Will we break 80 points per game?

[waterhead]

We were at 74.3 ppg last year. With increased pace and better scoring options in the lineup can we break 80?

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I vote no. I'm gonna go with 76-77.

 

[rogerOH]

Our 2nd teamers and scrubs will score more late in games which will put us over 80.

 

[JasonS]

I think 77-78 seems about right. An additional 3-4 points per game seems reasonable to me. I'll gladly be wrong through.

 

[waterhead]

We were at 74.3 ppg last year. With increased pace and better scoring options in the lineup can we break 80?

I don't really know how to base this but our scoring went up 11 points when the shot clock was reduced by 5 seconds. Part of that might be due to having a little better offense but pace probably didn't change much.

If we can shave another 3 seconds off the time it takes to shoot (which I think is doable)...I could see another 6 points or so coming from that. That might be just the difference of walking up the court vs pushing a little and getting out on more fast breaks and pressing.

I wonder what the average time Troy took to get across half court and set up the offense?

 

[indydoug]

I don't really know how to base this but our scoring went up 11 points when the shot clock was reduced by 5 seconds. Part of that might be due to having a little better offense but pace probably didn't change much.

If we can shave another 3 seconds off the time it takes to shoot (which I think is doable)...I could see another 6 points or so coming from that. That might be just the difference of walking up the court vs pushing a little and getting out on more fast breaks and pressing.

I wonder what the average time Troy took to get across half court and set up the offense?

On non fast breaks about 9.6 seconds!

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I don't really know how to base this but our scoring went up 11 points when the shot clock was reduced by 5 seconds. Part of that might be due to having a little better offense but pace probably didn't change much.

If we can shave another 3 seconds off the time it takes to shoot (which I think is doable)...I could see another 6 points or so coming from that. That might be just the difference of walking up the court vs pushing a little and getting out on more fast breaks and pressing.

I wonder what the average time Troy took to get across half court and set up the offense?

are you also considering that TO's will probably go up as well with the faster paced offense? How will that effect our efficiency?

 

[waterhead]

are you also considering that TO's will probably go up as well with the faster paced offense? How will that effect our efficiency?

Good point Waite. I think our turnovers will go up a tick with Caupain out. If we turn the ball over 2 more times per game we will have to add about 8 possessions to get to 80.

 

[JasonS]

Good point Waite. I think our turnovers will go up a tick with Caupain out. If we turn the ball over 2 more times per game we will have to add about 8 possessions to get to 80.

Don't forget that I believe Justin Jenifer was either just ahead or just behind Troy in assist to turnover ratio. I don't know about Cane's ability to not turn the ball over but I feel very comfortable with JJ at the point taking care of the ball.

 

[Garybearcat]

2 reasons we will average above 80

1) Our pace will be quicker (more pressing & shorter shot clocks) Mick stated this repeatedly last year that we played slower because of our guards. Cumberland, Broome & Jennifer pushing the pace will be far quicker than the pace of guard play last year.

2) Pace of our opponents will be quicker due to more full court pressure from our end. Another factor is college basketball as a hole is trending to a much faster paced game. Will not be surprised if we average in the 85ppg range.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Don't forget that I believe Justin Jenifer was either just ahead or just behind Troy in assist to turnover ratio. I don't know about Cane's ability to not turn the ball over but I feel very comfortable with JJ at the point taking care of the ball.

he also wasn't pushing the ball. A faster paced offense will lead to more TO's but how effective we are will determine how many we score.

 

[Robert]

I hope we average 80. Much was said about our improved offense (and it was), but even as we were finally getting close to averaging 75 PPG, the rest of college basketball was scoring more as well. We still finished 148th in points per game last year.

Assuming the numbers are similar in college basketball this season, averaging around 80 PPG would put us in the top 35-40. I just can't see a Mick Cronin coached team cracking the top 50 in points per game, so I am going to predict we average a little below 80 -- probably around 77-78, which I think we would all be thrilled with as long as the defense is comparable.

 

[Robert]

I will add that if we do average 80 PPG with the schedule we have, knowing our defense never suffers with the culture our coaching staff has built... watch out, college basketball.

