Took in both the Portland game and the Gonzaga game this week. Such a different perspective seeing things live. Body language, injury treatments and coaching during TOs, opposing fan commentaries and the ability to see the whole court instead of just following the ball are all quite revealing.

First the Portland game. Chiles Center about 70% of capacity with about a 60-40 Pilot to Cougar fan split. Student section about 40-50% larger than our first trip there in 2012, which was pretty remarkable for a weeknight game. They are clearly supporting at a higher level and my guess is that had everything to do with the Gonzaga victory at their last home game.

This game was really lost inside by the BYU bigs who simply could not stop Van der Mars, a player who could barely tie his shoes two years ago, but who looks to be significantly improved this year. He is a good post player with excellent size, use of both hands and a soft touch. He was also very effective from the line nullifying any hack-a-Shaq ideas we may have had. He was also a defensive presence who continually frustrated Mika who had a terrible game in all phases pretty much. Mika's ineffectiveness in the post both offensively and defensively were enough to nullify good efforts by Haws, Carlino and Collinsworth (with the notable exception of Kyle FTs). That's all I can really fault us for. We had good effort through regulation and two OTs despite being on the road. Carlino cramped up at the end of the second and sat the beginning on the third OT and that's when the wheels came off.

For Portland it was all about Van der Mars and unbelievable 3 pt shooting. We contested most of them well. They were just on fire, particularly the diminutive Sharp. There isn't a whole lot you can do when a guy is hitting shots while being doubled and with hands in his face. All in all, it was a great game to watch live and I can now say I've been in attendance for personal scoring bests for latter-day greats Jimmer, Davies, Hartsock and Haws. I left feeling badly about the loss but worse about the energy expended without a W to show for it, knowing where we were going next. I think most Y fans present at Chiles pretty much knew after seeing the 3rd overtime and body language leaving the court that we were not going to have enough in the tank to steal one in The Kennel just two days later.

That brings me to last nights game. If you've never been to a Gonzaga home game, you should go. Even if it's not a BYU game. What an atmosphere! Unlike most WCC venues, where Y fans number at least 25% or more of the gate, there were precious few to be found in the sold out Kennel. Its a tough (read expensive) ticket. The student section was at capacity (~1200) well before the game and was working the aluminum bleachers mercilessly with the pep band. Half time show was themed as International Gonzaga Day for an ESPN audience and had videos and performances from alums around the world. Mind you, the Y could put that show to shame with our global reach and cultural performance prowess, but alas, we don't seem to put as much effort into our halftime programs.

Now for the game summary: Valiant effort through 30 minutes but an energy shortage thereafter. Highly predictable for anyone who witnessed the Thursday tilt. The story line was similar but this time Mika showed up and had a great game. He was a rebounding force and played well on both ends despite a noticeable limp and facing an imposing 7' 3" presence in Karnowski and a future NBA 4 in Dower. Props to Mika. Consider Thursday's poor performance properly atoned for big guy.

The common theme in these two games was incredible 3 pt shooting for the opposition and Pangos took on the role in Spokane that Sharp had played in Portland. He was en fuego to be sure, but unlike the often-contested 3s the Pilots dropped on us, Pangos had the benefit of some seriously slow rotations on the part of our guardline. He had his own Zip Code pretty much. Finally after 5 straight Rose began to see a pattern (better late than never I guess) and sic'd Winder on him. However the damage was done by that point. Adding insult to coaching injury was the decision to pull Halford in the last minutes for an extra big when our only hope resided in the long ball. Still scratching my head over that one.

Poor post play on both O and D along with hot 3 pt shooting did us in on Thursday and lack of defensive energy and hot 3 pt shooting did us in on Saturday. Those are the facts for this roadtrip. However there is one inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the entire season thus far: The WCC has picked it up considerably. Arguably the three top teams are a bit worse this year (GU, SMC and BYU) but everyone else, and I do mean everyone, is better this year and some programs markedly so.

It must be said, you just can't win a lot in today's game without credible outside shooting. We simply don't have it and haven't had it for two years now. We can't get Emery and Haws suited up quickly enough IMO. It's just that simple. Our offense won't work unless we can keep opposing defenses honest and extended. We are getting strong enough performances from Mika and Collinsworth inside to win games but we need more than just Haws on the perimeter to seal deals in places like The Kennel. We also need to mark and contest opposing perimeter threats with athleticism and scheme in a timely fashion when necessary. We have three players (Bartley, Winder and Halford) who can get that done but they have to be utilized before the game gets out of hand.

In closing, it's clear that our only path to the NCAA tournament now runs through Las Vegas. However, I think we have enough talent that we can get that done. It will take an NITish run of consistency to do it. We will have to hit on all cylinders in stead of just two or three each night. We can't have Mika and Carlino show up for alternating games. We can't have just a single perimeter threat in Haws. Collinsworth is going to have to hit 70-75% from the line every game. Winder needs to see more time when Haws sits and also when opposing 3 pt shooters are in need of lock down. Rose is going to have to coach at a high level and find the chemistry that has eluded him since early December. He needs to rest key players and get them healthy and re-energized at the end of the conference season irrespective of the W-L record. Tank it if need be. We had zero momentum after the conference tourney last year but still managed to regroup and surge. We have to do that BEFORE the conference tourney this year by whatever methods necessary.

It's a tall order but we put it all together at the end last year and I feel like we can do it again this year. I'll be there!