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I think our mindset this year will be to always push the ball when it's there. So far it has benefitted the other team to send more players back on D than to the boards...and interrupting the outlet.

If we get tired we will have to slow it down at certain times...so hopefully Evans can play. He will also be a very key player in beating the 1-3-1. Obviously he can shoot but he's longer than FC or KJ so he can throw it over the zone and make better entry passes.
 
UCBearcats said:
No doubt you have to play both ends. The offense this team has put together so far this year has been refreshing, I'm not worried about the defense or the toughness. This coach and these players have proven they can be tough and play lock down defense and I think they'll get back to that point soon.

People also have to understand that when we score more points and run an up tempo offense the other team is going to score more points as well. Just because we win a game 85-70 doesn't necessarily mean we played bad on the defensive end. There's also the shorter shot clock to contend with this season which will naturally lead to more possessions per team. Our old style of offensive basketball lead to about 3 to 4 shot clock violations per game, I could only imagine where that number would be now had we not adopted a new style of play. I believe we're much better off where we sit today than where we sat a year ago and come March we'll be able to play the big games because we'll have the offensive firepower to hang in there.
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Great points UCB. We get caught up in these higher point totals that we're allowing and just assume the defense is horrible. Even when our defense was terrific in the past, many of us complained endlessly about how often we would leave guys open in the corners to help down low, and the result was the inevitable pass to the corner for a wide open shot, so in that respect, not much has changed defensively. LongHaul has even questioned the fact that our offense is even playing that much of an uptempo game, and I agree with him. We're obviously putting up more points because the shooting has been better (minus a few games), and the shot clock is speeding everything up too. I see a lot of quick outlet passes, but depending on who's in the game, we're not doing much with that quick outlet pass. If it's to Troy, he will generally just slowly trot up the court and the rest of the team is often moving alongside of him rather than busting it down court ahead of him. If it's to Jennifer, it's altogether different. But Jenifer doesn't play much anymore.

I'm not worried that much at all about our defense and I believe the focus should be on continuing to upgrade the offense even more.
 
Anyone catch the uconn game the other night? Dicky V said X is the best team he's seen this year. Should not only be a great game but a nice measuring stick as well.
 
UCBearcats said:
No doubt you have to play both ends. The offense this team has put together so far this year has been refreshing, I'm not worried about the defense or the toughness. This coach and these players have proven they can be tough and play lock down defense and I think they'll get back to that point soon.

People also have to understand that when we score more points and run an up tempo offense the other team is going to score more points as well. Just because we win a game 85-70 doesn't necessarily mean we played bad on the defensive end. There's also the shorter shot clock to contend with this season which will naturally lead to more possessions per team. Our old style of offensive basketball lead to about 3 to 4 shot clock violations per game, I could only imagine where that number would be now had we not adopted a new style of play. I believe we're much better off where we sit today than where we sat a year ago and come March we'll be able to play the big games because we'll have the offensive firepower to hang in there.
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Couldn't agree more.
 
UCBearcats said:
No doubt you have to play both ends. The offense this team has put together so far this year has been refreshing, I'm not worried about the defense or the toughness. This coach and these players have proven they can be tough and play lock down defense and I think they'll get back to that point soon.

People also have to understand that when we score more points and run an up tempo offense the other team is going to score more points as well. Just because we win a game 85-70 doesn't necessarily mean we played bad on the defensive end. There's also the shorter shot clock to contend with this season which will naturally lead to more possessions per team. Our old style of offensive basketball lead to about 3 to 4 shot clock violations per game, I could only imagine where that number would be now had we not adopted a new style of play. I believe we're much better off where we sit today than where we sat a year ago and come March we'll be able to play the big games because we'll have the offensive firepower to hang in there.
Click to expand...
I see your point but for me its not just the points allowed defensively that concern me. We are giving up a lot of open looks. I don't have stats to support my observation but my eyes tell me we are not closing out on shooters and our rotations are late. Interior defense is still blocking shots but we are giving up a lot of uncontested shots on the perimeter. We also don't seem to be boarding as well. I enjoy the up tempo and hope we stay the course offensively but we really need to play better defense. Its not just the opportunities presented by shorter shot clock and faster pace it is our play. Actually the shorter shot clock means we have to play less time defensively. We should be forcing many more bad shots. JMHO!!!
 
