@Tulsa

[UCBearcats]

I think Tulsa is a little bit better team than many are willing to give them credit for and they have a coach who has proven his teams can be a problem at times.

We played one of our worst games of the season last night and still found a way to win, on the road, down 11 in the final minutes. We couldn't shoot the ball for large stretches of the game and when you shoot a poor percentage everything else gets magnified.

Bottom line is our defense was outstanding again, especially in the final minutes, and our core found another way to score just enough points to get the win.

I could complain about how we shoot too many 3's and don't get the ball to the rim enough and our sub patterns were awful but the bottom line is we won the game. There isn't too much to really complain about when we're 20-2. We could have and should have lost that game last night and we didn't. Let's get on to UConn, no letdowns on Saturday.

 

[Bearcat513]

I swear we played that Eto dude when he was at Rutgers in the Big East, didn't we? If so, that is nuts.

Rutgers was in the AAC after the Big East and before they were in the Big Ten.

edit: think about that...a terrible Rutgers athletic program went from the Big East, to the AAC for a year, then somehow joined the B10. Crazy.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

As a few people mentioned, we really hasn't had a tough road game in a while. And 2 Sundays ago was @Tulane, the Xavier game we obviously didn't need to try to get up for, and the USF game...I can understand how we'd be flat. AAC cruise control kind of thing. But most of the teams aren't just total walkovers from here on out.

Based on the above points, I don't get why Coach talks about how tired everyone is all the time. Obviously it's easy for me to say, we just haven't had tons of high stress game lately.

Its a long season jake. But it is a long season for everyone.

 

[GarradJ21]

20-2 gentlemen. Who would have thought. I was very optimistic to start the season but still would think we would be more along the lines of 18-4 right now. This is awesome.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

My DVR failed to record the game for me somehow. Maybe my TV really is a smart TV and it saved me the headache on purpose. Would've loved seeing the comeback though. I did see Troys final two shots in highlights. I guess that's all I needed to see.

 

[GarradJ21]

My DVR failed to record the game for me somehow. Maybe my TV really is a smart TV and it saved me the headache on purpose. Would've loved seeing the comeback though. I did see Troys final two shots in highlights. I guess that's all I needed to see.

Lol you need to see the last 6 minutes. Keep checking youtube.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

This is only one game worth of data...but it's interesting to look at the +/-and I wish I had the data for the whole year to draw conclusions from. However, when KJ was in with the other 4 starters the team was -1...when Cumberland was in with them we were +19.

A lot of this can obviously come down to timing...maybe the team just was making more shots at the right time. But it's not as simple as looking at the PPG for each player on the road...you have to look at the overall impact on the team. This is likely somewhat of an anomaly but I wouldn't be surprised to see the +/- stack up better for Cumberland than KJ with the starters overall.

I don't think we are going to see a change in the starting lineup...but I also don't think coach should ignore stats like +/-...and maybe he isn't. Maybe overall KJ has been better IDK. If there is a significant difference maybe instead of starting Cumberland we just bring him in sooner and for longer. This way we keep KJ's confidence up and we benefit as a team.

I didn't need to look at the PPG on the road to know that both JC and KJ did not have a good night last night. JC may have also got a few more minutes if he had not had 4 fouls. Being a 6th man is very valuable to the team. Something to consider is JC backs up two positions. KJ can only play the 2. Favorable match ups are a big part of game management and often come into play as the games unfold. Having a guy at his disposal like JC with his versatility and scoring may in fact be a big advantage coming off the bench. I do see your point about getting off to a good start but the guy pulling the strings is 20-2 doing it his way. This gives Coach a bunch of flexibility in his sub patterns. A guy named Hondo in my day made a very good living as a 6th man for a very successful franchise. JC's role will change next year and maybe this year if circumstances dictate it but right now he is being very productive in his role and KJ is for the most part as well. Bottom line it all comes down to game management.

 

[ZCat]

I actually thought Troy seemed somewhat uninterested and lacked focus for much of the game as well. Even the play where he scored the game tying points...he was dribbling at the top of the key for a while...acting as if Evans was the only option to give the ball before deciding he had to do something.

There was one play late where a defender fell down right in front of him and he didn't shoot or try to penetrate while he was on the ground. He was so focused on getting the ball to Washington he totally missed it.

Glad he came through in the end...but Troy's head was not in the game at least for some of it.

I know when his defender slipped he could have drown right in and likley drew a foul while he rushed to get up.
Mick said something post game - cant remember exactly what.. I think it was about keeping the players excited about playing. Anyone remember??

Mick made the adjustments needed and the players came thru to win the game.
I was disappointed with all the jump shots the first 5 min of the game. This allowed them to get that 9-0 lead

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

20-2 gentlemen. Who would have thought. I was very optimistic to start the season but still would think we would be more along the lines of 18-4 right now. This is awesome.

am thrilled at 20-2 but I have to be honest giving the RI game away still sticks in my crawl.

 

[Emperor Snapper]

I actually thought Troy seemed somewhat uninterested and lacked focus for much of the game as well. Even the play where he scored the game tying points...he was dribbling at the top of the key for a while...acting as if Evans was the only option to give the ball before deciding he had to do something.

There was one play late where a defender fell down right in front of him and he didn't shoot or try to penetrate while he was on the ground. He was so focused on getting the ball to Washington he totally missed it.

Glad he came through in the end...but Troy's head was not in the game at least for some of it.

The thing about Caupain is that he is so deliberate. I was certain they were going to close the gap but lose close last night because they were taking so much time on their possessions, despite being way down. Most PG would have been pushing the tempo. Troy just went about his business, and it turns out he had it right - we wound up with exactly enough possessions to win the game.

