Duke Game Thread

[tom in salem]

A couple of observations from yesterday's game.

Agree with those who said the crowd was 50/50 or maybe 60/40 St. Johns. A nice turnout by our fans, and they were loud.

Had to feel bad for Harrison, clearly limited but giving it what he had. He played a 50-year old man game out there, all brains and no legs. He still produced, but I don't think I agree with the decision to run him out there all of those minutes ahead of Branch. I think the team may have been better with 30 minutes of Branch and 10 of Harrison rather than the other way around.

I am not overly encouraged by this game. We got great production out of Dom and Jordan. Jordan still did a few stupid things, but far fewer than usual. So that part is good. As for Dom, the truth of the matter is that he was out of control all afternoon. Somehow he got away with it almost every single time, and everything he threw at the basket went in. It was one of those days for him. I love the kid, and I couldn't be happier that he had a big day. But really, the boxscore numbers yesterday are not who he is.

Most importantly, if D'Angelo were healthy you would not have gotten what you did out of Jordan and Pointer. To some extent, his scoring would have come at their expense. I agree that the net may have put us a little bit ahead, and may even have been enough to win the game, though.

The way the game played out was totally predictable for anyone who has watched the team since league play started. We played hard for 30 minutes (actually close to 35, which was 5 more than I expected) and then ran out of gas due to disuse of the bench and foul trouble for Obekpa. It's hard to understand how Lavin cannot find 6-8 minutes a game for Alibegovic. He may not be ready for primetime, but you have to find a minute or two for him coming in and out of timeouts if nothing else to get CO and Dom some rest. Until he figures that out, expect more late second-half collapses.

In this game that late collapse was helped along by Coach K going with the Twin Towers look late with Plumlee and Okafor. He coached a lousy game until then (and deserved to lose), but his timing on that was perfect.

Agree with those who think that as presently constructed Duke is a second round loss in the NCAAs. However they have some time to toughen up. Judging from yesterday Okafor has a lot to learn about how to dominate on the offensive end (he should be demanding the ball in the post) and even more to learn on the defensive end. However, I expect that he will figure all of that out. If they play Plumlee with him then that will help their toughness, and their guards (Cook and Jones) are mentally tough. I think it's still a developing team.

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

 

[sirvoo]

If you're gonna go off of yesterday's game, I guarantee you a fan who hadn't watched us all year would say "st. john's is a pretty good team." We've seen us at our worst and some of us can't get over it until we go on a run of 3-4 victories in a row.

 

[westchesterjoe]

So many things happened yesterday, but two macro pieces stand out above all.

If we played like that every game, we'd be 15-4 (Butler, DePaul), maybe even 16-3 (Seton Hall), with our only losses to 3 of the Top 5 teams in the country. While it hurts to miss out on these big opportunities, it is the inconsistency with which we approach other, more attainable opportunities that hurts much more. This is not an issue isolated to this season.

Another game where we have a lead at the half and get upended in the 2nd half. It appears that depth being an issue vs. not being an issue is going to be one of the next great redmen.com debates. I don't care if it's depth, being invaded by aliens in the locker room, or any other reason - we have a 2nd half problem and that's the issue. In this 2-5 January we've put together, we are +28 in the first half, and -53 in the 2nd half, an 81 point spread in 7 games. Who cares what the root causation is, it's probably a number of things. What we need is a solution because it's very tough to win when you're getting beat in the 2nd half almost every game.

Thought the staff prepared an excellent gameplan and the players executed well. But we are a 30-35 minute team right now and unless that changes we are going to have a tough time materially turning this thing over the next month. Rooting for it.

Excellent point on the second half disparity. It can't be denied. The solution is another story.

