@Creighton, Tue., Dec. 31, 4p, PEACOCK

The biggest problem I see with this loss to Creighton is that they look to be a middle to upper middle of the pack conference team. At this point in time so do the Johnnies. Even if we split with them, the selection committee may note that they have a win against former # 1 Kansas, who have the Johnnies beat?

To say that it’s too early to be concerned and that many are over reacting to this loss, may not be true. Yes if they go on a winning streak and can beat the likes of a UConn Marquette or even Xavier, this loss may just be a bump in the road, but if not, then what?
 
Silly Donovan said:
The biggest problem I see with this loss to Creighton is that they look to be a middle to upper middle of the pack conference team. At this point in time so do the Johnnies. Even if we split with them, the selection committee may note that they have a win against former # 1 Kansas, who have the Johnnies beat?

To say that it’s too early to be concerned and that many are over reacting to this loss, may not be true. Yes if they go on a winning streak and can beat the likes of a UConn Marquette or even Xavier, this loss may just be a bump in the road, but if not, then what?
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Kansas now #20 in the NET (4th in the BIG 16) and fading fast. We still have time to catch them.
 
lawmanfan said:
This was the problem with this team from the start. Zuby has made up for the lack of true depth at the 5 by bringing Josh Hart level energy. That man is a hero.

But if Aaron Scott is not going to be a reliable threat from 3 (and it sure seems like he won't be) then the rest of the primary players on this team are get-to-the-rim players. That helps with rebounding but offense is a problem.

I think Wilcher is probably the best bet for a more reliable 3 point shooter who is ready to play at this level. Pitino has been compelled to put in Glover for shooting but then he winds up eating the freshman lapses and pulls him.

I continue to believe that Pitino is just too damn stubborn and like last year continues to believe that if he pounds square pegs into round holes hard enough eventually they will become round. If he isn't going to bring in players who are good fits for what he wants to do then in my view he should adapt to the players he has but that is clearly not who he is.

Having said all that I don't think the sky is falling and I also think the team will continue to improve. Kadary and Smith are fitting togther better which is a huge key and given the makeup of our team Kalk is the worst possible matchup for us - but nobody else in the league has him so it's an isolated problem and clearly we can beat Creighton in our building.
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Love reading your analysis. Id love your take on how this roster is constructed, from the perspective of not really having any legitimate 3 point shooters. This is especially baffling to me under the lens of the modern game, where 3 point shooting is prioritized, and long range 2 pointers are analytically considered low quality shots (and we somehow specialize in those???)
 
Jack Williams said:
Creighton is averaging 75.4 PPG this season. We held them to 57. You take that everytime especially at their place. They average 10 threes a game. We held them to 9. Not incredible but, you don’t play Creighton and expect them to hit 0 threes. They’re gonna get some.

We competed well on defense. There were miscues but there always are. Ashworth had 10 turnovers and 6-18 from the field. To act like we didn’t make things difficult on him is absurd. The shots he hit were mostly off of broken plays from offensive rebounds. It happens.

Sometimes feels like for the team to get a compliment from some of you guys they’d have to hold the team to 0 points. We lost the game on offense
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Really just needed one of Scott's 3 point attempts to fall. None of them were bad looks. He's just not converting for whatever reason and it's frustrating
 
dk423 said:
Last night's loss was very frustrating but I think the general reaction is a bit wild. We lost by 1 @ Creighton. We were able to keep the game within striking distance the entire second half despite playing pretty awful offensively. I am not trying to say its a moral victory -- it's not.

But I completely do not buy the idea that this team cannot get better over the next 10 weeks. I don't think our three point shooting will get much better, but I am not actually sure that is what will ultimately hold us back. Rick mentioned something interesting the press conference -- guys pressing and getting in their own head after missed shots. That is something we can work on.

The main issue is chemistry on offense. Guys don't really seem to know what's the best way to get a good look with our personnel. I think that is also semi-related to the team not seeming to know who's the lead guy Deivon or Kadary, or late in games, Luis.

Last year, the team had six seniors in the rotation. This year, we've got two. Why do we think the team won't get better like last year? Sim has a lot to improve on, but he's shown flashes already this year. Why is that out of the question? Zuby's made leaps and bounds, why do we think his progress is static from this point forward? Can Glover or Prey make a jump?

