Ponies will beat Nevada

[OldPony]

The Ponies match up very well against Nevada and, I think, will win this road game in style. Our big guys should have a good game and Q and Bhop will neutralize their scorers. Any road win is hard but smart money will be on the Ponies tomorrow night.

[GrapevineMustang]

I confess I don't know much about Nevada. Who should excel among our big guys? Castro? Simpson? Kelley?

If Nevada is relatively small inside, I'd say Castro. If they're big and slow, I'd say Simpson and Kelley.

Simpson, in particular, has been impressive lately. Hope he keeps it up!

[OldPony]

I think Castro will have a big game but Simpson should do well too. Kelley, in relief, should be able to add more than just rebounds against their center. I believe this is one where BHop will have double the assists to TO's or better.

[Fingers]

Well, this will be a good test. We beat them here earlier, but it will be different in Reno. I still recall them pushing us around lie we weren't there last year in the conference tournament. A win here would be a big step forward for the program.

[Pony_Fan]

Wow, OP...quite the turnaround from a month ago. You are now overly optimistic
You were calling for Dement's head if I recall.

They have speedy, quick guards with Okeson, Hill,and Snyder. Once again, we cannot let them get good looks from 3-land.
They attempted 27 3's last game and made 11 of them. 0-3 in OT. The big difference was 17 pts in OT for the Ponies.

[This message has been edited by Pony_Fan (edited 02-12-2003).]

[OldPony]

You're right. I was sick of the aimless dribbling and lack of toughness across the middle where our opponents ran through us like it was a no-touch practice drill. I thought Dement should go although I did temper my remarks that "only if we could find one better" and I had my doubts about that. Since that time, this group has really come together as a team and doesn't back down from anyone. Castro and Simpson have been very tough and are even passing to one another on offense. That is a mark of a good team when you see the big men doing that. Q has always been outstanding and a team player. BHop seems to get better each game. His shootong is still disappoining but he now knows his job. Isham is the only one of the starters who has not been as good as he was earlier. I hope he hits a few baskets and gets his confidence back with his outside shot. This offense has started pasing the ball quickly and looking to set and break off screens. This was not happening earlier. I don't know what changed. Part of it is BHop getting healthier but it seems like they finally get what Dement has been trying to do. I'm not ready to give him a contract extension but I like what I am seeing by Dement and the players for the past 3 weeks whether they won or lost. Guys are coming off the bench and really contributing now, especially Lowe and Kelley. If this team starts shooting 3's like I think they are capable of (especially BHop), this could still be a very fun year. OP feels like he has turned into a cheerleader for Dement but I am the happiest person around to admit I may have been hasty. Let's all hope I was. Go Ponies!!!

[Pony_Fan]

I agree they are playing more like a team compared to the beginning of the season. If they play like they did in the 1st half of the game against Rice, they can beat most WAC teams. Offense could still use some help but it's looking better. Like I said before, I am just worried about Snyder and their 3 pt shooting and the fact they killed Fresno State 92-79. It would be great if we could win this one and be in the race but I really don't think seeding will matter much in the WAC tourney b/c anyone can beat anybody.

Here is some analysis from the WolfPack site

<A HREF="http://nevadawolfpack.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021103aaa.html" TARGET=_blank>http://nevadawolfpack.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/021103aaa.html</A>

[Q fan]

Our team is obviously much better than in the early stages of this season. We still tend to play [deleted] poor defense though. If Nevada scores every time down tonight, forget it. Especially if they are hitting their threes.

[OldPony]

I think our defense is much improved too. We still go to sleep occasionally and lose track of either the ball or the man but they are scrapping for rebounds and defending the 3 much better. Nevada can light'em up from outside so this will be a good test of the latter. We need a really good game on the boards and should get it if the hustle continues.

[Nacho]

OldPony are you going to want to get Dement fired if SMU loses to Nevada?

[Pony_Fan]

Nevada is 9-1 at home and 5-0 in conference at home. Going to be a toughie for sure.

[Nacho]

I won't say it's impossible especially since Nevada is missing a good player but way too many SMU homers seem to think that SMU is going to waltz up there and win this game without much problem.

[OldPony]

No Nacho- If the Ponies continue to play tough in the middle on D and pass the ball on O instead of what they were doing earlier, I am happy with Dement. This team has really come together and is playing pretty disciplined ball right now. If we go into another February-March swoon as in years past, I may rethink my position but I don't expect that to happen this year. It happenend in other years because we didn't play as a team and our "big gun" went cold. These guys hustle and are now playing with a purpose and a mission. I am forced by seeing the improvement to say that Dement has finally gotten through to them and has brought in better athletes as a whole to produce. If you noticed my other posts re Dement, you would have seen that I wasn't upset about losses to Boise or Fresno becuase I could see the improvement. I was a staunch Dement supporter until about 14 months ago. At that point, I couldn't see purpose to the offense and they were timid on D. That is no longer the case and Dement seems to have righted the ship. Go Ponies!!!

[FloridaMustang]

We'll beat Nevada, and then I'll rub it in Nacho's face

[DickerJames]

Before the Hawaii game last week, I predicted a loss and then went on to say I thought they would only win 2 games the rest of the season, Rice and Utep. I was wrong about Hawaii and I sure hope I'm wrong about the rest of the season, but I still don't possess Old Pony's faith. Dement lost me last year, and it's going to take more than a winning season to win me over.