That "slo-mo" style can be especially frustrating when the team is playing catch-up, but he sure as heck doesn't panic.

 

[justinhub2003]

Yep that's what I love about this team.

They never get panicked in any deficit. They do exactly what they need to win.

Obviously this was a little to close for comfort for a last second heave but man do these guys keep their composure.

Really happy. That said, had we lost, I was more worried about this board exploding over our team exploding.

I set my expectations for a tough close game. I went and watched Tulsa last few home games and I saw the stats. On paper we should have won easier but I just knew it wouldn't come that way. It's why I always lower my expectations to just winning no matter how when we play on the road.

 

[waterhead]

I didn't need to look at the PPG on the road to know that both JC and KJ did not have a good night last night. JC may have also got a few more minutes if he had not had 4 fouls. Being a 6th man is very valuable to the team. Something to consider is JC backs up two positions. KJ can only play the 2. Favorable match ups are a big part of game management and often come into play as the games unfold. Having a guy at his disposal like JC with his versatility and scoring may in fact be a big advantage coming off the bench. I do see your point about getting off to a good start but the guy pulling the strings is 20-2 doing it his way. This gives Coach a bunch of flexibility in his sub patterns. A guy named Hondo in my day made a very good living as a 6th man for a very successful franchise. JC's role will change next year and maybe this year if circumstances dictate it but right now he is being very productive in his role and KJ is for the most part as well. Bottom line it all comes down to game management.

I don't know. I just feel like KJ has regressed again. He's 20 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3 in his last 3 games. I hope he gets it going again. When he's at his best he's an average offensive player...But I would take that along with his solid D. He started the year terrible and Cumberland wasn't much better so his D won out. But Cumberland is better now...So terrible won't get it done anymore.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Last nights game was a slow paced game or a rock fight as some describe. I think a lot of our sub patterns are geared to the way the game is being played. For instance I really think Tre Scott is much more effective in a faster paced game where he can use his athletism. He does very well when paired with JJ. In a half court set he seems to struggle a bit more. It is going to be very different next year when Broome takes over but I would caution everyone a really big strength of TC is taking care of the ball. We may see more splash plays next year with Broome but it may be at the cost of some ball security. Losing TC is going to be a big loss.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I don't know. I just feel like KJ has regressed again. He's 20 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3 in his last 3 games. I hope he gets it going again. When he's at his best he's an average offensive player...But I would take that along with his solid D. He started the year terrible and Cumberland wasn't much better so his D won out. But Cumberland is better now...So terrible won't get it done anymore.

They were both terrible last night. The challenge for Mick is to push the right bottoms at the right time. So far I'd say he has done very well.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Yep that's what I love about this team.

They never get panicked in any deficit. They do exactly what they need to win.

Obviously this was a little to close for comfort for a last second heave but man do these guys keep their composure.

Really happy. That said, had we lost, I was more worried about this board exploding over our team exploding.

I set my expectations for a tough close game. I went and watched Tulsa last few home games and I saw the stats. On paper we should have won easier but I just knew it wouldn't come that way. It's why I always lower my expectations to just winning no matter how when we play on the road.

I'm with you Justin. Winning is all I care about.

 

[Bearcat2016]

The energy was not there for the first 30-plus minutes last night. Really no other way to describe it. Yes, it is hard to play with energy when you are not hitting shots and Tulsa is using the whole shot clock. The one possession on defense when Gary blocked the shot, and no one for UC came up with the ball was eye opening to me. A play like that usually results in a Bearcat layup.

You have to give the kids credit though. I was sitting on my couch thinking about how many possessions were left in the game with 5 minutes. We basically needed to score every time we had it and not allow a point the rest of the game. Well god damn, that's pretty much what we did. God it was refreshing watching Troy read the defense on the final play and not force a contested drive. Last year he relied on the Purdue game experience and did that same thing every time. Happy for him. We now have who Troy hit huge shots( Marshall GW in OT, 3 pt vs XU to ice it, and Tulsa GW) Jacob (2 Free throws vs ISU, 3pt vs Marshall to send it to OT) and Gary (Jumper vs. ISU to force OT). These are huge confidence building shots for our main guys. Yeah it was ugly....But if the experience makes our team comfortable (ex. down 7 in a sweet sixteen game with 5 minutes) and we win....I will be thanking god we had a close comeback win back in February.

 

[waterhead]

Yep that's what I love about this team.

They never get panicked in any deficit. They do exactly what they need to win.

Obviously this was a little to close for comfort for a last second heave but man do these guys keep their composure.

Really happy. That said, had we lost, I was more worried about this board exploding over our team exploding.

I set my expectations for a tough close game. I went and watched Tulsa last few home games and I saw the stats. On paper we should have won easier but I just knew it wouldn't come that way. It's why I always lower my expectations to just winning no matter how when we play on the road.

One more road game off the slate. Hard to call that a small accomplishment this time of year. Just a fantastic comeback. One of our old nemesis...stall ball...really came back to haunt Tulsa. They ran so much time off the clock they couldn't get good looks. On the other hand...we took our time and made possessions count without hurrying too much. We played some lock down D for about 6-7 minutes. We are learning how to play the close games and unlike last year we are coming out on the winning side while learning.

I hope we crush UConn in front of a packed house and the final four team!

 

[GarradJ21]

Speaking of crush. We will demolish Tulsa @ home. In my mind we have 3 possible losses before AAC tourney.
@ SMU
@ UCF
@ UCONN

 

[justinhub2003]

I hate that we play @uconn on senior night. Will be a challenge

 

[UCalum08]

I hate that we play @uconn on senior night. Will be a challenge

In their tiny on campus gym.