Up Next: Creighton
- Thread starter rawdognyc
- Start date
I might be giving too much credit here but I think the staff might have wisened up about starting line-up and rotations. They looked like they had it together at Butler. Please no more Hooper... no defense. In one play i saw him take a step into a guard and leave him a lane wide open for an easy layup .
Starting Line-Up:
Jordan
Branch
Harrison
Jakarr
Sanchez
If they want to go Big:
Jordan
Harrison
Jakarr
Gift
Sanchez
If we need defensive stops:
Jordan
Harrison
Pointer
CO
Sanchez
The problem with CO is that everyone knows he jumps to block as soon as they get close so they wait him out, his great shot blocking ability has actually turned into his biggest weakness. CO is predictable on the defensive end with a small offensive game.
If we need to score in a hurry:
Jordan
Branch
Harrison
Greene
Jakarr
Starting Line-Up:
Jordan
Branch
Harrison
Jakarr
Sanchez
If they want to go Big:
Jordan
Harrison
Jakarr
Gift
Sanchez
If we need defensive stops:
Jordan
Harrison
Pointer
CO
Sanchez
The problem with CO is that everyone knows he jumps to block as soon as they get close so they wait him out, his great shot blocking ability has actually turned into his biggest weakness. CO is predictable on the defensive end with a small offensive game.
If we need to score in a hurry:
Jordan
Branch
Harrison
Greene
Jakarr
You guys will call me crazy but I think this is the game where we play Matchup Zone.
I know, I know. It sounds ludicrous.
But hear me out.
Our man-to-man is pretty stout.
The problems happen when teams screen-roll us. The ball handler either blows by his defender or we have no help in the paint or we leave the roll guy wide open. The matchupz zone negates that.
Now, the matchup zone leaves one guy open at all times (usually in the corners).
But with the way Creighton runs their offense, they're able to get a lot of midrange shots available for McDermott. The matchup zone would force the action away from the midrange area and it might clog some of Creighton's spacing.
Flame me all you want but think about it.
And please don't bring up the Creighton/Villanova game to support your argument because Wragge was hitting 3s from I-76 that night.
I know, I know. It sounds ludicrous.
But hear me out.
Our man-to-man is pretty stout.
The problems happen when teams screen-roll us. The ball handler either blows by his defender or we have no help in the paint or we leave the roll guy wide open. The matchupz zone negates that.
Now, the matchup zone leaves one guy open at all times (usually in the corners).
But with the way Creighton runs their offense, they're able to get a lot of midrange shots available for McDermott. The matchup zone would force the action away from the midrange area and it might clog some of Creighton's spacing.
Flame me all you want but think about it.
And please don't bring up the Creighton/Villanova game to support your argument because Wragge was hitting 3s from I-76 that night.
basketballjones
Well-known member
Wragge also hit a bunch against Georgetown Saturday. Except I noticed both Wragge and McDermott had a lot of trouble with guys in their face. Give Wragge an inch and you're done, but the Georgetown guys were all over him. Creighton won but the only way to stop these guys is to contest their shots and make them work on the defensive end. They're not that deep and if we are as aggressive as we were against Butler we have a chance. I think it will be a mix of man to man and zone, but I would lean toward more man to man and make sure Wragge and McDermott are contested everywhere.
NYCRedmen
Well-known member
Truth be told, after reading their posts, most of their fans seem pretty well versed on how our season has gone and they seem pretty classy. Of course the one guy who started the thread seems like a complete moron, so much so that others on that site are asking him to stop posting. Where have we seen that before lol.
