Just watched the game again..My thoughts

[Orangezoo]

First of all we were not moving on offense well at all.. with that said USF tried to use their length to protect the rim on the interior and on the perimeter. Have to give them some credit as they really did play hard for a while on D.

We didn't play well but watching the game again it wasn't as bad as some have alluded to. USF made the game ugly. We missed a lot of shots but got better on D as the game progressed and better on the boards attacking loose balls as well. After the initial rebounding differential in the first 10 minutes we were even the rest of the way. MCW could have played this game. With USF's length, his vision and ability to cut to the rim would have been nice. Raks length on offense would have been nice as well.

We have played some ugly games.. due to missing a lot of shots but we are still doing some good things. Scoop is leading like a top 5 pg in the country. I am not saying he is an NBA pg.. but he is making plays all over the court and making defenses play him honestly. Dion's shortcomings I am noticing are coming with the added attention paid to him when he is on the court. He has not had great games but I applaud him for not forcing the issue so much.

Kris and CJ are really making plays all over. Those two along with Fab create an imposing and dynamic front court. We have won some ugly games but our defense is sound (not slap and grab like Pitt) and we really frustrate the opposition limiting easy baskets. Its very clear that JB is going to go deeper into the bench in games where teams want to run with us, while he sticks to a shorter bench in games where teams want to fight it out in the halfcourt. CJ , Kris, Scoop and Dion have great chemistry in the half court and give us good opportunities to score. Would like to see Fab get more touches closer to the hoop and for him to work the baseline while Joseph/Fair space out the floor for the guards to drive. We have not seen much success with the PNR of late.

I think once we hit the tourney it will be clear again why we are 28-1. BE teams are better schooled in playing the zone and in what we are trying to do on offense. Scoop is not letting this team just roll over when they struggle. I love to see we have that guy on our team. Last year he was almost that guy.. this year he 100 percent is.

Finally.. Triche sucked at times.. but the kid is just so sound on D. He rarely is out of position and really works hard. He doesn't rack up the steals but he really makes it tough on the wings and opposing guards. He is fine and I expect he will have more good games to come. Lets lay off the negativity just yet. This is Big East basketball not SEC or ACC bball. UK doesnt like to defend for 30 seconds every posession anymore than we do. Not many SEC squads have tried that approach against them.. but instead tried to just outscore them. I was disgusted after watching the game the first time, after the second time not so much. Give credit to USF for battling. They wanted to steal one and we thought they couldn't. Now its time to bring the A game to UConn and sweep them and then sweep the Cards.. bring it on.

 

[SoBeCuse]

That's one nice sugar-coated recap.

 

[bevosu]

Nothing wrong with a glass half full post. The pause that refreshes.

Anything is possible.

 

[ORANGEsPHK]

I will say that often my real time reactions of a game are usually different than my reactions after re-watching a game from a more 'relaxed' standpoint, i.e., knowing we have won. Its usually easier to focus on what we're doing as a team (or not) when you're not caught up in the emotions of real time results.

Our offense was terrible, no doubt or sugar coating that. But I agree with you 'zoo that we played well on defense and I was glad that DW wasn't forcing the issue, although he had a couple of shots that were questionable. Scoop was just awesome and led this team well, and I was very pleased to see KJo assert himself late in the 2nd half. Fair? Well, what can I say, he is just Mr. Consistent and dependable to give us points and rebounds.

I like this 'sugar-coated' recap, for what its worth.

 

[Upstate]

I'm starting to think that Scoop is one of the most underrated players in the country. He's a terrific ball handler,Has made clutch plays all year, a better athlete and finisher than anyone gives him credit for. He may lead us through the tourney come march.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

That's one nice sugar-coated recap.

It was, but there was a lot of positives to last nights game, including the fact we won over a decent team ranked fourth in our league. Scoop, CJ, Kris Jo and did some good things to help us win. Fab as well, and the bottom line is that without him we don't keep winning. However, two years in the system and he still makes some mistakes.

Hopefully everyone is happy that we are 28-1. You would think with that record we would be as good as the UNLV teams with Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony and Stacy Augmon. The year they won the National Championship they finished with a record of only 35-5. The next year they went undefeated but then lost in the NC game to Duke, led by Laettner, Hurley and Grant Hill. You never know how you are going to end up.

I think everyone realizes that there are no perfect teams playing this season. If we keep being successful it is going to be with a little bit of luck. We saw both Dion and CJ end up on the floor last night and fortunately both were ok. No question that we have the talent. Every game has been a little bit different but the end result is the same. So, yeah, there is some things that can be sugar coated.

 

[MELOKEITH]

Great post zoo. Scoop has really shown leadership - not just some clutch shots, but running the team.

