My Take

[sutomcat]

I wanted SU to win the BET mostly for selfish reasons. The trip down is a lot more enjoyable when SU wins.

Disappointing loss. UC did the smart thing to defend us; pack the zone inn try to take away the inside and hope like hell that SU was going to have a bad day shooting. That all happened, UC shot the ball great early and I thought they executed really well. When we pressed, they attacked the basket and made us pay. They kept us off the offensive boards, rarely turned it over and made their free throws.

With the damaged thumb, KJ's effectiveness is greatly reduced. Scoop and BT did not shoot very well from the outside, and today JS struggled from the outside as well. Worsr of all, we didn't take care of the ball and we didn't hit enough of our FTs. Thought the 2 missed FTs from BT of all people were the last straw.

So I am disappointed. Golden opportunity wasted.

Thought we were hurt by some calls and the unusually lax way the refs called the game, but I would be no better than the UConn fans we all criticize if I were to pin this loss on the refs. A great team overcomes bad calls...and that didn't happen today.

I am encouraged bythe comeback. This team has a lot of character. In the final analysis, this loss might be the best thing that could have happened regarding our chances in the NCAAs. We will start finding this out for sure sometime next Thursday. See everyone in Pittsburgh.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

You headed home, or are you gonna check out the LAX tomorrow?

 

[orangenirvana]

UC did the smart thing to defend us; pack the zone inn try to take away the inside and hope like hell that SU was going to have a bad day shooting. That all happened

SU shot 44.8% from 3.

 

[Hoov50]

SU shot 44.8% from 3.

But IMO shot too many and the makes at the end killed the percentage up. I would rather lose the game by three and go 1-29 outside the paint then lose by three an shoot 44% from three.

 

[Marsh01]

SU shot 44.8% from 3.

Its not the % its the amount of 3's. Taking 29 is just not how we win games. Glad to see we made a ton of them but not what we do.

 

[Fjoinkay]

Indiana averages about 44% from 3, and they are at the top of the rankings nationally. So it's a good percentage as an average, but for a game it's not lights out. I missed the game, but I would have thought SU would have responded with more penetration. Playing on the perimeter takes away this teams rhythm in my opinion.

 

[BuffOrange]

Its not the % its the amount of 3's. Taking 29 is just not how we win games. Glad to see we made a ton of them but not what we do.

I know people hate analogies but at the risk of sounding like Colin Cowherd...
To me that's like saying a primarily rushing football team "didn't play their game" when their QB played an above average game (by his standards) and they lost.

Bottom line is we just had problems getting good looks inside the arch against their zone (ie our power running game got stuffed), and as a result we were playing from behind the whole game. The 3s in the 2nd half prevented a blowout more than they contributed to the loss and that is discouraging imo.

 

[Marsh01]

I know people hate analogies but at the risk of sounding like Colin Cowherd...
To me that's like saying a primarily rushing football team "didn't play their game" when their QB played an above average game (by his standards) and they lost.

Bottom line is we just had problems getting good looks inside the arch against their zone, and as a result we were playing from behind the whole game. The 3s in the 2nd half prevented a blowout more than they contributed to the loss and that is discouraging imo.

I agree but my point was we havent been down like that all season which really was the reason why we were firing up 3's at warp speed. Trying to get back in it. That's not our game.

 

[jekelish]

SU shot 44.8% from 3.

Yeah, but that was almost exclusively Dion.

 

[RF2044]

What was most frustrating was to see a poor offensive team like Cincinnati come out and scorch the nets, making 8 out of their first 10 three point shots or whatever it was.

But let's face facts--we had plenty of chances. Maybe if we hadn't gone 7-14 from the FT line, things would have been different at the end. We've also done a great job taking care of the ball all year, and we made multiple uncharacteristic turnovers today.

We also shot ourselves in the foot several times late--the Brandon Triche missed FTs, the Scoop turnover right after the steal, giving up the uncontested dunk after cutting the lead to 1, squandering the last 15 seconds, etc. I'm not throwing any of those players under the bus--I'm just saying that those are plays you can't afford to give up in a closely contested game.

And at the end of the day, it all comes down to their torrid early shooting. If only they'd made one less three...

Here's hoping that this motivates us for the stretch run.

LGO!!!

 

[SWC75]

We were 4 for 12 in the first half when we dug such a big hole. We were 9 for 17 in the seocnd half but fumbled away opportunities to win the game. Over the years we've seen alot of teams get hot in desparation situations against us at the end of games and big leads melt away. But we usually won anyway. Tonight we were that team. I just hope some "muscle memory" kicked in.

 

[tbonezone]

i can live with the hot initial 3 point %. that's gotta cool down. the play that's drives me absolutely nuts every friggin game lately is when we make them use the whole shot clock and then give them back the rebound on the miss. just rebound the damn ball already!