Let's Do this - WBB vs. Sacramento (still not a) State

[nevadacat]

Sac State seemed like they had us figured out on both ends. Not sure if Phillip or Dykstra would have made that much difference.

Absolutely they would have made a difference, those are both amazing players. But the injury bug finally hit the team this year and they've got to fight through it. Just a sloppy and lackadaisical game today after they got up by 13 in the second quarter and Sac State hit multiple crazy shots to hold off the comeback that MSU was never quite able to complete.

You're right, of course. Ringing in my head all weekend was the statement from Thursday that our 2nd five is the 3rd best team in the Big Sky. We've watched that group not only maintain but extend leads all year. If Phillip had been out there, she could have closed out on one or two of those 3s that SSU hit. Dykstra could have made a couple shots herself that our shorter ladies couldn't get off. At the margin, that would have changed the outcome. It was the perfect storm of them playing above their station and us being a little flat.

[rfischer94]

I'm sick about the loss. It kills our NCAA tournament seeding. BUT-if we had won and then lost in the Big Sky tournament...anyway I look forward to what this team will do to Sac State in Boise. It's not going to be pretty. But I will say this, Katie Peneueta is a favorite of mine. She was stellar in Sac State's championship run in 2023 and I hope to shake her hand in Boise and compliment her on her game today. She won it for them. That's part of the fun in Boise. The players are all there and very accessible. You'll find that that even the kids on the other teams are great people and they love being acknowledged for their efforts.

I talked to Katie Peneueta's dad. He was a lovely man. I also talked to someone named Gene who I think was a parent of one of the Sac players. We both agreed the refs were ASS.

[Bobcat4Ever]

With the talent they seem to have, how have they acquired such a terrible record?

[aucat]

Some would say that this is a "healthy" loss and will wake the team up. I disagree. I attribute the loss to Phillips and Dykstra not playing. With them I think we win a close game. But here's the cost of this loss: If ever there was a chance that MSU could have still gotten an NCAA at large bid if they did not win the Big Sky tournament, you can forget about that now. Second, IF MSU had gone undefeated the rest of the way and won the tournament, there was a decent chance that a 12 seed would have been possible which would mean a chance to actually win a game in the NCAAs. That's gone now.

I just hope they can somehow win at Idaho so they can win the regular conference championship outright. We only beat Idaho by three at home, so frankly, playing on the road without Phillips and Dykstra, I look at us as being the underdog. If Marah plays, I'm not sure she will really be 100%.

[ClowderUp]

Some would say that this is a "healthy" loss and will wake the team up. I disagree. I attribute the loss to Phillips and Dykstra not playing. With them I think we win a close game. But here's the cost of this loss: If ever there was a chance that MSU could have still gotten an NCAA at large bid if they did not win the Big Sky tournament, you can forget about that now. Second, IF MSU had gone undefeated the rest of the way and won the tournament, there was a decent chance that a 12 seed would have been possible which would mean a chance to actually win a game in the NCAAs. That's gone now.

I just hope they can somehow win at Idaho so they can win the regular conference championship outright. We only beat Idaho by three at home, so frankly, playing on the road without Phillips and Dykstra, I look at us as being the underdog. If Marah plays, I'm not sure she will really be 100%.

I'm pretty sure 30-3 is at least in the conversation for a 12 seed. There will be many teams teams all around the same NET ranking that will lose in the next week. I've never believed that an at-large was possible, but that would be with the same 30-3 record this team is still working toward.

I think SAC came with much more intensity and an unflappable believe they were going to win the game. This was from their head coach all the way down to the last team manager (who literally never stopped yelling the entire game). That HC looked and behaved like he was coaching the last game of his career. Binford and everyone down the line will need to take that same approach in the next four games. I wouldn't ever call any loss "healthy", but it can absolutely can serve as a wake up call. That stuff happens all the time in sports.

[lutecat]

The game will either be motivation or the team will see themselves as vulnerable. Hopefully it's motivation.

[lutecat]

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned:

I was listening to Colter's radio show from Thursday with him and Krista, on my way into Bozeman on Saturday, and the point was mentioned that Coach Bin's teams historically don't okay well on senior night. So maybe that was something too.

[BobcatDel]

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned:

I was listening to Colter's radio show from Thursday with him and Krista, on my way into Bozeman on Saturday, and the point was mentioned that Coach Bin's teams historically don't okay well on senior night. So maybe that was something too.

Colter has a little bit of "recency bias" there. In Coach Bin's 20 years her senior night teams have won 65% of their games, during those same 20 years her teams have won 62% of their conference games.... virtually the same winning percentage on senior night as they have had against their conference opponents.

But respecting the recent past observation, we have lost the last 3 senior night games. The two most painful senior night losses being the 2022-23 team which finished with a 13-5 conference record after losing to EWU on senior night....whereas a senior night win would have given us a 14-4 record and an outright conference championship (rather than a 3 way tie for the conference champion).......and of course losing this year.

[MSU01]

With the talent they seem to have, how have they acquired such a terrible record?

I had the same question, as they certainly have talented players and I was very impressed with how well-coached they were. At the end of the first quarter they knew they had fouls to give and utilized them to disrupt MSU's offense and force a bad shot at the end of that quarter, and they had also clearly been coached on how to defend Morales' crossover move where she starts left and then goes back to the right. They did all the little things right that can give you the edge to win. Their previous coach Mark Campbell isn't too bad either, he won Sac State's first ever Big Sky championship and then in two years he has taken TCU from 1-17 in the Big 12 the year before he arrived to 16-2 and a conference championship this year.

