Houston Postgame

[JustPherU]

current rankings will change a lot by the end of the year

if I was a houston fan, I;d be more than a little concerned with that performance

They started 4-3 last year

 

[baggerbob]

Moral victories aren't even what this was. it's far beyond that imo.

When's the last time you saw Houston players tired and crying for fouls to the refs late in games or needing help down the stretch of games to put them on the line or worse the "inconclusive" challenge. We had their whole squad including Sampson running scared.

And just as an FYI just because Sampson yells the loudest at his players more it doesn't mean he's coaching. After Sampson screamed at his squad late we rallied back to make it to OT while Autry was just quiet on the sideline.

It didn't go our way, but it's something to build on. There are just no weak links on this team and our best player is out.

As long as this team remembers to play hard defense every game this year we will make the tournament and be the team everyone wants to avoid.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I think he could take over Monmouth and they’d get worse.

JB didn’t have a team play that hard for at least the last 5 years. Recent past teams don’t make that run against the #3 team.
I’m all in on the Red Autry experience. This team plays how kids want to play. If this continues, and our season results reflect that effort, he will have a killer portal season next year. Buckle up, Red will be here a long time

 

[EnviroSciGuy]

In terms of Red, I thought we needed a timeout during that Houston run and wanted to see more Kiyan late and in OT. Quibbles, really, considering how much the team has improved and the ferocity they showed against this particular opponent.

A bitter loss given the circumstances, but Red can turn this into something really constructive. Tomorrow will tell us a lot.

 

[721Comstock]

He would have missed them both

THAT’S THE SPIRIT!!

I’d rather at least have the chance for that.
We did get a Betsey tip-in off a Kyle missed FT, so all of that is better than the no-call on the HACK FOUL.

 

[RedtheGOB]

A question for anyone knowledgeable on Net Rankings. Does taking the #3 team to overtime on a neutral court help our ranking in any way or is it a nice nothing?

Yes. Haven't you seen the people quoting the kenpom #365 strength of schedule as if they know what it means, just using it as a way to B about the team. This will move us up prob 100-150 spots on sos. Kenpom we moved up 7 spots to low 50's. #52. That rally at the end matters.

 

[storange]

George is growing on me , quickly !

 

[Chip]

This board really has become Preexisting Opinion Theater. Those who are completely dug in that Red sucks as a coach are gonna blame everything on him.

I’m not even saying you’re wrong, I really don’t know. But he can’t shoot threes and he can’t shoot free throws. That why we lost tonight.

The defensive intensity and resilience, things we have been sorely lacking for years, and things that tend to be a reflection of the coach, entirely kept us in that game.

They'll never admit it, but I bet some of them breathed a sigh of relief when we lost. Being wrong would be worse.

Probably lighting a cigar right now.

Meanwhile, most of us are encouraged but a little sick to our stomachs.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I don't believe in morale victories. With that being said, the result today in a loss shows me we have a good team that should easily make the tournament. I do not understand the complaining. We just played an OT game on a neutral site against the number 3 team in the country and we easily could have won.

It felt awesome being in a close game against a top team again. I think we win Tuesday and Weds, and then we get a packed dome for Tennessee.

This was a fantastic effort. We have a squad ladies and gents.

Do the coaches have the right to scout UT if they can’t play them in the tournament. (Think of the UM football issue)

 

[capeorange]

Hard to believe Kyle and Anthony were both 4-9 from the foul line.

Other than Donnie, can anyone on the team shoot free throws?

 

[Blanko97]

Fair take, but keep in mind Kansas played a cupcake today and we played the top team in the country in overtime. Plus we play 4 hours earlier tomorrow than they played. You may say it's defeatist but I'm just stating the facts about the competition and game times.

you’re also acting like Kansas ran away from that cupcake, it was a game deep into the second half with a team that struggled with bellermine

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Someone explain to me how this tournament works ?

Basketball is played, players get $$

 

[CorduroyG]

Im gonna assume this is a bubble team until further notice, since when was the last time we safely made the tournament? 2019? They gotta prove to me theyre not.

So assuming that, this was a game that literally could have got us in. We made the F4 in 2016 cuz of those games we won in november in the bahamas that barely got us in. This was a MASSIVE missed opportunity tonite. Hopefully theyre good enough that it wont matter.

 

[RedtheGOB]

As long as this team remembers to play hard defense every game this year we will make the tournament and be the team everyone wants to avoid.

Agree fully. I saw us give up maybe what 2-3 shots in the paint. We gave up 2 fast break points and they gave up 4. We crushed them in the paint points without Donnie.

When have we ever known Houston to have to rely on the 3 and free throws to win a game. I know we loss but it's also about how it went down. All people will remember is the free throw shooting but our players will know what really happened.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

7/18 from the line for Betsey/JJ/George/Kiyan

Yeah, that’s gotta be 12 or 13, at least

 

[HenryC]

Stupid play design. Have fun with your participation trophy.