Should be noted that the best of these teams - Duke and Nova - ended the games on 26-7 and 38-20 runs, respectively. Seems pretty clear to me that strategy is to simply absorb SJU haymakers in the first, and maybe a few early in the second, knowing that serious damage can be inflicted in the last 10 minutes. You really have to go out of your way to play teams as evenly as we played them - even besting them - only to get run over like that down the stretch. We turn into a different team; energy and attention to detail so apparent in the first 30ish minutes just not there in final 10.

Lawman, I agree with your analysis of the game. While I think Pointer put up some numbers that helped offset the injured DLO contributions, I too, thought him out of control on a number of possessions that cost us relatively easy baskets. You can't fault his effort but, his game is and has always been, helter skelter BB at high speed. He has a awful handle and why he thinks he should lead us on opportunity breaks is mystifying. He usually loses the ball on the dribble or misses a bunny at the hoop, even dunks aren't a sure thing with him. i disagree too, that this one game makes him a pro prospect. It doesn't in my eyes.

Both he, and Jordan picked up some of DLO'S load but, against the Blues we needed more than they could deliver as a 2 some.. Greene? had his usual decent game and he is, what he is, a streaky standstill shooter who gives you about 10 points a game and not much else in the stats. The Dookie guards could blow by him, DLO and, even Jordan, at any time and they exploited that late.

I too, don't understand why Lavin didn't counter the frontcourt of Plumlee and Okafor, with JDR or Amar,even for just a few minutes in the 2nd half. Steve played Joey in the first half but, not meaningfully in the 2nd. Before DUKE got into the bonus in the 2nd half, I would have fouled Okafor or PLUMLEE on nearly every possession. Let those 2 guys beat you with free throws rather than, Jones, Cook, etc. They also could have put a more beefy body on both DOOKIES and pushed them around under the hoop a bit. CO really was no match physically and wasn't strong enough to box them out.. CO is , and has been , a offensive liability and non contributor on a team that can't afford so little from its starting CENTER.

Yes, he blocks shots but, he really isn't that good a defender, straight up or rebounder. Certainly, not on the offensive glass anyway. I don't think he has a NBA game and won't develop one. He still is a turnover from the free throw line and team's take advantage of that.

DLO/? Certainly he is not himself. And, it shows.. He gives 110% but, to win yesterday we needed him to score 25 or more.. I also thought Lavin erred once again in letting GREENE dribble and control the ball so much.. Phil is not a playmaker, except for himself and even though BRANCH had a few early turnovers, I thought he could have provided some minutes and maybe, a few drives to the hoop, make those DOOKIE guards play some defense and, foul him/

NCAA? WE need better than a .500 BE record and even that might not prevail. We have no chance with a losing BE record, regardless of RPI.

Still, this Lavin team has never really won a BIG GAME, a game you could put in your pocket and say WOW!

 

[stjohnnie75]

Here's what I took from the game:

1. D'Angelo is hurting us far more than helping at this point. Maybe if we weren't so thin and desperate for wins, he could have rested the last few games and been ready today. He is a warrior that is taking his pain like a man. He must be hurting plenty to be shooting so poorly of late.

2. Lack of depth is showing in the end game. It's not our only issue, but it has to play a role in the 6 losses, all of which were up for grabs until the last 5 minutes or so.

3. Duke was unconscious the last minutes. Some 3's they hit were just plain tough shots, as were the old fashioned threes. We tried, but in the end they had more play-makers and size.

4. Lack of size and a few strong rebounders is a problem for teams that can't shoot. We shot well, then the wheels fell off in the last 8 minutes. We were mostly one and done from then on.

5. We have no inside scoring capability. That makes us easier to defend. And Duke is no defensive giant.

6. I don't ever recall announcers pointing out the most basic mistakes made by players as often as they do with us. It's not bias; we just make too many boneheaded rookie mistakes. Problem is that there are no freshman out there on which to place the blame.

I still believe that absent Jahlil Okafor we would have won this game,even with Duke's bevy of all Americans. I would not be surprised to see Duke lose 2 of their next 3 games.

i wouldnt be shocked if Duke fails to make it out of the first weekend on the NCAA Tournament again.