[SACCAT]

With the talent they seem to have, how have they acquired such a terrible record?

I had the same question, as they certainly have talented players and I was very impressed with how well-coached they were. At the end of the first quarter they knew they had fouls to give and utilized them to disrupt MSU's offense and force a bad shot at the end of that quarter, and they had also clearly been coached on how to defend Morales' crossover move where she starts left and then goes back to the right. They did all the little things right that can give you the edge to win. Their previous coach Mark Campbell isn't too bad either, he won Sac State's first ever Big Sky championship and then in two years he has taken TCU from 1-17 in the Big 12 the year before he arrived to 16-2 and a conference championship this year.

1) They had a great plan to guard Morales
2) They average 5 3's a game / and hit 12 (4 of them from VERY deep while being guarded well)
3) They did a great job with the press... 3 strait times, they just put everyone in the backcourt, and just sent the fastest play in a dead sprint and threw a pass to them in stride.
4) Sometimes teams just get hot, and hit shots that are just ridiculous. Shots that are misses 8 out of 10 times.

All that said, yes it was a tough loss. Yes it hurt them in the long run when it comes to the NCAA tourney...

I woke up Sunday morning, and the sun was still shining, my dog was still getting into the trash, and The MSU Bobcats Women's Basketball team was still the Big Sky Conference Regular Season Champs, and were still guaranteed to be the #1 seed in the Big Sky tourney.

[rfischer94]

With the talent they seem to have, how have they acquired such a terrible record?

I had the same question, as they certainly have talented players and I was very impressed with how well-coached they were. At the end of the first quarter they knew they had fouls to give and utilized them to disrupt MSU's offense and force a bad shot at the end of that quarter, and they had also clearly been coached on how to defend Morales' crossover move where she starts left and then goes back to the right. They did all the little things right that can give you the edge to win. Their previous coach Mark Campbell isn't too bad either, he won Sac State's first ever Big Sky championship and then in two years he has taken TCU from 1-17 in the Big 12 the year before he arrived to 16-2 and a conference championship this year.

1) They had a great plan to guard Morales
2) They average 5 3's a game / and hit 12 (4 of them from VERY deep while being guarded well)
3) They did a great job with the press... 3 strait times, they just put everyone in the backcourt, and just sent the fastest play in a dead sprint and threw a pass to them in stride.
4) Sometimes teams just get hot, and hit shots that are just ridiculous. Shots that are misses 8 out of 10 times.

All that said, yes it was a tough loss. Yes it hurt them in the long run when it comes to the NCAA tourney...

I woke up Sunday morning, and the sun was still shining, my dog was still getting into the trash, and The MSU Bobcats Women's Basketball team was still the Big Sky Conference Regular Season Champs, and were still guaranteed to be the #1 seed in the Big Sky tourney.

Thanks for this positive take @SACCAT . All of what you said is true and i believe the best is yet to come!

[WalkOn79]

Those horrible passes were just that, HORRIBLE. That loss sure didn't help them in any seeding conversation.
They still have 2 more of their stated season goals/rings ahead of them and within reach so finish strong ladies and win out. The 2 remaining rings are; winning the conference tournament and playing in the NCAA tournament.

Did the women lend their winning formula to the men's team today? because I would've guessed the scores of those 2 games would've been the exact opposite of how they went.

The last ring is actually WINNING in the NCAA tourney. That goal might have been slightly damaged with the loss on Saturday night.

[Bobcat4Ever]

Despite Sac St being ready, in the second quarter we really started to pull away like we do. I think I remember 42-29 or something like that. Our press had turned up the heat like they do. Then I guess we got a little complacent or something and let the focus wander and seemingly gave up those two three pointers without much of a fight. In the second half I didn’t really remember seeing that grade A version of the press with all the traps, etc. It just seemed like we were a more ordinary defense in the second half. Just having Marah and Dylan out probably put a little damper on things — everyone is used to having Marah just “there” all the time as she’s become a true impact player. And I really believe that we have a minutes problem at guard because Esme and Natalie are going to have to play more of them — and fatigue will become a factor. Sometimes all three of them are on the court together.

I think we still have the juice to beat anyone in this league. The coaches have to make sure the players believe it. I think we’re going to see perhaps Addison step up her game.

In fact I feel so strongly that they can (and will) still win the tournament, that for the first time ever my wife and I are making the trek to Boise. Our limitations make it a bit difficult, but we have our tickets and our hotel and a new recall backup camera — see you in Boise!

[MSU01]

Those horrible passes were just that, HORRIBLE. That loss sure didn't help them in any seeding conversation.
They still have 2 more of their stated season goals/rings ahead of them and within reach so finish strong ladies and win out. The 2 remaining rings are; winning the conference tournament and playing in the NCAA tournament.

Did the women lend their winning formula to the men's team today? because I would've guessed the scores of those 2 games would've been the exact opposite of how they went.

The last ring is actually WINNING in the NCAA tourney. That goal might have been slightly damaged with the loss on Saturday night.

The good news is that the Net ranking only went down from 53 to 56 after the loss on Saturday. I expected a much bigger drop but probably forgot that this was only 1 of 30 games and what they've done in the other 29 still counts! I think they're still well in the discussion for a 12 seed or higher if they win the rest of their games.