Saint Mary's

[Dave in Green]

Tough second game for the Zips, especially with the 3 a.m. EDT starting time. The Saint Mary's College Gaels should not be confused with any of the lesser Saint Mary's teams across the country. The Gaels are Gonzaga's primary challenger in the WCC, and beat them for the conference championship in 2010. Saint Mary's is considered along with the Zips to be one of the top mid-major programs in the country over the past decade. They've been in the NCAA tournament four of the last six seasons, and have won three NCAA tournament games in that time, so they're ahead of the Zips by that measure.

In last night's home game season opener, the Gaels beat visiting Louisiana Tech University 83-70. LTU is close in overall strength to the Zips. LTU had the second longest D1 winning streak last season, just one game behind the Zips, and were rated close to the Zips in the polls. LTU returns comparable strength to the Zips this season, so their loss to Saint Mary's is a warning that the Zips will have their hands full. The Gaels relied heavily on their starters (three guards and two forwards), with all five playing 30 or more minutes. Star forward Brian Waldow scored 28 points on 11-13 shooting and guard Stephen Holt added 18 while playing 36 minutes.

TeamRankings predicts that this will be the toughest game currently on the Zips schedule, with only a 15% chance to win. The next worse odds for the Zips are predicted for the following game at Middle Tennessee, with a 35.6% chance of a Zips win. So winning the Saint Mary's game would be a major upset and early indicator of what the Zips are capable of accomplishing this season.

There's a lot more to discuss about the Gaels, so please share your thoughts on this important game.

[ZachTheZip]

Gaels message board

[Zipmeister]

Tough second game for the Zips, especially with the 3 a.m. EDT starting time. The Saint Mary's College Gaels should not be confused with any of the lesser Saint Mary's teams across the country. The Gaels are Gonzaga's primary challenger in the WCC, and beat them for the conference championship in 2010. Saint Mary's is considered along with the Zips to be one of the top mid-major programs in the country over the past decade. They've been in the NCAA tournament four of the last six seasons, and have won three NCAA tournament games in that time, so they're ahead of the Zips by that measure.

In last night's home game season opener, the Gaels beat visiting Louisiana Tech University 83-70. LTU is close in overall strength to the Zips. LTU had the second longest D1 winning streak last season, just one game behind the Zips, and were rated close to the Zips in the polls. LTU returns comparable strength to the Zips this season, so their loss to Saint Mary's is a warning that the Zips will have their hands full. The Gaels relied heavily on their starters (three guards and two forwards), with all five playing 30 or more minutes. Star forward Brian Waldow scored 28 points on 11-13 shooting and guard Stephen Holt added 18 while playing 36 minutes.

TeamRankings predicts that this will be the toughest game currently on the Zips schedule, with only a 15% chance to win. The next worse odds for the Zips are predicted for the following game at Middle Tennessee, with a 35.6% chance of a Zips win. So winning the Saint Mary's game would be a major upset and early indicator of what the Zips are capable of accomplishing this season.

There's a lot more to discuss about the Gaels, so please share your thoughts on this important game.

So you're saying we are not going to California to play Saint Mary's College from Indiana.

[Quickzips]

We are going to have to play much MUCH better than we did last night to beat St. Mary's at their place. The Gaels aren't going to get flustered by our pressure the way Coastal did. This is a much better team and a much better program we are going against. Not feeling very good about this one right now.

[Z.I.P.]

La Tech followed by Akron? Is DiG spending the entire weekend in Moraga, CA?

Yes -- the quest begins on Monday night: Where's Waldo? Brad scored 28 last night versus the Techsters. I would expect the spread to be about 8 or 9 points in favor of the Gaels. This should be the toughest game we play till the team arrives in Hawaii -- could we get a rematch? Could they?