Villanova is of course relevant as is the fact that he's hitting 50% for the SEASON. McDermott 43%. Wragge's range is what it is. He also hits them in transition; with a hand in his face and wide open. He's actually shooting better from three than two with about half of his shots going either way. McDermott is going to play us inside/out. I would normally expect him to play more inside but considering how poorly we've defended the 3 and our rep for shot blocking, I wouldn't be surprised to see him parked on the perimeter. Unless our D is improved we don't have an answer. Need denial D. Force turnovers and use whatever advantages we have with speed and effort. Work the ball inside and make them work and foul. The fact that effort and pride hasn't been there is what concerns me the most. But consistently missing the obvious in the way our players are utilized is why I am not optimistic. We do have advantages. We rarely use them. What I expect is a bunch of guys on our side running around the perimeter without making the defense work, and then shooting low percentage jumpshots giving Creighton a vacation. If we intentionally leave guys open on D, that would be the perfect complement to that strategy.
beast of the east
Active member
There was an old Odd Couple episode with Bobby Riggs, where Oscar kept losing bets to Riggs. Finally Riggs said, I'll give you a chance to get even. Just type your name correctly double or nothing. Madison thought it was easy money, but then couldn't do it multiple times. Leaving Creighton wide open and daring them to shoot might be the best strategy, and for those who think nothing is beyond Lavin, maybe he'd try it.
tom in salem
Well-known member
14 1/2 point dogs.
I haven't watched too many Creighton games this year but what Wragge did in that game was unprecedented which is why I said throw it out. He hit seven 3s in the first 6 minutes of the game many of them not even in the flow of the offense. Just pure heat checks.
I feel we should play matchup zone because like you said how they use McDermott inside-out.
I just feel our man-to-man will get shredded because our help defense is what sucks.
Matchup zone, you know you're leaving one guy open. You just have to be smart and quick enough to rotate back to him.
Man, you're not intending to leave anyone open but we do it religiously because we seem to be brain dead out there.
Matchup zone you can also leave Hooper on the floor for longer stretches without so much more fear of him getting beat off the dribble. And Obekpa, who has been a non-factor for like a month now, can use his length to patrol the middle.
"Except I noticed both Wragge and McDermott had a lot of trouble with guys in their face." No offense but your analysis reminds me of the football commentators who talk about how a particular quarterback isn't as accurate if he is pressured. You are right of course but EVERYBODY has trouble with a guy in their face. The greats have less trouble than even very good players but they are still going to shoot a worse % being pressured. Creighton is a much better team than they seem to be percieved here and frankly, McDermott very much had an off game and Wragge hit a few to start and then was pretty quiet against Gtown and they still won going away. They are a good team and I am with Paultzman on this one, I hope we can compete and have a chance to maybe steal it. If I had to predict, we lose by 15+ but rooting hard to be wrong.
basketballjones
Well-known member
My main point was we don't close out on long jump shots well and that needs to happen against Creighton. The quarterback accuracy analogy doesn't hold. Wragge hit shots with guys on him. It's not like he only scored when he was wide open and had time to shoot. They had to be all over him and when they were he often had trouble.
Winning and Losing against Creighton:
Marquette and Providence are good benchmarks since we have some similarities in personnel. Marquette has a more powerful frontcourt than us or Providence but overall these are two athletic teams. One thing I note is that while 19 threes seems a lot, for Creighton it is not. Providence limited both the number made and number attempted. vs Marquette they took 35 threes which is the same number they took against Nova. In the GW loss Creighton shot 7 of 25 from three and in the SD St loss I think that game had more to do with Fouls and Free throws. SDSt killed it from the line and got two of their guys to foul out. Providence also got to the FT a lot more than Creighton whereas Marquette did not capitalize on this.
The two takeaways for me are: deny the three and work it inside to draw fouls - hit free throws.
Marquette loss:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400504514
Providence win:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400504535
Marquette and Providence are good benchmarks since we have some similarities in personnel. Marquette has a more powerful frontcourt than us or Providence but overall these are two athletic teams. One thing I note is that while 19 threes seems a lot, for Creighton it is not. Providence limited both the number made and number attempted. vs Marquette they took 35 threes which is the same number they took against Nova. In the GW loss Creighton shot 7 of 25 from three and in the SD St loss I think that game had more to do with Fouls and Free throws. SDSt killed it from the line and got two of their guys to foul out. Providence also got to the FT a lot more than Creighton whereas Marquette did not capitalize on this.
The two takeaways for me are: deny the three and work it inside to draw fouls - hit free throws.
Marquette loss:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400504514
Providence win:
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400504535