MBB 7:30 pm Wed: Pacific (4-3) @ the Aggies (5-2) 2nd game of a DH Pacific was quicker to the ball and much more aggressive on the boards. They were the aggressors and, if they didn't get the offensive rebound outright, they often got a hand on the ball and tipped it up for grabs. There were quite a few times when the ball got pinballed around and they came up with it.
The Tigers were in a 2-3 zone most of the game and, when we would get the ball inside to Chima, they would collapse on him. He got doubled and tripled often and, when he would try and muscle up the shot, they had 3 players right there for the rebound if he missed.
I think we are going to see a lot of zone this year. The Ags are going to have to make some adjustments for rebounding against teams who are athletic, tall and play good zone. It's tough to get rebounds against teams with length and quickness especially when they are crashing the boards with 3 or 4 players.
Siler was excellent last night and we need him to continue to bring that kind of leadership to the floor. It was also good to see Michael Onybalu hit some huge shots and pull down some critical rebounds. I love his work ethic and athleticism. He is a consummate team player and he has really earned his starting role.
TJ is fun to watch. He's a bouncing ball of energy and is really doing a good job steering the team. He has the ability to drive through traffic and slash through a small crease to the bucket. He tend to try and set up his teammates with a good pass first but I think he has the ability to score in double figures on a regular basis.
Garrison Goode shows some signs of being more aggressive on offense and that's nice to see. He made a couple of nice moves to the basket early in the game but was pretty quiet the rest of the way.
The bench was thin last night with Jackson and Mooney out. I seem to remember that Joe was under the weather for the WSU game. In the post-game interviews Siler said he was trying to get back to feeling well also so I wonder if the team is passing a bug around.
I'm not much of a fan of games like William Jessop and Holy Names but I'm glad we don't have to turn around and play a really tough opponent Saturday with so many players ailing at the moment.