Again stupid comment.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

The missed free throws is obvious, but I though the game really got away when we got really stagnant on offense and the ball got "sticky" (hero ball) during that stretch in the second half from about 9:00 min to 3:00 min. Thought Red didnt do enough during that stretch to get the kids playing together.

Thought Anthony and White both had relatively poor games tonight.

Overall though, I liked how the kids came back though. There was tenacity and togetherness that's been lacking for a long time. Teams dont get more physical than Houston and we went punch for punch with them. Kids played really hard. Kyle battled. Had some guys make some big plays down the stretch. Bodes well for the rest of the season.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I don’t like the perspective that we’re back because we could play #3 even, even after missing a kajillion FTs. We might continue to miss a kajillion FTs. Sure, it is probably more realistic to regress to the mean, but looking at our various FT shooting ‘forms’ (using that term lightly), this may just be who we are, and not a huge aberration.

Having Donnie would have made for a different game. Maybe he goes off, maybe he goes 1-5 from three and those misses are taken away from Betsey’s makes. Maybe he gives up points on D that his replacement didn’t. Maybe he gets hurt-er and we lose him for the rest of the season….

We played a very good game against one of the toughest teams we will face, and we dealt with the pressure and scared them. In 2003, we lost both games to UConn, and I thought then that UConn was a better team than we were. But we still won the NC. Not that I’m predicting that for us this year, but what the takeaway should be is the way we dealt with a superior opponent and what we do with that subsequently.

Our defense was really good. Like the rest of the season so far, we are frenetic on D, and even when we show we still don’t know how to play good d, we still have the athletes to get back and make up for the mistakes. And the total buy in to the scheme is promising.

On offense, we still look clueless and standaroundish far too often. And in tight spots where we need a conversion, too often it’s still an iso and a too-difficult shot. Offensive players are too often put into impossible situations. We made some good plays in a bunch of those situations today, but that’s not sustainable, we will be inconsistent because of it.

Really need Kings to be a (young) Klay-ish kind of player. Tremendous D plus those splash threes. He is not shooting it anywhere near the player we thought we were going to get. Feels to me like he’s the key to a lot.

I hope we can get two wins here. A test will be in seeing how we respond tomorrow. Either disappointed and despondent or encouraged and with added confidence. That’s a character test.

 

[hoopsupstate]

In terms of Red, I thought we needed a timeout during that Houston run and wanted to see more Kiyan late and in OT. Quibbles, really, considering how much the team has improved and the ferocity they showed against this particular opponent.

A bitter loss given the circumstances, but Red can turn this into something really constructive. Tomorrow will tell us a lot.

I didn’t realize we only had one timeout with ten minutes left. We used one to avoid a tie up. We used our last one on the challenge.

 

[RedtheGOB]

They'll never admit it, but I bet some of them breathed a sigh of relief when we lost. Being wrong would be worse.

Probably lighting a cigar right now.

Meanwhile, most of us are encouraged but a little sick to our stomachs.

I agree. I read 10 comments alone to say fire Autry when we got down 11 late. Then we take it to OT and they're saying why didn't he call a timeout, when anyone actually with eyes knows we should've won that challenge. We have some clowns here.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

In terms of Red, I thought we needed a timeout during that Houston run and wanted to see more Kiyan late and in OT. Quibbles, really, considering how much the team has improved and the ferocity they showed against this particular opponent.

A bitter loss given the circumstances, but Red can turn this into something really constructive. Tomorrow will tell us a lot.

I thought about Kiyan, but I think Red was dug in on going defense first, especially with that run. A little O/D subbing might have worked out, but that’s really just Monday morning quarterbacking.

 

[Hoopsfan830]

Hard to believe Kyle and Anthony were both 4-9 from the foul line.

Harder to believe Anthony went 4-9. Shooting guards have to be better.

 

[Chip]

George is growing on me , quickly !

Kyle is growing on me. The guy does so much for a big man. That one possession where his hustle got us two more shots. Loved it. Can play at the rim, go to the rim, pass, block shots, rebound. Effort is off the charts.

Unfortunately, like many big men, the free throws are kryptonite. I can't even watch that sideways hitch before he shoots them.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

We have some clowns here.

You must be new here?

 

[hoopsupstate]

Kids played really hard. Kyle battled. Had some guys make some big plays down the stretch. Bodes well for the rest of the season.

The missed free throws is obvious, but I though the game really got away when we got really stagnant on offense and the ball got "sticky" (hero ball) during that stretch in the second half from about 9:00 min to 3:00 min. Thought Red didnt do enough during that stretch to get the kids playing together.

Thought Anthony and White both had relatively poor games tonight.

Liked how the kids came back though. There was tenacity and togetherness that's been lacking for a long time.

When we made the run we starting really passing the ball and Kyle slipped two screens for dunks. To maintain our energy despite missing so many free throws is hard to believe. The misses could have been demoralizing.