MBB 12/30: Aggies (3-9) @ USC (6-6)
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    The Aggies stay in Los Angeles tonight for another tough road game against a Power 5 opponent when they play USC for the first time ever in the 10,258 seat Galen Center at 6 pm. This will be the last chance for the Ags to pull an upset in their ambitious out of conference schedule this season. To date, the Aggies have lost to four Power 5 schools and three tough WCC schools who have amassed a combined 80-13 record this season.

    The season so far for the Aggies has been disappointing. Sure, the schedule has been tough...the toughest ever actually...but it's how the Ags have played that is cause for concern. Our defense has been sporadic at best and our shooting has been dreadful for the most part all season long.

    We've played schools who are longer, deeper and more athletic than us this year and that certainly has something to do with precipitous drop off in scoring, but we have also gone cold for long stretches where wide open looks are missed badly. On Friday, we were 2-19 from 3 at one point late in the game. One would think that our offensive woes have become a good part mental at this point.

    AJ John and Stefan Ganzalez have been injured for much of the season too and they are two players we desperately need to be contributing offensively for us. Gonzalez saw a few minutes in the loss at Loyola Marymount on Friday so, hopefully, we'll see him in action tonight.

    Matt Neufeld is looking better with each game he gets under his belt and we need him to stay out of foul trouble and on the floor in games like this one. Damion Squire is showing promise for a true freshman and has won a starting role with John out. TJ continues to do what TJ does and has been our most consistent player this season. Siler had a good game against LMU and we need him to be a consistent leader for this team. Caleb Fuller was looking like he might become a regular starter early in the season but, lately, he seems out of sync and has seen his playing time diminish over the last few games.

    As expected, USC is long and athletic and they'll be hard to defend with 5 players scoring in double figures. The Trojans broke a 4 game losing streak with a 91-49 drubbing of Southern Utah on Friday.

    Live tv on the PAC-12 Network at 6 pm.

    Go Ags!
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • 72Aggie
    389
    Who'd think that we might have done better against their football team this year than against their men's basketball team?

    On the bright side for the Ags, the Pac 12 this year DOES have the worst record for the month of December of any of the big conferences. http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/25641970/pac-12-caps-worst-december-major-conference-20-years-five-teams-lose
    72Aggie Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    Tied at 9 at the first break. The Ads are pushing the ball and making nice passes.
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    Did Walton say John in out with concussion. Guy never shuts up so hard to keep up
    DrMike Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    ↪DrMike
    Hahaha...I was going to say the same thing about Walton...sometimes I think he's off his meds! They did say John was out with a concussion. If that's true then he has suffered two injuries: left knee and concussion. Damn...
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    My God...Bill Walton is driving me nuts...he needs to SHUT UP!
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    I kind of like it. They are talking a ton about Davis.
    SoCalAggie Options
  • PortlandAggie
    228
    ↪SoCalAggie
    yeah, kind of cool
    PortlandAggie Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    ↪SoCalAggie
    The talk about Davis is great but it's like Walton is having a manic episode. He just blabs away like a stream of consciousness about anything that floats through his mind at warp speed...
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    We're staying in contact but poor shooting is plaguing us again: 38% overall and 27% from 3. If we could score with more consistency we'd be a tough out.
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    Here’s what’s nice. We look like we belong on the court. It doesn’t feel like we are playing up. That’s huge for our program especially with this roster. Outside of TJ, we don’t have a single player that can consistently create on their own.
    SoCalAggie Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    ↪SoCalAggie
    Everything you just said is spot on. We need to get a few players who can create of the dribble. TJ does it the best for the Ags and Siler has his moments but, after that, we fall off completely.
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    Nuefield and Goode look much better offensively. We’ll need to shoot better to stay in this; 40% won’t do it
    DrMike Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    Offense is frazzled; hard time getting good looks and rushing when it’s inside. 44-48 13 to go
    DrMike Options
  • Gunrock47
    18
    Walton is crazy. He subbed for Jerry Reynolds a couple times on Kings broadcasts over the years and was hard to listen to. I do appreciate how he’s talking up Davis tonight though.
    Gunrock47 Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    The key here is making baskets on defensive stops. USC hasn’t missed in a while...
    SoCalAggie Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    Following up on my point of not having anybody who can create in their own outside of TJ.

    It would be nice to have some knock down shooters.

    We have solid rebounding, defense and TJ. Would be great to have knockdown shooting right about now.
    SoCalAggie Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    Brutal...
    SoCalAggie Options
  • DrMike
    1.3k
    Seems like we didn’t get a decent shot in the last 8 minutes, and they got hot from the arc. The ball movement was good in the first half and agsinst their zone, but disappeared at the end. Really need a healthy John to stretch the defense. Gonzalez had a few nice threes, but a few that had no chance.

    Hope we can regroup for conference play and find a way to end in the top half
    DrMike Options
  • BlueGoldAg
    1.7k
    ↪SoCalAggie
    Not having any serious knock down shooters is the Achilles heel of this team. We graduate what little offense we have after this year and I don't see anyone we have returning that has the kind of consistent offensive ability we need making a big difference for us in scoring. I sure hope Les has some excellent shooters coming into the program. We can't win games consistently with defense alone.
    BlueGoldAg Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    ↪BlueGoldAg
    it’s funny. For the past few years we’ve had amazing 3 point shooting - Ryan sypkens, Tyler Les, the list goes on. I think two years we were in the top 10 in the nation, with one year being 3rd!Those years we had major rebounding issues which killed us.

    Now our team has completely flip flopped, solid rebounding but no shooting of any kind.

    We’ve also just missed with our roster by about a year each time. We had Corey Hawkins who was gone when Chima started and then The Chima TJ time frame never lined up either.

    Could you imagine if either of those guards would have been able to play with Chima?!
    SoCalAggie Options
  • SoCalAggie
    138
    Also, a note about silar. When he first started for Davis, his role was a spot up shooter and he was pretty solid.

    His growth over 4 years has been incredible. He drives to the lane with power and makes some impressive shots. Compare his skill set now to his freshman year and his growth is amazing. His spot up shooting has been a little underwhelming this year but I have to Imagine a large part of that is due to him expelling a ton of energy with driving to the hoop. Just something to think about with his role on this roster. We need people like Mooney, or any of the new guys to hit shots.

    I’m worried that we are about to enter a bad stretch when TJ graduates.
    SoCalAggie Options
  • movielover
    740
    ↪SoCalAggie
    Any of the 5 freshmen guards stand out?
    movielover Options
  • Toke69
    531
    Does anyone know what USC's field goal percentage was in the second half? I know they shot 52.7% for the game, but it seems like they were making almost everything down the stretch.
    Toke69 Options
  • Oldbanduhalum
    707
    ↪Toke69
    SC shot 64% in the second half per their recap. Some were easy open shots but they also made several well contested shots. That’s what happens when we play the big boys.

    Movie, your question about the freshman, only Fuller and Squire have played meaningful minutes. Squire looked like he’ll be a big contributor in the long run but we’ll have to endure some uneven performance for a while. He has a nice outside shot that will hopefully become more consistent. Fuller has talent and will be a mainstay of the lineup next year. He’s being asked to guard larger players with John out so that seems to have stalled his offensive improvement. But we’ll see how he plays against BW talent. I think we might see him as a strong contributor come BWT time. No other freshman has had any time.
    Oldbanduhalum Options
  • movielover
    740
    ↪Oldbanduhalum
    Maybe a stud or two are redshirting? We can hope.
    movielover Options
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