2017-2018 Season

[cincyguy13]

No blueitt is not going to get his shots if he is guarded by Evans. I think last year was perfect evidence. He was hot and then cooler way down when we stopped helping off him.

I love jarron but one thing jarron hasn’t shown yet is the ability to score on the road in an enviormrnt like that.

Xavier has 2 great seniors on their team in their home gym. Winning at Wisconsin is a huge task. It’s an nba sized arena filled to brim and getting wins there is tough.

They run plays for blueitt that even great defenders would lose blueitt on. Evans needs to be the guy.

I mean, Xavier is really good and if you don’t think so, I’ll just assume you haven’t watched them. They are playing completely in sync compared to last year where sumner I felt broke the vibe of the team

I think they are good as well. Lot better than I thought they’d be but I wouldn’t give them the game yet. Will have to play well for sure but that’s every top 15 road game

 

[jacobkdoyle]

We're a different team this year. We've been extending our defense further out than in the past. I worry about asking Cumberland to be in a stance on Mecura 35 feet away from the hoop, and for 35+ minutes of playing time...then asking him to lead us in scoring. I know he's in better shape this year, but not like that, and not like Evans. It's not like guarding Bluiett is a walk in the park but he stays from 3 pt line in while in the halfcourt offense. There's no rest for Cumberland on Mecura bc of how much he'll have the ball and where.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

No blueitt is not going to get his shots if he is guarded by Evans. I think last year was perfect evidence. He was hot and then cooler way down when we stopped helping off him.

I love jarron but one thing jarron hasn’t shown yet is the ability to score on the road in an enviormrnt like that.

Xavier has 2 great seniors on their team in their home gym. Winning at Wisconsin is a huge task. It’s an nba sized arena filled to brim and getting wins there is tough.

They run plays for blueitt that even great defenders would lose blueitt on. Evans needs to be the guy.

I mean, Xavier is really good and if you don’t think so, I’ll just assume you haven’t watched them. They are playing completely in sync compared to last year where sumner I felt broke the vibe of the team

Never said Xavier isn't really good...and I have watched them...?

 

[cincyguy13]

I do wish we had a good game other than Iowa before that. Like a Wisconsin or something.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I do wish we had a good game other than Iowa before that. Like a Wisconsin or something.

I hope we play Iowa SO bad.

 

[justinhub2003]

Never said Xavier isn't really good...and I have watched them...?

That was a general statement. key would "IF"... I personally think we are neck and neck this year and teams with home court advantages get the edge

I've watched all 3 games and they just look like they are really gelling. I thought Goodin would look for his own shot more but through 3 games their starting PG has taken just 9 shots total. Him acting as Pure Point guard, I think has really ignited this team. For players with at 24% usage, Xavier has 3 players in the national top 15 of Offensive rating. That was not at all the case last year.


The more I watch them, with the guys they have, I just see it harder and harder to steal a win on the road from them. I'd even say its more likely we lose by 10 then win by 1. And it means nothing about our team, but more so about how good they are in that building, with those 2 stone cold killers. They look like they might be on a bit of a revenge tour.

Also add in that Tyrique Jones is really turning it up on offense. He could get Kyle in foul trouble early in this game and we might just need Nysier to play a ton of minutes and that takes away even more scoring on our end.

I also expect to lose the rebounding war. We crushed them last year and Mack called out his players on it. Very rarely will you see them not respond to something they take so much pride in.

I hope we win. I just know we can never shoot in that gym. Hopefully we shoot lights out and Blueitt has 2 games like he did in his first 2 shootouts.

 

[Bcatfollower]

That was a general statement. key would "IF"... I personally think we are neck and neck this year and teams with home court advantages get the edge

I've watched all 3 games and they just look like they are really gelling. I thought Goodin would look for his own shot more but through 3 games their starting PG has taken just 9 shots total. Him acting as Pure Point guard, I think has really ignited this team. For players with at 24% usage, Xavier has 3 players in the national top 15 of Offensive rating. That was not at all the case last year.


The more I watch them, with the guys they have, I just see it harder and harder to steal a win on the road from them. I'd even say its more likely we lose by 10 then win by 1. And it means nothing about our team, but more so about how good they are in that building, with those 2 stone cold killers. They look like they might be on a bit of a revenge tour.

