this game is prime example of how broken college basketball really is

[Madbiker]

UVA plays excellent defense. They move their feet. They have great rotations and double teams. They don't grab and push anything like Pitt. People who are complaining just want to see high scoring games because the pretty dunks and open court lay ups are more aesthetically pleasing. So watch the NBA. College has more styles and as long as you're not holding the ball that's OK. We don't hold the ball...and our offense has been terrible this year because of a lack of skill.

 

[orangecuse]

UVA plays excellent defense. They move their feet. They have great rotations and double teams. They don't grab and push anything like Pitt. People who are complaining just want to see high scoring games because the pretty dunks and open court lay ups are more aesthetically pleasing. So watch the NBA. College has more styles and as long as you're not holding the ball that's OK. We don't hold the ball...and our offense has been terrible this year because of a lack of skill.

Their D is solid, but don't kid yourself, our offense is pathetic. We had 39 points around the under 4 t/o...that's just atrocious offensive basketball at this level. We had a ton of open looks in that first half...a decent offensive team is up 20 vs. our biggest margin of 11 at 13-2.

 

[eddie_yvp]

Agree completely...basketball is about putting the ball in the basket. UVA plays solid D, but our offense is just darn right offensive. As good as UVA's d is statistically, we had a plethora of open shots in that first half in which we missed numerous opportunities to have a huge lead. A decent offensive team would've been up 24-2 when we were up 11-2.

A top 15-20 team at home beats this UVA team by a dozen or so. I realize their record portrays a team that is dominant, but they're far from that, similar to our 25-0 facade last year...they could've easily lost to VPI and Wake, two bottom feeders...

Sorry, but what? UVA beat UMD (currently ranked #10), ND (ranked #12), UNC (ranked #19), and VCU (had been in top 15 - 20 for much of the year) - all on the road.

Give UVA some credit. They are 28-1 (and 16-1 in the ACC). After winning the ACC regular season and ACC Tournament a year ago with the same group of players. Their achilles heel is that they can struggle for long stretches on offense, but they are a good team. Maybe not a great team, but certainly not a fraud.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Their D is solid, but don't kid yourself, our offense is pathetic. We had 39 points around the under 4 to...that's just atrocious offensive basketball at this level. We had a ton of open looks in that first half...a decent offensive team is up 20 vs. our biggest margin of 11 at 13-2.

It was 51 - 39 at that point and my 11-year old pointed out the score of the Golden State game at the half - 51-57. And he did so while laughing at the offense we were watching. Or lack thereof.

 

[longtimefan]

Agree completely...basketball is about putting the ball in the basket. UVA plays solid D, but our offense is just darn right offensive. As good as UVA's d is statistically, we had a plethora of open shots in that first half in which we missed numerous opportunities to have a huge lead. A decent offensive team would've been up 24-2 when we were up 11-2.

A top 15-20 team at home beats this UVA team by a dozen or so. I realize their record portrays a team that is dominant, but they're far from that, similar to our 25-0 facade last year...they could've easily lost to VPI and Wake, two bottom feeders...

And then they won at Wake Forest last week 70-34. They have excellent athletes who work hard and execute Bennett's defense very well.

If Anderson comes back and is successfully reintegrated, they have a real chance to make the FF.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

And then they won at Wake Forest last week 70-34. They have excellent athletes who work hard and execute Bennett's defense very well.

We're just lucky they played their version of the keystone cops to start the game. Wow that was terrible.

 

[dasher]

It's downright unwatchable.

Then don't watch it. I love college basketball. Do I wish it was a s good as it was, yeah. Do I wish major league baseball games were 2 and 1/2 hours again, yeah. I still love major league baseball as well.

 

[CaptainJ]

I agree about SU's offensive woes, but my point was that it shouldn't be used to indict all of college hoops. As I mentioned in the game thread, Taco Bell may need to rethink the point total for next season, unless they want to use drug dealer(well, non government approved drugs) mentality and get families into the habit during the cupcake stretch of the season.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Then don't watch it. I love college basketball. Do I wish it was a s good as it was, yeah. Do I wish major league baseball games were 2 and 1/2 hours again, yeah. I still love major league baseball as well.

Why is it no one complains about 3+ hour football games but when a baseball game gets to 3 hours it's the death knell for the sport?

I don't think I love college basketball anymore. If I have no rooting interest, I seem to have no interest. I won't watch UVA - Pitt (hypothetically) and I doubt anyone here would say they are taking time out of their day to tune in to that.