Every January it seems like they have a ton of bark but come March they have been going out with a whimper (excluding the 2010 Championship team).

So is Coack K overrated and a bad coach despite 1,000 wins? Are his 9 All-Americans overrated?

Not by any means, and i never said anything remotely close to that, but i will be happy to repeat for a simpleton like you that Lavin sure is.

Simpleton, lmao. You really should be less defensive. What happened to the quite Chris that would run errands for Jarvis like a good little boy???

Lavin is not a great coach at all. But you would think any good coach with 9 All Americans would get out of the first weekend.

 

[lawmanfan]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

 

[SJUalum98]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

 

[Jack Williams]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

 

[SJU1512]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

 

[Jack Williams]

I didn't really expect the board to have this tone to be honest. I was hurting yesterday but come on we played awesome against them on a national stage.

Before I get attacked for posting anything resembling a moral victory, I understand a loss is a loss. I understand the fatigue thing as a reason a lot of you are reluctant to think this team can make the tournament. I understand that.

But I just watched the game on DVR for a second time now and it is clear to me that DLo could've won us this game healthy.

He would've done what DLo does, hit big shots, use his craftiness to get to the line and get points easily. I don't have a doubt in my mind of that.

Is it depressing that we are a team that can't close without one player playing well? Hell yea, but it is what is. Bunch of nba games getting cancelled, Creighton game should be postponed, DLo will have a week to rest, and I bet we make the tournament.

No use crying over the final five minutes, let's move forward, we won't play a team as good as duke for the rest of the year so keep playing that well we will coast into the NCAAs

 

[Jack Williams]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

 

[Knight]

Proud of the way our guys played. Great effort. Hope they continue the rest of the season. Also, I think the coaching has improved in recent games.

 

[SJU1512]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

 

[westchesterjoe]

We are all great MONDAY morning quarterbacks, me included for sure.. We did not win yesterday because Duke was, is, the better team. We like to indulge in what ifs because it makes us think we could have won that game.. And, maybe, one time in 10 would beat the Devils with the players we have. MAYBE.

Our 2014-15 team is flawed in its construction. That can't be overcome by the occasional over achieving for portions of games. We lack a BE caliber power forward and Lavin has not gotten 1 reliable 3 pt sharpshooter. And, why hasn't STEVE picked off some 5th year transfers?

Carlino, on Marquette , was a quality pick up. Steve has a poor track record in getting any top tier transfers, who could have helped our line up, this year.

i kept thinking we could have used a Carrington type player yesterday to offset some of the DOOKIE guards superior play. Seeing local kids contributing elsewhere in the Confernce is hard to take.

 

[Jack Williams]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

You can have your opinion and I have mine.

I personally think this team is about to rattle off 6-7 straight and put themselves in great shape for the tournament. You obviously feel different. My mind can't be changed, so so be it

 

[paultzman]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

You can have your opinion and I have mine.

I personally think this team is about to rattle off 6-7 straight and put themselves in great shape for the tournament. You obviously feel different. My mind can't be changed, so so be it

Jack, admire your spirit, but how about just getting a BE road game on Wednesday & go from there one at a time.

 

[Jack Williams]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

You can have your opinion and I have mine.

I personally think this team is about to rattle off 6-7 straight and put themselves in great shape for the tournament. You obviously feel different. My mind can't be changed, so so be it

Jack, admire your spirit, but how about just getting a BE road game on Wednesday & go from there one at a time.

Haha. Fine by me paultz. Although I don't know if it will be Wednesday? If team flew out today we are fine if they didn't. Might be postponed. I'm snowed in myself at the moment, which is probably why I have all this pent up energy and am exploding with optimism. I just have a good feeling though. Lose to Creighton though and I will shut up

 

[SJU1512]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

You can have your opinion and I have mine.

