We were in the bonus with 15:53 left in the second half. I think there were close to 50 fouls combined.
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Good solid win after the Akron setback. Next 4 games will be tough, but 3 of them at Millett. Still think we can win the conference.
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Welcome, and well said.
OU loses at home to Toledo 86-83.
We close out January with 15 wins. In our prior 13 seasons, we had reached 15 three times. We won on more than 15 once.
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I felt like I watched 4 different games tonight. For the first 13 minutes, we were solid offensively but not defensively. Again, we got caught in bad switches. We had Potter switch out on Henry who appropriately buried a 3. And we played too much zone against a good shooting team.
At 24-24, we had a 3 guard, 2 big lineup, no wings. This lineup played great. We attacked the rim, Cooper put his imprint on the game, and we got to the foul line, which helped build our lead. This continued into the 2nd half, getting to the rim, getting to the foul line, and taking good shots. We were up 62-42 with 14:30 left. This game shouldāve been over.
Then we had poor time and score awareness. Too many quick shots, we stopped attacking the rim, and our defensive intensity dropped a little. Henry, Terry, and Osojnik started to get loose. Yes, we still had a 3 possession lead, but if that 50/50 goaltending call goes the other way, itās a 2 possession game with 5 minutes left. Instead itās a block, Suder hits a 3, and weāre in good shape to finish.
We subbed Ipsaro and Byers into the game and order was restored for the stretch run. Hopefully the lesson is learned. Less dribbling, fewer quick shots, more ball movement and greater use of Potter and Woolfolk down low. Woolfolk was strong in the paint tonight. Letās make greater use of him down there, not just in the pick and roll game.
Cooper was really good tonight. A couple of bad turnovers, but I donāt mind those if heās going as strong to the rim as he did tonight. His spurt in the 1st half turned the game in our favor. Ipsaro was good as well, he just canāt be so handsy on defense.
This may be a bit of a hot take but Iāve been thinking about this the last few games. I think Byersās ceiling is higher than Kraftās. He impacts the game more at both ends. Heās our best close out defender on the perimeter, our most consistent at least. Heās gotten noticeably better at not just going to the basket, but going strong. His basketball IQ is very high. Kraft got beat multiple times defensively and isnāt as strong of a finisher. Itās hard to tell him not to shoot, but when youāre 1/the night, you have to know time and score and wait for a kick out opportunity after youāve run some clock. When Elmer comes back, I would consider starting Byers over Craft.
The team responded in the way I hoped it would, credit to them, that showed me quite a bit. But itās time to beat one of the top teams in the league, especially at home.
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I agree on Byers
Craft is pressing. We saw it earlier this season. He looked shell shocked against Akron and it carried over. I bet heāll be a project this week for the staff and weāll see a more determined Craft Saturday.
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Excellent analysis. To me, Craft starts mainly because heās got a huge point upside and has crazy range. His shot will come around. But conversely, I want to know, whatās the big deal about starting? I mean, an argument could be made the second unit is actually the safety net on a good team for subbing and making adjustments.
I love how well Evan plays in this role. He is steady and a huge spark off the bench. Anyhow, I ask because I honestly donāt know and would love a pov.
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I can give you my personal experience and I know this is true for some. It can be a mental/comfort thing. For me, I was much more comfortable starting because I knew I would go back in the game after my first stint in a game, so I felt less pressure. And usually after I went back in for a 2nd stint, I played better than I did at the start of a game because I felt like had a feel for the game, the pace, the officiating, etc. When I came off the bench, I felt more pressure because there was the need to either stay at the startersā level or turn it around, which if my time was ineffective, I wasnāt guaranteed more playing time, so I felt more pressure. But thatās just me.
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Interesting. I absolutely love basketball but never played it very well. I appreciate your insights as someone who really knows the game (and all those here who know hoops) as thereās a lot of nuance to learn. I watch a lot of college games and some NBA but feel like Iām a white belt.
Sounds like this Miami team is pretty deep.
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Agree here. Would be curious how much is due to fatigue (past injury + increased usage).
Would love to see him be more aggressive by driving and seeing the ball go in the basket which can help open things up from 3
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OMG weāre going to kill Opioid U on Saturday. It will be glorious.
We announced 2,080 in attendance last night. On the TV it didnt look much different except the 100 students behind the basket- what did those in attendance think
So many fouls called led to a lot of points being scored with the clock stopped.
It was the largest Tuesday night attendance that I have seen in a very long time.
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I looked around during the game and called it 2,000. Definitely a better atmosphere. Pep band, cheerleaders, shakerettes, the new bleachers almost full, an excellent halftime show which got a standing ovation.
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I agree. Same thing - I looked around and thought it was a pretty decent crowd for a Tuesday.
And I believe rush started this week so that probably kept some additional students from being there.
I hope Saturday is packed.
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