When USF got out to the big early lead, I was having deja vu from years past - it was just going to be one of those games where we're playing bad, the other team is playing out of their minds, and we lose. Credit the seniors (especially) for righting the ship and for the subtle adjustments JB makes game in, game out, to how the zone moves to take away whatever the other team is being successful at. Also - there was a clear, concerted effort to get on the glass and after loose balls which you noted and was very encouraging to see.

I

 

[SoBristol]

In the line of half-full thinking, we did a lot of things right during a 26-0 run and then again, we did enough to win in the final 5 minutes. And that was against a team that came in 10-4 in the Big East and is playing well in February.

No big surprise that this SU team is not a great shooting team. If Brandon is going to be 0-6 from the field, we are going to struggle and have to fight to win ugly. We did.

People have some difficulty giving Scoop his due. Great game by our senior PG.

 

[AZOrange]

I still havent yelled at the tv yet this year...even last night.

Triche baffles me. He can be so good and so bad. I mean I dont think he even hit the rim from 12 feet.

 

[tbonezone]

the runnin' reb's average margin of victory for that season was 27 points a game. just sayin'.

 

[SoBeCuse]

the runnin' reb's average margin of victory for that season was 27 points a game. just sayin'.

Much better teams nationwide too. High level of basketball, imo.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Much better teams nationwide too. High level of basketball, imo.

That's exactly my point. There are no UNLV's on the college landscape anymore. But people who think we should be winning games by an average of 27 ppg are crazy. That's never going to happen anymore. But the point was more that UNLV lost five times and still won the NC and then the next year went undefeated but lost the NC.

The bottom line is that we are finding a way to win every game. One of the keys is that you need three main guys to step up every game. That's happened all season long. Lately though, it's been the same three guys (or four) guys and that is why a lot of people's tighties are all bunched up.

 

[cusetown1]

That's exactly my point. There are no UNLV's on the college landscape anymore. But people who think we should be winning games by an average of 27 ppg are crazy. That's never going to happen anymore. But the point was more that UNLV lost five times and still won the NC and then the next year went undefeated but lost the NC.

The bottom line is that we are finding a way to win every game. One of the keys is that you need three main guys to step up every game. That's happened all season long. Lately though, it's been the same three guys (or four) guys and that is why a lot of people's tighties are all bunched up.

UNLV was great. But who the hell did they play during the season?

 

[SoBristol]

The bottom line is that, entering tournament time, you can throw out the early games and look at how a team has done in February. Of course, there are some exceptions.

We aren't a real good shooting team; we struggle on the boards; and win with defense & transition. We consistently limit our turn-overs. We have a 7 foot center who blocks shots but is raw on offense and doesn't rebound as well as we might hope. We depend on balanced scoring from 4 players. Our starting SG is inconsistent as a scorer at this stage of his career (matter of skills, not confidence), but his sub is one of the best 6th men around. We have a 6.5 man rotation. We have a solid leader at PG and plenty of experience. We know how to close out wins. You kinda are what you are at this point in the season. And I doubt a lot of teams will want to be in our bracket.

 

[SBU72]

In the line of half-full thinking, we did a lot of things right during a 26-0 run and then again, we did enough to win in the final 5 minutes. And that was against a team that came in 10-4 in the Big East and is playing well in February.

No big surprise that this SU team is not a great shooting team. If Brandon is going to be 0-6 from the field, we are going to struggle and have to fight to win ugly. We did.

People have some difficulty giving Scoop his due. Great game by our senior PG.

You are right. SU played so differently during those 17 minutes (12 for the run, 5 at the end) than they did the other 23. The defense seem to de-activate. On offense, shots just weren't falling. Missed layup, short jumpers, etc that went in during the run but not before or after.

 

[RoysRunts]

Did you see in the replay where Brandon was when KJ made his semi hook at the end of the Game? In between the foul line and backboard ready to get a rebound amoung the Big Boys.

 

[OttoMets]

Did you see in the replay where Brandon was when KJ made his semi hook at the end of the Game? In between the foul line and backboard ready to get a rebound amoung the Big Boys.

He's our best rebounding guard, for sure. If the over-the-back call still existed in college basketball, he'd do even better.

 

[AZOrange]

He's our best rebounding guard, for sure. If the over-the-back call still existed in college basketball, he'd do even better.

I am glad I am not the only one getting frustrated with these...Triche and CJ get murdered in there (CJ especially).

 

[OttoMets]

I am glad I am not the only one getting frustrated with these...Triche and CJ get murdered in there (CJ especially).

Both of them get absolutely mugged. Yet Christmas gets that whistle on a rebound with virtually no contact.

 

[AZOrange]

I think our size hurts us in that respect. our guys are bigger, stronger, than most and dont fall down enough. everyone needs to fall down like Melo.