Preview:
Ole Miss stifled Gonzaga with a close, face-guarding defense that flustered and flummoxed the nation’s best three point shooting team. It reminded me very much of what Vic Shaeffer teams have done against us. The ESPN announcers noted that the Stanford coaches had already commented that the challenge would be getting our team ready for the degree of physicality and frenetic energy. These are the kinds of teams that have always given us trouble, and here comes trouble.
The University of Mississippi, otherwise known as Ole Miss, and represented by “Colonel Reb” as a mascot until 2018, plays in the SEC. They were 11-5 in conference, which was good enough for 4th. They seem better than an 8 seed to me. Like us, they took South Carolina to overtime—on February 19. They lost to Utah but just by 2 points—certainly better than our last Utah game. So they have shown they can compete with the highest level teams, as well as we have competed.
Massey has them at 29, but with the nation's 10th best defense. NET has them at 25. If the committee went by NET alone then they should have been a 6 or 7 seed, not 8. But they are no doubt the best 8 seed since we drew the worst 1 seed bracket, and now we have to rapidly switch into high gear to beat them.
Ole Miss shoots 29% of its threes, and makes about 5 a game—so while it is competent from distance that is not its forte. Stopping other teams from shooting threes, however, is its forte, as poor Gonzaga discovered tonight.
Against an aggressive, close defense like Ole Miss presents, the solution is to have quick guards who can get around their perimeter defense and drive, picking up fouls and layups. The defenders leave no reaction space, so putting a good move on one will leave them behind. Unfortunately, that has not been our strength. Jump is a super shooter, but she can't exactly juke her defender. Tonight Lepolo did drive twice and was rewarded with some free throws, and Nivar attacked some too. We need more of that. If Lepolo can continue to feed Betts perfect passes down low, then forcing it into the paint can work, but there is little room for error.
We should be able to defend Ole Miss well, so this could turn into a low scoring game, as the dreadful first quarter of the Ole Miss/Gonzaga game turned out to be. Officiating will play a role, as it did tonight at the expense of Gonzaga. The Gonzaga fans were very unhappy at the many, many non-calls, and that favored the defense. Ole Miss did seem competent at the pull up mid range jumper, a shot we have not done so well defending.
Ole Miss is led by 5’8” senior guard Angel Baker. She shoots 36% of her threes but takes 3 times as many twos, averaging 15 points a game. She had 11 against Gonzaga.
Their second leading scorer is Madison Scott, a 6’1” junior forward. She makes 52% of her shots, all inside, for 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. She also had 11 against Gonzaga.
Marquesha Davis is a 6’0” senior guard shooting 46%, mostly from inside the arc. She had 8 against Gonzaga.
Snudda Colins is a 6’1” junior forward who leads the team with 54 treys, but shoots them at 28%. She was 3/9 against Gonzaga.
Finally, Myah Taylor is a 5’7” grad guard with 107 assists to 54 turns. She had 4 assists to 0 turns abainst Gonzaga.
Ole Miss played 11 players vs. Gonzaga but only 8 for extended minutes, so they utilize some depth.
Well, what is there to say? Based on our past results, it is one of the worst match ups that we could draw, but we need to be able to beat this kind of team, since Texas could very well be the next opponent. Hanging onto the ball is important, but Gonzaga did a reasonable job of that. What Gonzaga never did really was get open shots. They forced up many late, off balance, out of flow, and even when they were open they seem flustered by the wear and tear of the Ole Miss defense and they still missed. We know what is coming, now, can we be ready for it? Will Brink play? We will find out Sunday.
Ole Miss stifled Gonzaga with a close, face-guarding defense that flustered and flummoxed the nation’s best three point shooting team. It reminded me very much of what Vic Shaeffer teams have done against us. The ESPN announcers noted that the Stanford coaches had already commented that the challenge would be getting our team ready for the degree of physicality and frenetic energy. These are the kinds of teams that have always given us trouble, and here comes trouble.
The University of Mississippi, otherwise known as Ole Miss, and represented by “Colonel Reb” as a mascot until 2018, plays in the SEC. They were 11-5 in conference, which was good enough for 4th. They seem better than an 8 seed to me. Like us, they took South Carolina to overtime—on February 19. They lost to Utah but just by 2 points—certainly better than our last Utah game. So they have shown they can compete with the highest level teams, as well as we have competed.
Massey has them at 29, but with the nation's 10th best defense. NET has them at 25. If the committee went by NET alone then they should have been a 6 or 7 seed, not 8. But they are no doubt the best 8 seed since we drew the worst 1 seed bracket, and now we have to rapidly switch into high gear to beat them.
Ole Miss shoots 29% of its threes, and makes about 5 a game—so while it is competent from distance that is not its forte. Stopping other teams from shooting threes, however, is its forte, as poor Gonzaga discovered tonight.
Against an aggressive, close defense like Ole Miss presents, the solution is to have quick guards who can get around their perimeter defense and drive, picking up fouls and layups. The defenders leave no reaction space, so putting a good move on one will leave them behind. Unfortunately, that has not been our strength. Jump is a super shooter, but she can't exactly juke her defender. Tonight Lepolo did drive twice and was rewarded with some free throws, and Nivar attacked some too. We need more of that. If Lepolo can continue to feed Betts perfect passes down low, then forcing it into the paint can work, but there is little room for error.
We should be able to defend Ole Miss well, so this could turn into a low scoring game, as the dreadful first quarter of the Ole Miss/Gonzaga game turned out to be. Officiating will play a role, as it did tonight at the expense of Gonzaga. The Gonzaga fans were very unhappy at the many, many non-calls, and that favored the defense. Ole Miss did seem competent at the pull up mid range jumper, a shot we have not done so well defending.
Ole Miss is led by 5’8” senior guard Angel Baker. She shoots 36% of her threes but takes 3 times as many twos, averaging 15 points a game. She had 11 against Gonzaga.
Their second leading scorer is Madison Scott, a 6’1” junior forward. She makes 52% of her shots, all inside, for 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. She also had 11 against Gonzaga.
Marquesha Davis is a 6’0” senior guard shooting 46%, mostly from inside the arc. She had 8 against Gonzaga.
Snudda Colins is a 6’1” junior forward who leads the team with 54 treys, but shoots them at 28%. She was 3/9 against Gonzaga.
Finally, Myah Taylor is a 5’7” grad guard with 107 assists to 54 turns. She had 4 assists to 0 turns abainst Gonzaga.
Ole Miss played 11 players vs. Gonzaga but only 8 for extended minutes, so they utilize some depth.
Well, what is there to say? Based on our past results, it is one of the worst match ups that we could draw, but we need to be able to beat this kind of team, since Texas could very well be the next opponent. Hanging onto the ball is important, but Gonzaga did a reasonable job of that. What Gonzaga never did really was get open shots. They forced up many late, off balance, out of flow, and even when they were open they seem flustered by the wear and tear of the Ole Miss defense and they still missed. We know what is coming, now, can we be ready for it? Will Brink play? We will find out Sunday.