It's a good thing the Aggies have improved man-to-man because I don't think they can zone St. Mary's for stretches tonight.
Mickey McConnell is a 49 percent shooter from 3. Rob Jones shoots it at 38 percent and Matt Dellavedova is only a 31 percent shooter. Those three, and 6-7 forward Clint Steindl (39 percent) have accounted for 226 of the team's 262 attempts from long range.
The Gaels spread teams out and pick and roll for McConnell, Jones or Dellavedova. NMSU assistant coach Mick Durham counted 50 or 60 ball screens per game. At 6-6, Jones leads the team with 14.2 points per game after sitting out last year. Outside of Kenton Walker or whoever they have playing the five, all four players can shoot.
Defensively, the Gaels are a straight man to man team but don't pressure the ball like a UTEP or Arizona, but they play good team defense and don't get out of position.
The Aggies have done a good job defending some quality guards this year in Pacific and UNM, but I don't know of a tandem they've played that are this good. I think the Aggies match up well with St. Mary's from an athletic standpoint, but players like Bandja Sy and Chili Nephawe are certainly going to be tested and have to stay out of foul trouble.
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Going to have to pressure those guards tonight. Rebounding will also be huge for the Aggies.
Offensively I say the Aggies start running more sets through Tyrone Watson. He takes care of the ball in the post as well as outside and he's an above average passer.
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