Meanwhile, talking about Hawaii (what else?) I was wondering if Western Michigan hired Akron's former compliance manager. The Broncos played virtually flawless ball in the Rainbow Classic, defeating the Aggies of New Mexico State in a game that ended after 4 am EST. I think the final was about 70-63 (I can't find it on scoreboards), though it was a one-possession game with under 10 seconds to play before the Aggies coach turned genius (or pulled a Chris Webber) and called a timeout he didn't have. I mention the compliance manager because WMU was missing their best player, center Shayne Whittington, who was sitting out an NCAA-directed one game suspension for playing in an unsanctioned game two years ago. At least that was the word from the father of coach Steve Hawkins -- who I suspect gets questions about whether he's the coach's (younger) brother. lol WMU is clearly NOT an athleticly gifted team -- BUT they pass the ball until they find an open shooter and they really shot the rock last night -- better than 50% on three-pointers I'm pretty sure. They're great at setting high screens -- which they needed as they were smaller at every position -- nearly a foot so in the post, where NMSU played their 7-5 giant Sim Bullar aka Manos de Piedra II. Will be interesting to see how Hawkins' kids do against the home team tonight. Hawaii is improved from their CBI team of last year. I think Whittington will likely be the difference. I apologize to MAC fans for rooting for the Big West Conference team.

[LZIp]

whats crazy about NMSU is that if the 7'5" guy is having problems, they can turn to his 7'3" brother lol.

[Z.I.P.]

whats crazy about NMSU is that if the 7'5" guy is having problems, they can turn to his 7'3" brother lol.

His "little" brother Sanveer played like two minutes, I think. Sim, the Big Brother bricked his first four free throws, then made three of his last four for 3/8 -- that's probably his ceiling.

[Dave in Green]

At 6-9, 260 pounds, the Gaels' Brad Waldow is a junior who really knows how to throw his weight around. Various listed as either a power forward or center, he's going to be a handful for the Zips in the post as he outweighs Pat by 20 pounds. Waldow was virtually unstoppable around the rim in last night's LTU game, hitting 9-11 from the field. It would be great if the Zips could count on 305-pound offensive guard Big Dog to be the immovable object to counter Waldow's irresistible force. But that would be a heck of an imposing challenge to a true freshman's first few minutes of D1 college play.

The other starting forward is 6-7, while the three starting guards are 6-2, 6-3 and 6-4. So overall the Zips will have a height advantage. But this is a well-coached, highly skilled team that plays well together. As mentioned in the original post, all five starters played 30 or more minutes against LTU, so they are also apparently pretty well conditioned. The Zips will need strong play from everyone in the rotation if they hope to wear down the Gaels with frequent substitutions.

[akronzips71]

whats crazy about NMSU is that if the 7'5" guy is having problems, they can turn to his 7'3" brother lol.

His numbers last year were not that impressive for a guy his size.

Very little organized (or any) hoops experience, and he probably can not get off his feet at all. Which is not saying much, most guys over 300 LBS can not jump or do pullups.

But, that is one giant sized honcho. Just think, Big Dog would look like Reggie standing next to Zeke.

[skip-zip]

What intrigues me more than anything is to see how many Zips fans will sacrifice a night of sleep for this game.

We'll find out who the REAL fans are

I get up around 5am anyway, so I think I might just get up a bit early and try to catch the 2nd half.

[akronzips71]

What intrigues me more than anything is to see how many Zips fans will sacrifice a night of sleep for this game.

We'll find out who the REAL fans are

I get up around 5am anyway, so I think I might just get up a bit early and try to catch the 2nd half.

My DVR will be set. I will watch it when I get up in the morning.

[Dave in Green]

... I get up around 5am anyway ...

I always knew there was something wrong with you. I'm a certified night person. I just might stay up for the game.

[skip-zip]

I always knew there was something wrong with you. I'm a certified night person. I just might stay up for the game.

Dave, I'm with you. I used to be a night owl when I was young. And I'd still be one today, if I could choose.

But, the wife is out the door at 5:45am, and I run a company, so unfortunately I've had to change my ways as I've gotten older !!