 

[orangecuse]

And then they won at Wake Forest last week 70-34. They have excellent athletes who work hard and execute Bennett's defense very well.

If Anderson comes back and is successfully reintegrated, they have a real chance to make the FF.

I've stated they play solid D, but let's be honest, they scored 59 friggin points and still won by a dozen. If that doesn't scream the lousy state of college hoops, than I don't know what does.

 

[skurey]

Why is it no one complains about 3+ hour football games but when a baseball game gets to 3 hours it's the death knell for the sport?

162 vs 16

 

[CuseFaninVT]

162 vs 16

Are you talking number of games, or is that the number of timeouts in football compared to college hoops?

I kid.

Yeah, I get that. I still think football games are unbearable if they aren't DVRed.

 

[Flight23]

I agree 100%. But when a team just as offensively deficient can be #2 in the country, something is wrong. God save us all when teams across the nation start copying the snore fest that is the new virginia style (pack line bs).

Btw, I dislike the zone as well For the same reasons.

Our offensively "deficient" team is actually one of the most efficient in the country, and is missing a projected 1st round NBA draft pick currently... Before he went out our offense was the 5th most efficient in the nation, it has since dropped to around 30, but once they settled down and figured out the Syracuse zone variation they did score 57 points in 26 minutes, including trying to just kill clock and not attacking offensively for the last 3:30.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I dislike everything about the way UVA plays. I hope they lose to a 16 seed.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

once they settled down and figured out the Syracuse zone variation they did score 57 points in 26 minutes, including trying to just kill clock and not attacking offensively for the last 38:30.

Fixed it for you.

 

[orangecuse]

Our offensively "deficient" team is actually one of the most efficient in the country, and is missing a projected 1st round NBA draft pick currently... Before he went out our offense was the 5th most efficient in the nation, it has since dropped to around 30, but once they settled down and figured out the Syracuse zone variation they did score 57 points in 26 minutes, including trying to just kill clock and not attacking offensively for the last 3:30.

Really...ha...got to love that flawed stat. If I recall correctly, we had a very high 'efficiency' rating last year at one point too, I believe it was when we were 25-0. That stat speaks for itself...

 

[CaptainJ]

I wonder what effect Tyler Ennis would have had on the pace of this particular game?

 

[Flight23]

Really...ha...got to love that flawed stat. If I recall correctly, we had a very high 'efficiency' rating last year at one point too, I believe it was when we were 25-0. That stat speaks for itself...

Hm useless is it? Too bad 9 of the last 11 champions have been in the top 30 of both offensive and defensive efficiency... My bet is after that 25-0 start, which was against OOC foes and the easier part of the ACC schedule, that OE number dropped considerably. OE is only useless if your DE is bad, if they are both good, then amazingly, you end up 28-1 with the only loss to another projected #1 seed.

 

[bballbeadle]

I wonder what effect Tyler Ennis would have had on the pace of this particular game?

Tyler went soooooooooooooo slooooooooooow. Are you implying that he might have been able to quicken it up?

 

[orangecuse]

Hm useless is it? Too bad 9 of the last 11 champions have been in the top 30 of both offensive and defensive efficiency... My bet is after that 25-0 start, which was against OOC foes and the easier part of the ACC schedule, that OE number dropped considerably. OE is only useless if your DE is bad, if they are both good, then amazingly, you end up 28-1 with the only loss to another projected #1 seed.

It's a flawed stat...don't kid yourself, UVA could easily have two losses to bottom feeders VPI and Wake.

That top 30 efficiency stat isn't as relevant/critical as the seedings and ultimate match ups come tourney time...UVA's probable #1 seeding and who happens to be in their respective bracket, etc. will play a more significant role in determining a championship imo.

Your 28-1 record albeit impressive, I believe it's far from a dominant team that a record of such stature may suggest. We'll see what happens...enjoy your team's current success...

 

[two3zone]

It's a flawed stat...don't kid yourself, UVA could easily have two losses to bottom feeders VPI and Wake. That top 30 efficiency stat isn't as relevant/critical as the seedings and ultimate match ups come tourney time...UVA's probable #1 seeding and who happens to be in their respective bracket, etc. will play a more significant role in determining a championship imo. Your 28-1 record albeit impressive, I believe it's far from a dominant team that a record of such stature may suggest. We'll see what happens...enjoy your team's current success...

