helped a ton.

SonofaGriz on your comments about Chapman, I sure agree. I'm not sure we utilize him to the full extent of his talent, which would include more interior offense from him.

Games like this and the BYU game make fans super excited. I do think some of that is due to the fact that these opponents aren’t tough-nosed defensive teams, but it was refreshing to see some great shooting. Three big road games now. Hopefully they can build off this win and get some momentum.

 

[n.ogdencat]

When the Cats are hitting the outside shots we are tough to beat. Keys to beating the Wildcats? Pressure D on the arch, pressure on the ball-handler (they tend to turn it over a bit) and mixing up your defense. Playing a zone has always been our achilles heel.

I thoroughly agree that our bigs have been under utilized. We are more concerned about jacking 3s and a lot of iso offense. A little more inside out and cuts would be huge for our offense. Kozak is someone who can make the pass out of a double in the paint, has more than one move, and sees the floor well. The more he is on the floor the more impressed I am with him. His issue is his defense. It was really solid last year, but has been a bit softer this year. I'm sure that will only get better though.

 

[Chex]

When the Cats are hitting the outside shots we are tough to beat. Keys to beating the Wildcats? Pressure D on the arch, pressure on the ball-handler (they tend to turn it over a bit) and mixing up your defense. Playing a zone has always been our achilles heel.

I also cringe when teams throw a full court press on the Wildcats. They have a tough time adjusting on the fly...also when it happens, they inbound it to the coffin corner about every time. It drives me crazy.