I personally think this team is about to rattle off 6-7 straight and put themselves in great shape for the tournament. You obviously feel different. My mind can't be changed, so so be it

I'm not trying to change your opinion. I'm not even sure we disagree. What I'm pointing out is that almost every loss can be explained away. It doesn't mean the explanations are invalid. To use an extreme example, if we had won 6 in a row, and lost to DePaul with Dee completely sidelined, that would be almost self-explanatory. My point is that we have been losing in a variety of ways as a result of our 2nd half play such that it is difficult to explain them all. We need to start playing better in the 2nd half, we'll win more games, and there are no explanations needed for wins.

In terms of 6-7 straight, do you feel more or less confident in that prediction than the one where you had us getting back to 3-3 in conference with wins over DePaul and Marquette? (Truly just kidding here, I hope you are right).

 

[paultzman]

not overly encouraged by this game?
wow, you've set the bar quite high.
I was ready to turn it off when they got down 11 early.
i know you're not a lavin fan but did you really expect a victory yesterday with a hurt Harrison?
haters are gonna hate.

I expected exactly what I got. An inspired effort for 30 minutes followed by a late collapse because we don't use the bench intelligently.

I also expect that to continue for the rest of the season, unless we start doing things differently.

If the NCAA goes to a 30 minute game in the next couple of weeks then we will have a great year. We have enough heart and talent to compete for 30 minutes against anybody (except Kentucky). Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose games late all year long.

*sigh*

Late collapse had nothing to do with fatigue.

Cook hit a step back 3 in Greene's grill.
Jones hit a dagger 3 off of a poor rotation by Sheed.
Obekpa missed a bunny And-1 at the rim.

Every single one of those things have happened in our past few games. Every one of them.

We spotted Dook 6 points with our 3 turnovers in transition in the 1st half and another 3 on D'Lo's shot before halftime.

We could've beat them with six players. Depth was not the issue this game.

Their core starters hit shots when they counted. Ours didn't.

Thank you.

Our guys were probably tired down the stretch but if we have our closer at 100% percent we win. That is all.

That may very well be true.

But what happened v. Nova when our closer was not only at 100%, but was the only reason we were in the game in the first place, putting on one of the most well-rounded performances of his career, and they ran us off the court in the last 10? That time it was Sheed not being fully integrated into the team?

It's always something. What it hasn't been is on balance playing winning basketball in the 2nd half. 6 halftime leads in our last 7 games, 2 wins.

Rysheed was on his first game back from his leave or whatever it was. He looks good now. Rysheed missed like four layups in that nova game. That nova game I never felt we could win cause it was one player carrying us. Yesterday we looked like a team. If we played like a team against nova, and got to the final four minutes in a one point game, I bet DLo wins us that one too

Okay, so what was it when DePaul went +14 on us in the 2nd half and overtime? :cheer:

You can have your opinion and I have mine.

I personally think this team is about to rattle off 6-7 straight and put themselves in great shape for the tournament. You obviously feel different. My mind can't be changed, so so be it

Jack, admire your spirit, but how about just getting a BE road game on Wednesday & go from there one at a time.

Haha. Fine by me paultz. Although I don't know if it will be Wednesday? If team flew out today we are fine if they didn't. Might be postponed. I'm snowed in myself at the moment, which is probably why I have all this pent up energy and am exploding with optimism. I just have a good feeling though. Lose to Creighton though and I will shut up

Last I heard from fellow poster, they were trying to push afternoon flight up. We'll see.

 

[stjohnschris]

I'm appreciating the optimistic comments on this thread, even thought they are outnumbered. Glad that most agree that DLo was not even close to 100% and probably should have had more limited PT. We are not as thin as our coach makes us appear to be. Our roster is being mishandled. It's nothing new under SL. The bright side is that we usually have one or two players truly step up almost every game to make it a competitive match-up.

 

[TX Redman]

It is easy to play MMQB, but I would like to have seen Stewart get some minutes towards the end yesterday when they went on their run.