I sure miss those late night talk shows

[Dave in Green]

@skip-zip, I hear you. I spent many years in the corporate world and had to set the alarm for 5 a.m. But I could never go to sleep before midnight, so I ended up averaging less than 5 hours sleep a night over decades. You could say that 3 a.m. is the twilight zone that's a little uncomfortable for both night owls and early risers. I guess the DVR is a good backup for situations like this. A DVR would also help you enjoy the late night talk shows via time shifting.

[akronzips71]

@skip-zip, I hear you. I spent many years in the corporate world and had to set the alarm for 5 a.m. But I could never go to sleep before midnight, so I ended up averaging less than 5 hours sleep a night over decades. You could say that 3 a.m. is the twilight zone that's a little uncomfortable for both night owls and early risers. I guess the DVR is a good backup for situations like this. A DVR would also help you enjoy the late night talk shows via time shifting.

Trust me, there is NOTHING on Letterman worth watching.

[Hilltopper]

Too bad that you guys made the wrong career choices. I plan on staying up to watch and plan to sleep in the next day. Just like every day.

[skip-zip]

@skip-zip, I hear you. I spent many years in the corporate world and had to set the alarm for 5 a.m. But I could never go to sleep before midnight, so I ended up averaging less than 5 hours sleep a night over decades. You could say that 3 a.m. is the twilight zone that's a little uncomfortable for both night owls and early risers. I guess the DVR is a good backup for situations like this. A DVR would also help you enjoy the late night talk shows via time shifting.

DVR? I wouldn't be patient enough to wait to watch the whole thing before I know what happened.!!!

AkronZips71....Letterman used to be my choice back in the 80s, but today I tend to want to watch Jimmy Kimmel. I'm just rarely up that late, unless its Friday...maybe. If only I could follow Dave's technique, and just sleep 5 hours a night

[phil]

I remember watching a Hawaii football game starting at midnight. If Hawaii lost, the Zips would get a bowl bid because it would give Hawaii a losing record and they could not play in a bowl game. The opposing team took a big lead. I end up watching the game till 3:30 A.M. Hawaii came back and the zips were the only team that was bowl eligable that did not go to a bowl. I was miserable the next day and missed the sleep. I am hitting the DVR for this game.

[skip-zip]

I remember watching a Hawaii football game starting at midnight. If Hawaii lost, the Zips would get a bowl bid because it would give Hawaii a losing record and they could not play in a bowl game. The opposing team took a big lead. I end up watching the game till 3:30 A.M. Hawaii came back and the zips were the only team that was bowl eligable that did not go to a bowl. I was miserable the next day and missed the sleep. I am hitting the DVR for this game.

That was 2004, and they were playing Michigan State. I think Michigan State had something like a 21-0 lead. It would have left the Zips and Charlie Frye as the only remaining bowl-eligible team. Unfortunately, Michigan State flopped, big time, and we lost our bowl bid.

[LZIp]

Getting no respect from St Marys on their message board. They also seem to be pretty clueless.

[Derrt]

Getting no respect from St Marys on their message board. They also seem to be pretty clueless.

Or they are just confident

[GP1]

What intrigues me more than anything is to see how many Zips fans will sacrifice a night of sleep for this game.

We'll find out who the REAL fans are

I get up around 5am anyway, so I think I might just get up a bit early and try to catch the 2nd half.

Why not just record it and watch it when you get up? A college basketball game only last forty minutes of game clock and you can watch an entire game in less than an hour

[akronzips71]

Just remember to set your DVR for the NEXT game as well. These TV games NEVER start or end on time.

[skip-zip]

Why not just record it and watch it when you get up? A college basketball game only last forty minutes of game clock and you can watch an entire game in less than an hour

Umm. I already said I won't be able to wait that long to see how it ends. So, I can't resist just catching the last 5 min. or so as soon as I get up. Plus, it's not like a have a spare hour at that time of the morning.

[Dave in Green]

@Z.I.P., you forgot to update us that Shane Whittington ended up being suspended for the first two games of the season and didn't play in the WMU-Hawaii game, and that the Warriors upset the Broncos by 10.