I am a former Belmont bench warmer that still follows the program very closely. I am also a husband and father of two that only has one tv in the house so the majority of my sports watching happens after 9 or 10 o’clock. Those two random facts combine to mean I’ve seen a ton of Missouri Valley basketball and a ton of St. Mary’s and I’ve got bad news. St. Mary’s is big boy Drake.
They are going to absolutely control the pace of this game. They don’t turn it over. They defend as well as any team we’ve played. They are a great rebounding team. They shoot it well. All said, if the NCAA tournament gods were building a team from the ground up to be a Mark Byington destroyer, St. Mary’s is it.
To have a chance Hoggard has to play team ball, not Hoggard-first ball. Nickel has to hit 4 or 5 (or more) threes. Jason has to make magic late in the shot clock. We have to rebound well and (highly related) Glock, Carey, and Manon have to stay out of foul trouble. And we can’t turn it over.
All of those things can happen, but this might be the hardest game of the year for this particular Vanderbilt team to win based on style alone.
They are going to absolutely control the pace of this game. They don’t turn it over. They defend as well as any team we’ve played. They are a great rebounding team. They shoot it well. All said, if the NCAA tournament gods were building a team from the ground up to be a Mark Byington destroyer, St. Mary’s is it.
To have a chance Hoggard has to play team ball, not Hoggard-first ball. Nickel has to hit 4 or 5 (or more) threes. Jason has to make magic late in the shot clock. We have to rebound well and (highly related) Glock, Carey, and Manon have to stay out of foul trouble. And we can’t turn it over.
All of those things can happen, but this might be the hardest game of the year for this particular Vanderbilt team to win based on style alone.
