Utah will be like facing two Neil Quinns beside a muscular and skilled forward as the three across the front line. At the same time, they might have challenges matching up with us. It will be almost April and we are still playing, not many teams can say that whether it is The Big Dance or the Little Dance. At this point, every team that is still playing is an NCAA calibur team in both talent and play.
I like that K-2 has regained his shooting confidence and that over the last month has totally locked into the effort on defense and rebounding and it has made us better. Obviously it was great to see Fermin play with confidence and out young guys beginning to show some sophomore evoluation here late in their first full season.
We know from playing St Mary's in postseason in the past that like them Utah will make the interior difficult and will pass the ball well. We will need to team rebound and also hit shots to be competitive. I would like to see us extend out season into April and use that with our current recruits.
Their bigs are the same height as Quinn, but they differ a lot in playing style and skill level. UR ran their offense through Quinn for a good reason. He is a highly skilled passer/distributer. Utah's bigs are not out of that mold, though they can pop an occasional three. They will certainly be bigger, we will be quicker/faster at all but one position.
If we are hitting threes (also an altitude consideration, take lots of shots the next few days) we can beat them. We can make some hay in the interior with quick ness if we will be aggressive. Now hesitating, that will give their less athletic guys time to catch up and blocked shots will follow.
Totally agree, I like the K2 match up with any of their bigs because he can take them away from the basket. If they don't go with him, he hits the three.
I've seen this team play a couple of times, they want to play fast, but I'm not sure they have the guys to do that. They are very big, not necessarily slow, but not necessarily very skilled either. They make a lot of mistakes (sometimes seem out of control), particularly when pressured, but when they get it going, they can score a lot of points in a hurry.
Should be a fun game to watch.