Again, I'm not trying to say we should feel good about yesterday. But compared to last year -- where we were clearly not big or fast enough to compete consistently with the best, and were shoddy at best on defense -- I would take these issues to sort out 10 times out of 10 times.
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I think the team will get better but so will every other team and I've been on the belief this team has less room to grow over the course of the season than last year's team did.

Yes, last year's team was very old but 4 of our main guys - Jenkins, Dingle, Ledlum, and Luis had never played at anything close to the Big East level and that was pretty evident early on. We didn't get a good version of Dingle until mid February. Defensively, we're already 9th in adjusted efficiency on that end this year so very little room to grow. This time last year we were still a few weeks away from the infamous lateral quickness postgame after which we improved a bit on that end too.
 
SLYFOXX1968 said:
So what if our defense turned over Ashworth
10 times . He still scored 18 and made 4 3’s for 12 points . We had 6 from the whole team !
In Head to head , I would say Ashworth had a better game than Smith .
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Please, our defense held them to 57 in Omaha! They had scored in the 70's, 80's and 90's every other home game. Not the problem.

10 turnovers from your point is not a so what. The fact that Mormon, all our guys not a 5 did, had a bad game doesn't change that.

There was nothing wrong with our players, our coach or our team. The Jinx bit us...again...plain and simple.
 
carmineabbatiello said:
Please, our defense held them to 57 in Omaha! They had scored in the 70's, 80's and 90's every other home game. Not the problem.

10 turnovers from your point is not a so what. The fact that Mormon, all our guys not a 5 did, had a bad game doesn't change that.

There was nothing wrong with our players, our coach or our team. The Jinx bit us...again...plain and simple.
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that Mormon?
 
dk423 said:
Last night's loss was very frustrating but I think the general reaction is a bit wild. We lost by 1 @ Creighton. We were able to keep the game within striking distance the entire second half despite playing pretty awful offensively. I am not trying to say its a moral victory -- it's not.

But I completely do not buy the idea that this team cannot get better over the next 10 weeks. I don't think our three point shooting will get much better, but I am not actually sure that is what will ultimately hold us back. Rick mentioned something interesting the press conference -- guys pressing and getting in their own head after missed shots. That is something we can work on.

The main issue is chemistry on offense. Guys don't really seem to know what's the best way to get a good look with our personnel. I think that is also semi-related to the team not seeming to know who's the lead guy Deivon or Kadary, or late in games, Luis.

Last year, the team had six seniors in the rotation. This year, we've got two. Why do we think the team won't get better like last year? Sim has a lot to improve on, but he's shown flashes already this year. Why is that out of the question? Zuby's made leaps and bounds, why do we think his progress is static from this point forward? Can Glover or Prey make a jump?

Again, I'm not trying to say we should feel good about yesterday. But compared to last year -- where we were clearly not big or fast enough to compete consistently with the best, and were shoddy at best on defense -- I would take these issues to sort out 10 times out of 10 times.
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Dk, I know we’ve only lost three games by a total of five points and I agree that this team can get better like last year. The problem was that last years team got better too late. Our three losses were to the three teams that really could have helped solidify an NCAA bid had we won the game. We need signature wins. Let’s hope this team doesn’t get better too late like last years team.
 
Mullins Revenge said:
Johnnies will crush butler and need to win at xavier which isnt easy. If they lose at xavier, its pretty much a wrap outside of miracles like sweeping uconn or marquette, making a huge run in the BET etc.
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Not so sure they crush Butler. Thad Matta is a good coach and they’re not a bad team. They’re up 10 on Villanova at home right now. If we don’t beat Butler and Xavier it will be getting late early for us. Xavier is always tough. Not sure we win that game on the road.
 
Mean Gene said:
Not so sure they crush Butler. Thad Matta is a good coach and they’re not a bad team. They’re up 10 on Villanova at home right now. If we don’t beat Butler and Xavier it will be getting late early for us. Xavier is always tough. Not sure we win that game on the road.
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Nova finished on a 22-1 run and won. Poor Butler kids got booed off the court.
 
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