Postgame Thoughts... Houston (NCAAT)

[NineOneSeven]

That game was absolutely terrible from the start as I rethink it.

 

[Orangezoo]

Welp- I'm rooting for Oregon State and then the Zags to get their first title.

Looks like spring cleaning is starting a little faster than hoped this year

 

[Alsacs]

I have been one of his worst critics about the rotation, but not really tonight.

He kept Edwards in for about 11 minutes in the first half when he played great.

Richmond got a lot of minutes, played some good ball, made some mistakes.

Buddy just could not get open against Jarreau. Joe only got a few decent looks, too.

Braswell had a few opportunities. They were not focusing on him. He should have done a bit more.

Was hoping for more from Griffin and Guerrier today. They both had pretty good years, but they aren't really going anywhere off the basis of this season.

Overall, I felt like too many of our guys tip the ball rather than grab it on rebounds.

Griffin might transfer because he gets a ton of crap and the shortest leash of all from Boeheim. But his game just isn't there yet. He has been sporadically great, and sometimes really boneheaded.

Edwards didn’t play enough.
Kadary didn’t play enough.

We didn’t play the lineup that went on a 15-3 run in the first half at all in the second.
So what are you saying?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Mchandl8]

We scored 46. As great as Jesse was he’s not gonna change that.

While I agree with that, we were clearly better tonight with Jesse in... they couldn't score as much

 

[bpo57]

And Baylor favored by 7 over Arkansas.

 

[tptcuse]

That game was absolutely terrible from the start as I rethink it.

Terrible from start to finish. We were fortunate to be close at times. Praying to the portal gods that we retain some of these guys because tonight was not indicative.

 

[BomberOrange]

Houston kicked our butts.

College hoop is still a horrific style of basketball.

We literally started our worst possible starting lineup all year and made the sweet 16.

Unleash Kadary

I have been one of his worst critics about the rotation, but not really tonight.

He kept Edwards in for about 11 minutes in the first half when he played great.

Richmond got a lot of minutes, played some good ball, made some mistakes.

Buddy just could not get open against Jarreau. Joe only got a few decent looks, too.

Braswell had a few opportunities. They were not focusing on him. He should have done a bit more.

Was hoping for more from Griffin and Guerrier today. They both had pretty good years, but they aren't really going anywhere off the basis of this season.

Overall, I felt like too many of our guys tip the ball rather than grab it on rebounds.

Griffin might transfer because he gets a ton of crap and the shortest leash of all from Boeheim. But his game just isn't there yet. He has been sporadically great, and sometimes really boneheaded.

Agree with you on most points but went -10 after Edwards sat I believe. They clearly struggled when he was in. Did he need a rest...yes. But not that much. Once he got his wind back he should’ve been right back in to finish the half.

 

[OrangeDW]

Your post in the gamethread was spot on. I love the pieces, but I don't love how they're being used. It's no coincidence that the team "improved" when some of the changes that the board haters had been calling for were made.

It just makes no sense. You can play Marek at 5, against certain times for stretches for offensive reasons. Like we did Warrick at times(who was a billion times the player and athlete) back in the day for SMALL stretches. But starting Center? Cmon.

Jesse is decent. Frank probably is too, but who knows? He won’t be “ready” until he’s 22.

Joe over Kadary. Cmon.

 

[billsin01]

Sadly the last of the 2020-2021 season. Hate when it ends.

- Houston overall is just better, but we can play so much better too.

- Didn’t score 50. Sadly what I feared going in. Houston is a legit top defensive team by the numbers and we saw it.

- Each game the last few weeks I was hoping Alan would finally get going. Never seen quite a close to a year.

- Fun run to the sweet 16. Always is, no doubt about that. Shame it ended up frustratingly.

- I absolutely did not understand the rotations tonight.

- Forwards. So many weak takes tonight.

- Back to reality... we were an 11 seed.

Well, I'm sure all the coaches here will have plenty of solutions that JB didn't think of but I agree with your point.

Here's the reality on the rotation: JB played a bunch of Kadary and Edwards and it helped but we don't have a guy on this roster who is going to break down that type of pressure defense, which means we have to run crisp sets all game long. That's not our strong suit and showed up in the loss.

Here's the reality: the tourney is often about matchups. Even when you have a great team, a little luck can help out. This wasn't a great team, it was a decent team that could look pretty impressive at times. We saw a lot of that this year -- really, really strong stretches, followed by some pretty awful stretches (or vice versa) ... often in the same game.