You sound like about grapes. This team mopped the floor with us, though we have not done well this year we've hung with just about everybody minus Cal and the second Duke game. The Cavs are a heck of a team with one loss to another heck of a team.

 

[CaptainJ]

Tyler went soooooooooooooo slooooooooooow. Are you implying that he might have been able to quicken it up?

This thread caused me to un-Boeheim myself and I figured I'd offer folks something to be grateful for by mentioning TE. Honestly, when it was created we were winning by maybe 8-11 points against the #2 team in the country, and the board still found reason to complain(a term a few important folks have come to associate me with, ironically lol). I don't think the thought processes involved are limited to fans, but are representative of our current society in general, myself included. The prayers of some were answered, scoring picked up, and the double digit lead quickly got reversed. I think of that energy stuff you posted about had an effect early on, but the tide turned rather quickly. I recall one UVA shooter draining a Cooney/G-length three, and things seemed downhill after that.

For me it was a tough loss after a promising start. Unfortunately I haven't thought of a healthier way to channel my frustration. Wasn't solving those problems part of your career? Can I get a freebie?

 

[SoBeCuse]

I've stated they play solid D, but let's be honest, they scored 59 friggin points and still won by a dozen. If that doesn't scream the lousy state of college hoops, than I don't know what does.

They aren't going to win the title but they are very good. They also played stall ball the last few minutes of the game and took some time to wake up in the 1H. Part of it also was that Syracuse was taking a painful amount of time to generate a shot. Offense without a plan or no ability to do anything except hoist a brick at the end of the shot clock (assuming we couldn't get it to Rak). We were burning lots of clock on offense trying to figure out what to do.

 

[bballbeadle]

This thread caused me to un-Boeheim myself and I figured I'd offer folks something to be grateful for by mentioning TE. Honestly, when it was created we were winning by maybe 8-11 points against the #2 team in the country, and the board still found reason to complain(a term a few important folks have come to associate me with, ironically lol). I don't think the thought processes involved are limited to fans, but are representative of our current society in general, myself included. The prayers of some were answered, scoring picked up, and the double digit lead quickly got reversed. I think of that energy stuff you posted about had an effect early on, but the tide turned rather quickly. I recall one UVA shooter draining a Cooney/G-length three, and things seemed downhill after that.

For me it was a tough loss after a promising start. Unfortunately I haven't thought of a healthier way to channel my frustration. Wasn't solving those problems part of your career? Can I get a freebie?

Well, this morning I am going for a brisk winter walk with my neighbor, also an SU fan. I am going to use every trick in the book not to dwell. Morbid self-pitying dwelling used to be my specialty (and sometimes we need to do it and it's okay) but I understand it helps nothing. I WANT to feel happiness, so I figure out what kinds of things make me happy, and then I do them. I know it sounds simplistic but it works for me.

I will spend less time on the board when it's not basketball season, and I'm sure that will be true for all of us. I am not going to spend any energy at all contemplating the past or the future. As an older person, I can't just wish for the next season to come quickly, because I don't want it to! I want to enjoy all the things that will come in between.

I am very sad about this year and I do feel it. But when I feel it for too long, I give myself permission to move on. (Kind of a long-winded answer. Sorry!)

 

[SBU72]

For a long time in college basketball, didn't folks milk the clock even more? I'm not as old as the majority of folks on here, but I think I read somewhere that even legends like Dean Smith tried it a few times.

I recall Princeton being heavily outmanned in the first game of a number of NCAA tournaments yet keeping themselves in the game. Was that wrong of them? Sean McDonough and Seth Greenberg went out of their way to defend UVA tonight, and it's kind of disheartening that they felt the need to.

I'm not denying that it isn't effective, I just said that it makes the game nearly unwatchable. Yes for a long time teams slowed it way down and Dean Smith with all his "smarts" forced the creation of the shot clock in college b-ball with his 4 corner offense. And now, with teams like Princeton and UVa (to name a few) being successful pointing the way for every under manned team to do the same, the same thing is going to happen. The shot clock is going to get shortened. And by the way, UVa is under manned! McDonough and Greenberg were both sinning the praises of how athletic UVa is. There offensive sets would work just as well with a 30 second clock and even a 25 second clock. Patience for to get a good shot does not mean waiting 20 seconds before looking for a shot. Now stifling defenses are fun to watch for a teams fanes. SU's zone forcing a time clock violation gets cheers. So does UVa's. Thing is, with shorter clocks, more violations or desperate attempts will be seen