Also add in that Tyrique Jones is really turning it up on offense. He could get Kyle in foul trouble early in this game and we might just need Nysier to play a ton of minutes and that takes away even more scoring on our end.

I also expect to lose the rebounding war. We crushed them last year and Mack called out his players on it. Very rarely will you see them not respond to something they take so much pride in.

I hope we win. I just know we can never shoot in that gym. Hopefully we shoot lights out and Blueitt has 2 games like he did in his first 2 shootouts.

I don't think they will have the bodies to keep up with our rotation. It's early in the year so it's difficult to tell but who is Macura gonna guard? I mean he is a defensive liability, so much so that they tried that 1-3-1 and got exploited bad.

He can't guard evans or cumberland if we play with pace. they beat wisky in a close game and they always plays slow so he could keep up.

 

[justinhub2003]

I don't think they will have the bodies to keep up with our rotation. It's early in the year so it's difficult to tell but who is Macura gonna guard? I mean he is a defensive liability, so much so that they tried that 1-3-1 and got exploited bad.

He can't guard evans or cumberland if we play with pace. they beat wisky in a close game and they always plays slow so he could keep up.

Mack will use 2-3, & 1-3-1 to hide macura if we’re destroying them. Basically force us to make shots in their gym.

They will play with pace too and thrive in it just like we do.

Goodin could be the one who exploits us the most. He is much bigger and stronger than our PG.

It’s going to a tough match up defensively for both teams.

 

[cincyguy13]

Mack will use 2-3, & 1-3-1 to hide macura if we’re destroying them. Basically force us to make shots in their gym.

They will play with pace too and thrive in it just like we do.

Goodin could be the one who exploits us the most. He is much bigger and stronger than our PG.

It’s going to a tough match up defensively for both teams.

Mack might not play much zone after we killed them on the boards last year. Who knows though. They are going to have match up problems also

 

[GuyfromNKY]

Mack will use 2-3, & 1-3-1 to hide macura if we’re destroying them. Basically force us to make shots in their gym.

They will play with pace too and thrive in it just like we do.

Goodin could be the one who exploits us the most. He is much bigger and stronger than our PG.

It’s going to a tough match up defensively for both teams.

I agree that Mack will be forced to go to the zone because Evans and Cumberland will expose JP. There will be no one to hide him on like in years past. On the other side it is going to have to be Evans on Trevon. Go back to what won you the game last year. I haven't watched to much Xavier to know what kind of player Jones is but if he is talented offensively and Gates stands on the perimeter then I would be tempted to put Clark on Jones and Washington on Gates. If all Gates does is stand outside the perimeter let Washington stand out there with him. I just don't want Kyle to get schooled down low by Jones.

I'd be more worried at the point guard spot if Goodin was a threat, just because he is so much bigger and stronger, but he isn't much of a threat so I'm not too worried.

 

[GuyfromNKY]

I agree that Mack will be forced to go to the zone because Evans and Cumberland will expose JP. There will be no one to hide him on like in years past. On the other side it is going to have to be Evans on Trevon. Go back to what won you the game last year. I haven't watched to much Xavier to know what kind of player Jones is but if he is talented offensively and Gates stands on the perimeter then I would be tempted to put Clark on Jones and Washington on Gates. If all Gates does is stand outside the perimeter let Washington stand out there with him. I just don't want Kyle to get schooled down low by Jones.

I'd be more worried at the point guard spot if Goodin was a threat, just because he is so much bigger and stronger, but he isn't much of a threat so I'm not too worried.

In addition, Xavier isn't near as deep as we are. There bench is not intimidating at all. Paul Scruggs is the only one who worries me because he is Goodin that is a threat to score. Other than that though, O'Mara is too slow for Gary and Kyle, Marshall showed he wasn't ready for high level competition against Wisconsin, and Kanter won't have an impact. They only have 6 viable players. We should be able to wear them down.

 

[Jon Rycek]

I think I'd put Evans on Mecura. Take him out of the equation. I'm not worried about Bluiett getting a few points.

Exactly, he had an insane game last year and we still won. I'd be very surprised if he has even close to the game he did last year. That being said, he will get his points regardless. Macura has been their X factor this year and slowing him down might be key to the game. We know how firey he can get in games like this. In the end, I think we have the heart and we are just too talented for them this year. Will be a good game but wouldn't be surprised to see a score similar to last year with a little less drama.

