#20 Texas A&M (4-1) vs Oregon (5-0)
Date: November 26
Time: 3:30pm
Location: VIVA LAS VEGAS
TV: TBS
Tourney: Players Era Festival
Spread: Texas A&M -2.5
O/U: 143.5
Stats: https://12thman.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
"VIVA LAS VEGAS VIVA LAS VEGAS VIVA VIVA VIVA LAS VEGASSSSSSSSSSSSS - Travis Kelce" Our favorite basketball team flew on over to sin city yesterday for the Inaugural Players Era Festival. A one of a kind NIL driven basketball tournament hosted by Las Vegas and the MGM Grand. Tomorrow we kick things off as we play against Oregon who dons a 5-0 record and Kenpom ranking of #35.
Oregon is 5-0 after wins against the daunting non conference schedule of UC Riverside, Montana, Portland (needed overtime), Troy, and Oregon State. Granted this is the weekend where strength of schedules go up, Oregon hasn't played a strong team yet and struggled against the likes of Portland and Oregon State. They have a huge roster of 17 players, but everything they do runs through 7'0 center #32 Nate Bittle. Bittle missed most of last year, but has gotten off to a strong start this year averaging 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Their next leadings scorers are a 6'5 guard/forward #2 Jadarian Tracey and another 6'5 guard #5 TJ Bamba who both average in double figures.
This could potentially be a quad 1 opponent for us at a neutral site. We've dealt with dynamic bigs in the past such as Oscar Tshibwe and Colin Castleton. So I'm sure we'll have our typical Buzz game plan of doubling Bittle in the post and playing help defense hoping to close out and affect their 3's. They're shooting 3'a at .319% clip which is solid and their best 3 point shooters are Tracey and #9 Keyshawn Barthelemy who shoot .389 and .471. So I know we will be frustrated giving them 3's but we should all know by now that Buzz will prefer to give up the 3 then an easy basket down low.
If we frustrate Bittle early and make their 3's a little more difficult we should be okay. Payne, Coleman, and Garcia will have to have strong performances defensively. I bet they'll use a high pick and roll to get Bittle a mismatch so this is where our help defense will be key. Offensively, we need to get to the free throw line. Oregon is content with allowing 3 point shots as well, so let's hope we take good shots and can get a few to follow! I think Payne steps up and establishes his authority against Bittle. He comes from Minnesota and faced large centers plenty of times. Let's hope we come out with a solid win and Buzz's non conference tournament woes won't affect this talented squad. What happens in Vegas might not stay in Vegas, but what happens at the Player Era Festival will definitely impact tourney seeding, ranking, and reputation.
Date: November 26
Time: 3:30pm
Location: VIVA LAS VEGAS
TV: TBS
Tourney: Players Era Festival
Spread: Texas A&M -2.5
O/U: 143.5
Stats: https://12thman.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
"VIVA LAS VEGAS VIVA LAS VEGAS VIVA VIVA VIVA LAS VEGASSSSSSSSSSSSS - Travis Kelce" Our favorite basketball team flew on over to sin city yesterday for the Inaugural Players Era Festival. A one of a kind NIL driven basketball tournament hosted by Las Vegas and the MGM Grand. Tomorrow we kick things off as we play against Oregon who dons a 5-0 record and Kenpom ranking of #35.
Oregon is 5-0 after wins against the daunting non conference schedule of UC Riverside, Montana, Portland (needed overtime), Troy, and Oregon State. Granted this is the weekend where strength of schedules go up, Oregon hasn't played a strong team yet and struggled against the likes of Portland and Oregon State. They have a huge roster of 17 players, but everything they do runs through 7'0 center #32 Nate Bittle. Bittle missed most of last year, but has gotten off to a strong start this year averaging 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Their next leadings scorers are a 6'5 guard/forward #2 Jadarian Tracey and another 6'5 guard #5 TJ Bamba who both average in double figures.
This could potentially be a quad 1 opponent for us at a neutral site. We've dealt with dynamic bigs in the past such as Oscar Tshibwe and Colin Castleton. So I'm sure we'll have our typical Buzz game plan of doubling Bittle in the post and playing help defense hoping to close out and affect their 3's. They're shooting 3'a at .319% clip which is solid and their best 3 point shooters are Tracey and #9 Keyshawn Barthelemy who shoot .389 and .471. So I know we will be frustrated giving them 3's but we should all know by now that Buzz will prefer to give up the 3 then an easy basket down low.
If we frustrate Bittle early and make their 3's a little more difficult we should be okay. Payne, Coleman, and Garcia will have to have strong performances defensively. I bet they'll use a high pick and roll to get Bittle a mismatch so this is where our help defense will be key. Offensively, we need to get to the free throw line. Oregon is content with allowing 3 point shots as well, so let's hope we take good shots and can get a few to follow! I think Payne steps up and establishes his authority against Bittle. He comes from Minnesota and faced large centers plenty of times. Let's hope we come out with a solid win and Buzz's non conference tournament woes won't affect this talented squad. What happens in Vegas might not stay in Vegas, but what happens at the Player Era Festival will definitely impact tourney seeding, ranking, and reputation.