Houston is a top 10 team that plays junkyard dog defense and they just made it really tough for us to get clean looks at any point.

So what should we have done with the rotation? I'm not really sure. It's easy to say 'sit marek!', which makes sense, except you've got two issues here -- who plays in his place and how do you sit a guy who has been such a key figure for you all year? As far as the first question -- I wouldn't have minded seeing more griffin but he has been brutal and wasn't good in this game on either end. Q was every bit as bad as Marek. So maybe it's buddy at the three, Q and Edwards with Girard and kadary? But people would have b!tched about that as well.

There was no answer on the roster for this particular game (I'm more than willing to admit that there were questionable rotation decisions for much of the season, by the way).

Your point on the weak takes is a good one -- Q and Marek were just not strong enough to the rim. Buddy got swallowed up. It happens. Thought Joe actually played decently but that one three he took instead of swinging it to buddy was ... not great.

It always sucks to lose but it's the fate of 67 teams in this tourney. Sounds like it will be an eventful offseason but I do really hope that we see a Buddy/Kadary/JGIII backcourt with Q/Edwards/Benny/Frank/Bras frontcourt next year. Would love to see Woody back as well but it doesn't sound like that's the case (no inside info, just going off the vibe on the board).

To me, you simply ran into a better team. Sucks, but it happened. Overall, I think it could have been a better season but it wasn't a bad one either.

 

[CorduroyG]

we would have beat rutgers and oregon st. i have little doubt. houston was gonna be a dogfight even if we played well. this very easily could have been a f4 team if rutgers doesnt blow that game.

this is tough. we missed a golden opportunity. a friggin 12 seed waiting for us in the elite 8.

 

[kcsu]

I know what you're saying, but Kadary didn't add anything tonight.

Did you watch the game

 

[Alsacs]

I'll take the one possession game... this way looks like we got lucky and didn't deserve to be there

If we lost a one possession game I would be pissed because how close we were to a final four would be there.
We got beat tonight so cleanly we can’t complain that much.

 

[supp]

I am sad to see Marek finish his career. Good player even though I still can't spell his last name.

Agree good player. But I'm still up in the air as to whether he did much growing as a player while he was here. Still has the same flaws he had four years ago and showed the same skills he did four years ago with pretty much the same amount of maddening inconsistency.

 

[81South]

The last few weeks have been great. Tremendous job to close the season. Tonight Houston was the better team...they defended the hell out of us and they rebounded the rock.

 

[tptcuse]

Did you watch the game

Yes.

 

[capeorange]

Tough for Doley to go out with a game like he played tonight.

It was fun watching a player contribute for 4 years. Not very many kids stick around anymore.

 

[djcon57]

Did you watch the game

they don’t understand defense is half of the game, its fine

 

[BomberOrange]

Houston favored by 8.5 over OSU.

Cougars vs Beavers... I think I’ve seen that flick.

 

[sugrad68]

That game was absolutely terrible from the start as I rethink it.

Actually it was terrible from the time we tied it 20-20. Downhill after that.

 

[Chalupa_24]

I really need to know why Richmond is just a passer… like it really bothers me. Like it’s great you can pass the rock. But if nobody is open to pass I need you to be able to drop a 3 or shake and bake and pick up the and 1 here and there. I know he knocked down the 3 tonight. So calm down people. But he always wants to pass. Why? Is it JB telling him that!

 

[Ghost]

also, that missed travel at 20-20...It was never a one possession game after that sequence

There were a few weird plays around then. Girard with the behind the head pass attempt. Oooof.

Missed travel.

I feel like their PG right around then just pinned the ball on his hip. Then just started dribbling again. Pretty sure that's a double dribble.

No real issue with the officials, they seemed all over the place generally, but I do think they missed a couple fouls on three pointers that may have helped us. Joe got creamed on the one no-call, then missed a wide open one. I also thought Q got fouled in the first half when the defender got under him and didn't allow him to land. Isn't that a rule? Camera angle SUCKED on that one though.

 

[Orangezoo]

A second year Richmond would shred this Houston D. I really hope he comes back. Adding a 5 star talent to the lineup paired with the key pieces from this year gets us back over the hump.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Edwards didn’t play enough.
Kadary didn’t play enough.

We didn’t play the lineup that went on a 15-3 run in the first half at all in the second.
So what are you saying?

You can't play Kadary and Edwards for 35 minutes in that game. Not enough offense on the floor.

Kadary can set people up, but Joe can put more points on the board if he gets hot. Both had to play. Our trouble was scoring tonight. Boeheim tried pretty much all his lineup options tonight.