Bryant

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Queens_NYC

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Jan 8, 2017
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Sunday, December 5th, 2021
7:00 PM
Fifth Third Arena
ESPN+

Bryant (KP #249) are two days removed from coming off the wrong end of a record-setting performance where they lost by 67 points at Houston on Friday - the largest margin in AAC history.

In the 111-44 massacre, Houston shot 70% from inside the arch and rebounded over 40% of their own misses.

Vegas expects a closer game in Clifton this evening as the Bearcats are currently 15.5 point favorites.

Bryant averages 6 more 3-point shots/game than we do and only shoots them at a slightly better clip (29.6% vs 28.6%).

We're due for a 5-day break heading into the Crosstown Shootout next Saturday so it'd be nice to go into that game with some confidence after an improved offensive performance tonight.
 
Bryant is coached by Jared Grasso, who implements a fast paced offense with lots of three point attempts. Although last year they were top 200 overall, top 50 in shooting and top 20 in 3pt shooting, this year's squad doesn't do much of anything well. The only category they are top 100 (barely) is not fouling. Getting to the foul line isn't one of our strengths anyway. Bryant is especially bad on the defensive glass and having their shots blocked.

We should dominate every aspect of the game. The only concern is if they are hitting a high percentage of threes. They had the lead at Rhode Island with 14 minutes left before losing by 19. Bryant had made 11 threes to that point, a 17 three per 40 pace. Chris Childs is hitting 43% from three. Several other players shot over 40% last year, but are struggling so far this year (Charles Pride, Peter Kiss, Luis Hurtado). If those guys find their stroke, Bryant can be dangerous.
 
Davenport or no Davenport, we're off to a really rough start.

Hoping the bench sparks us for the rest of the half.
 
We're finally starting to attack the rim more. Even our subpar slashers like Newman and MAW should be able to get in the lane against this defense.

I like the way Bryant plays. I think Grasso can be a great coach if he goes somewhere he can attract better players.
 
Ugghh. It’s getting worse every game. They should not score more than 20 in second half
 
sedziobs said:
We're finally starting to attack the rim more. Even our subpar slashers like Newman and MAW should be able to get in the lane against this defense.

I like the way Bryant plays. I think Grasso can be a great coach if he goes somewhere he can attract better players.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's clear that we're consistently getting much better looks at the rim.

Unfortunately that was one of the poorer halves we've seen from our frontcourt so far. We struggled to match the physicality of a very unphysical opponent on both ends of the court.
 
Just when we thought our start to the first half was poor offensively, we've managed to 1-up or rather 1-down ourselves this half.
 
Bryant can't hit anything. Imagine how this game would be going if they shot 38% from three like they did as a team last season.
 
They called a charge on MAW at the end even though the defender was clearly inside the arc and then called a foul on the other end so Bryant could cover +15.5.
 
sedziobs said:
They called a charge on MAW at the end even though the defender was clearly inside the arc and then called a foul on the other end so Bryant could cover +15.5.
Click to expand...

Just like the Arkansas game when they added time to give Arkansas FTs when the game was over.
 
Not a ton of positives to take away from tonight other than us playing our best basketball over the final 10 minutes.

It was also nice to see Mikey and MAW shoot the ball a bit better.
 
Queens_NYC said:
Not a ton of positives to take away from tonight other than us playing our best basketball over the final 10 minutes.

It was also nice to see Mikey and MAW shoot the ball a bit better.
Click to expand...

I was happy to see Vik get some extra minutes. We will need his offense but he had 11 boards and 2 steals and 13 pts in 23 minutes. Man does he know how to find the ball!
 
Finished watching the game, didn't watch it live. While the offense still wasn't perfect, we did at least stop jacking up bad threes. Finished 5-13 (38.5%) from three. MAW looks better when he is taking catch and shoot threes. Overall 26-58 (44.8%) is good.

We tried to pound it inside more and to get inside on the drive. Some guys need to work on their decision making on the drive and not just try to put it up at all cost, but it's a step in the right direction. It's far better than jacking up a bad three.

Biggest disappointment is still defensive rebounding, Bryant ended up with more offensive rebounds than us and a better ORB%. We grabbed a good amount of offensive rebounds (33%), but we need to learn to box out on the defensive end. We don't have many guys who are good at boxing out.

Mason seems to be struggling, he let his man drive by him a number of times this game. On offense, he usually makes good decisions when he has the ball (minus one bad pass this game) and has shown a nice mid-range jumper. But lately has been very content to pass the ball off and not try to create on offense.
 
Mason M. is our 1990's version of Micheal Joiner.:)

I think he needs a major confidence boost somehow to get his game going. He's got the tools, but he will not consistently use them. His lift alone should come with confidence, but it doesn't. Unfortunately that can't be coached, when it's within.

He just doesn't let his play dictate his playing time. He's got to crack his own code. He's got mid range, but without an effective dribble, this may be his peak. Hope not.

Hensley's timing is off, but seems like he could be an effective player down the road.
 
Loser Mentality said:
Mason M. is our 1990's version of Micheal Joiner.:)

I think he needs a major confidence boost somehow to get his game going. He's got the tools, but he will not consistently use them. His lift alone should come with confidence, but it doesn't. Unfortunately that can't be coached, when it's within.

He just doesn't let his play dictate his playing time. He's got to crack his own code. He's got mid range, but without an effective dribble, this may be his peak. Hope not.

Hensley's timing is off, but seems like he could be an effective player down the road.
Click to expand...

I'm not on the Hensley train just yet. He hasn't shown much to me to get excited about. Mason and confidence have never been an issue in the past but missing some shots and getting a yellow light is probably not something he is used to. He needs to work on his play making and handles to be great...and from most practice reports he will be willing to work on exactly that stuff. It will serve him well. Mikey worked his tail off to get better at shooting and it's paying dividends. He was known as a poor shooter in his JR year in HS...then he got better as a SR and has been getting better every year since. Mason has the same work ethic and both of these guys want nothing more than to be in the gym before and after practice from what I understand.
 

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