 

[waterhead]

Don't forget that I believe Justin Jenifer was either just ahead or just behind Troy in assist to turnover ratio. I don't know about Cane's ability to not turn the ball over but I feel very comfortable with JJ at the point taking care of the ball.

Jenifer did a fantastic job of addressing turnovers last year. I would imagine Cane will understand the importance of taking care of the ball after watching for a year. If he doesn't understand yet...he will understand soon enough.

 

[waterhead]

I hope we average 80. Much was said about our improved offense (and it was), but even as we were finally getting close to averaging 75 PPG, the rest of college basketball was scoring more as well. We still finished 148th in points per game last year.

Assuming the numbers are similar in college basketball this season, averaging around 80 PPG would put us in the top 35-40. I just can't see a Mick Cronin coached team cracking the top 50 in points per game, so I am going to predict we average a little below 80 -- probably around 77-78, which I think we would all be thrilled with as long as the defense is comparable.

I completely understand your angle here...it makes sense. However, we are adding what some have said is our quickest PG under Cronin and perhaps one of the quickest all time at UC. Jenifer's game is set up in much the same way as Broome in terms of speed of operation. If they push the ball up the court faster as well as start attacking in half court faster...we could see a big bump in our pace when we have the ball. I think someone said we spent about 18 seconds per possession getting a shot off. If we can be closer to 16 I think we can maybe get to 80ppg.

I would imagine Cronin will have just as much trouble dialing these two PG's back at times as he had with getting Caupain to push the ball.

 

[waterhead]

I completely understand your angle here...it makes sense. However, we are adding what some have said is our quickest PG under Cronin and perhaps one of the quickest all time at UC. Jenifer's game is set up in much the same way as Broome in terms of speed of operation. If they push the ball up the court faster as well as start attacking in half court faster...we could see a big bump in our pace when we have the ball. I think someone said we spent about 18 seconds per possession getting a shot off. If we can be closer to 16 I think we can maybe get to 80ppg.

I would imagine Cronin will have just as much trouble dialing these two PG's back at times as he had with getting Caupain to push the ball.

I don't think we will improve much on PPP since we ended up just inside the top 25 last year at 1.1 PPP. That's very good. We will have to create extra possessions to get the job done. I have little doubt we will create extra possessions...but will there be enough? At the same PPP efficiency we will need 6+ more possessions to crack 80. This all assumes our defense is the same in controlling shot clock time on the other end. If our D drops off a little we will also see more possessions due to increased pace on the other side.

 

[waterhead]

I predict a top 2 finish in conference regular season with a win in either AAC regular season or AAC tourney. I also predict a second weekend appearance in the dance or beyond. We have the right kind of team to make it happen. I think we enter top 10 ranking (at least for a while) during the season and if we don't I will eat my words.

This. Is. The. Year!!

 

[UCBearcats]

1 reason why we won't average above 80 points

1) Mick Cronin's offense

 

[Btown Bearcat]

it would be tough even if we improve offensively with the way our defense is designed to run down the clock and force a bad shot with a second or 2 on the shot clock it creates so many less possessions for both teams then your average game. I would say the better statistic to figure out if this offense is better is points per possession more so then points per game. I do think this will be Cronins best offense so far though and I dont think it will even be close. Its gonna be interesting to see how our defense fairs tho with the new lineups I would assume KJ and Caupain are better defenders especially on the wing then Broome. I honestly cannot wait till the season starts though

 

[waterhead]

it would be tough even if we improve offensively with the way our defense is designed to run down the clock and force a bad shot with a second or 2 on the shot clock it creates so many less possessions for both teams then your average game. I would say the better statistic to figure out if this offense is better is points per possession more so then points per game. I do think this will be Cronins best offense so far though and I dont think it will even be close. Its gonna be interesting to see how our defense fairs tho with the new lineups I would assume KJ and Caupain are better defenders especially on the wing then Broome. I honestly cannot wait till the season starts though

I think we were top 25 in ppp. I don't see that going up much.