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WAITE HOYT 2 said:
I see your point but for me its not just the points allowed defensively that concern me. We are giving up a lot of open looks. I don't have stats to support my observation but my eyes tell me we are not closing out on shooters and our rotations are late. Interior defense is still blocking shots but we are giving up a lot of uncontested shots on the perimeter. We also don't seem to be boarding as well. I enjoy the up tempo and hope we stay the course offensively but we really need to play better defense. Its not just the opportunities presented by shorter shot clock and faster pace it is our play. Actually the shorter shot clock means we have to play less time defensively. We should be forcing many more bad shots. JMHO!!!
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I agree we haven't looked as sharp on defense but I think we'll make adjustments and improve as the season goes on. I saw a stat today though that we're holding opponents to the 3rd lowest shooting percentage on 2 pt shots in the country so all is not lost. There's still a strong defensive foundation there, we just need to tweak it a bit and make some adjustments. The fact that we've been relying a decent amount on a couple of the freshman in our rotations is probably playing into some of our defensive issues, plus we've been experimenting with new rotations and guys are playing with different groups on the floor than they're used to.
 
UCBearcats said:
I agree we haven't looked as sharp on defense but I think we'll make adjustments and improve as the season goes on. I saw a stat today though that we're holding opponents to the 3rd lowest shooting percentage on 2 pt shots in the country so all is not lost. There's still a strong defensive foundation there, we just need to tweak it a bit and make some adjustments. The fact that we've been relying a decent amount on a couple of the freshman in our rotations is probably playing into some of our defensive issues, plus we've been experimenting with new rotations and guys are playing with different groups on the floor than they're used to.
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Agree freshman have the most issues with transitioning to the defensive side of the game in college. In High school they didn't have to guard as much. In D-1 everyone can score. As I mentioned our interior defense has not been the issue. Dribble drive penetration and kicking out to open shooters has been. The game is changing. Golden State is killing people with a outside game and a smaller line up. Ball Movement is key coupled with being able to knock down jumpers. College teams are relying more on guards and less on the post game for offense. Teams are throwing the ball inside as a means to set up open looks on he perimeter. To beat X our shooters KJ, Cobb, TC and Evans will need to be knocking down shots or at least neutralize the guards for X.. Ellis, Deberry and Clark will more then hold there own against their frontline.
 
Troubling stats defensively...in the last 5 games Cincinnati has allowed:

40/92 (43.5%) three point shooting

58 TO's (11.6 per game) vs. 54 forced TO's (10.8 per game)

46 Offensive Rebounds allowed (9.2 per game)

None of which bodes well for tomorrow.
 
Bearcat_NTS said:
Troubling stats defensively...in the last 5 games Cincinnati has allowed:

40/92 (43.5%) three point shooting

58 TO's (11.6 per game) vs. 54 forced TO's (10.8 per game)

46 Offensive Rebounds allowed (9.2 per game)

None of which bodes well for tomorrow.
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NTS you hit nail on the head. If we want to win we better win those battles
 
Bearcat_NTS said:
Troubling stats defensively...in the last 5 games Cincinnati has allowed:

40/92 (43.5%) three point shooting

58 TO's (11.6 per game) vs. 54 forced TO's (10.8 per game)

46 Offensive Rebounds allowed (9.2 per game)

None of which bodes well for tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Almost a whole week to work on some things. Interestingly, these are all problems that zone defenses typically face. We better get a body on them to limit them to 1 shot. Mecura likes to crash the boards from the perimeter...if he makes an impact on this game with hustle plays, I'm going to be very disappointed.
 
jacobkdoyle said:
Almost a whole week to work on some things. Interestingly, these are all problems that zone defenses typically face. We better get a body on them to limit them to 1 shot. Mecura likes to crash the boards from the perimeter...if he makes an impact on this game with hustle plays, I'm going to be very disappointed.
Click to expand...

Xavier is 2nd in the country at DR% at 84.0 while UC is a solid 11th at OR% at 39.9. That is strength on strength.

On the other side...

Xavier is 32nd in OR% at 36.2 and Cincinnati is just 98th in DR% at 74.4. That could benefit them.
 

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