 

[Jon Rycek]

No blueitt is not going to get his shots if he is guarded by Evans. I think last year was perfect evidence. He was hot and then cooler way down when we stopped helping off him.

I love jarron but one thing jarron hasn’t shown yet is the ability to score on the road in an enviormrnt like that.

Xavier has 2 great seniors on their team in their home gym. Winning at Wisconsin is a huge task. It’s an nba sized arena filled to brim and getting wins there is tough.

They run plays for blueitt that even great defenders would lose blueitt on. Evans needs to be the guy.

I mean, Xavier is really good and if you don’t think so, I’ll just assume you haven’t watched them. They are playing completely in sync compared to last year where sumner I felt broke the vibe of the team

So have faith In the kid. He is playing great this year, i can't remember his exact stat line from last year, but if I remember correctly he had a pretty decent game of the bench. Even if it was at home, it was still a huge game, a rivalry game and he played very well as a freshman. I'm not too worried about environment for him, he may be unproven to this point but I have zero reason to doubt him, he's ice cold.

 

[waterhead]

All this talk about Blueitt and Macura make me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit. I understand they are good players and probably have even gotten a little better this year but neither has finished a single season above 20 in PER. We had 4 last year above 20 in PER (per sports reference).

They are off to a fast start but it's not going to be like that all season. Blueitt had a career day against us last year. They have a good team and it won't be easy to get a win there but it never is.

Let's worry about the Cayman first and let a few more games play out.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

All this talk about Blueitt and Macura make me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit. I understand they are good players and probably have even gotten a little better this year but neither has finished a single season above 20 in PER. We had 4 last year above 20 in PER (per sports reference).

They are off to a fast start but it's not going to be like that all season. Blueitt had a career day against us last year. They have a good team and it won't be easy to get a win there but it never is.

Let's worry about the Cayman first and let a few more games play out.

one game at a time brother.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

All this talk about Blueitt and Macura make me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit. I understand they are good players and probably have even gotten a little better this year but neither has finished a single season above 20 in PER. We had 4 last year above 20 in PER (per sports reference).

They are off to a fast start but it's not going to be like that all season. Blueitt had a career day against us last year. They have a good team and it won't be easy to get a win there but it never is.

Let's worry about the Cayman first and let a few more games play out.

Lol point taken!

 

[skylinecat]

All this talk about Blueitt and Macura make me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit. I understand they are good players and probably have even gotten a little better this year but neither has finished a single season above 20 in PER. We had 4 last year above 20 in PER (per sports reference).

They are off to a fast start but it's not going to be like that all season. Blueitt had a career day against us last year. They have a good team and it won't be easy to get a win there but it never is.

Let's worry about the Cayman first and let a few more games play out.

Calling it a career game is no joke.

Bluiett was 12/15 and 9/11 from 3 in last years game for a total of 40 points, yet shot 37% from three last year. He didn't score above 27 for the rest of the year. Cut him down to his season average of 25.3 points and the final score is 86-63. Obviously thats not scientific, but it shows how ridiculous he was that night and we still won by 8.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

What was Wichita State in the preseason? Why do they lose twice and get #11 but we got bumped to #25 after our 2nd loss?

 

[Jon Rycek]

What was Wichita State in the preseason? Why do they lose twice and get #11 but we got bumped to #25 after our 2nd loss?

Think they were top 5. But yeah look at Kansas, lost on the road to untangled team and fell 1 spot. And both our losses are quality, rankings can be such a joke. Either way glad we are back to ranked in both polls, two cupcakes this week and a few more losses for everyone else we can make another move. I honestly think if we play the way we should we shouldn't have to worry about even getting close to losing a game til February. If we really handle business we don't have Wichita til late Feb, we could go undefeated the next two months

 

[UCalum08]

Think they were top 5. But yeah look at Kansas, lost on the road to untangled team and fell 1 spot. And both our losses are quality, rankings can be such a joke. Either way glad we are back to ranked in both polls, two cupcakes this week and a few more losses for everyone else we can make another move. I honestly think if we play the way we should we shouldn't have to worry about even getting close to losing a game til February. If we really handle business we don't have Wichita til late Feb, we could go undefeated the next two months

I would agree as long as we win @Temple. It's been a tough place for us to play and Fran always has a good gameplan floor us. Win there and look out!