Random Vegas Thoughts

[Niastri]

This place is a hard place to hang out after a three game losing streak.

After being encouraged by the team performance against Houston, I was less happy about Kansas. I wonder how much was fatigue and Freeman's absence, but we have those collapses all too frequently where we give up a run and turn a close game into a big loss. At 6:02 in the second half, we were down 50-52, and it looked like we might manage to come back from a devastating loss the night before and win. We didn't score again until 2:44, to narrow the deficit to 53-63... The game was lost in those three minutes of let down.

At half time against Iowa State, we were down 34-35. We lost the first four minutes of the second half 20-4. A close game turned into a blowout. Fatigue and Freeman being injured don't make that happen, there are systemic issues of some sort.

I don't think it's the roster or conditioning.

There was a lot to be happy about within the individual games, but more bad than good.

I think we'll be much better later in the season for the quality 5 halves of basketball we played against top teams. We need to figure out how not to give up those big runs in critical games.

I think we have the bodies to "almost" beat top 25 teams when we don't have Freeman. I really hope he's able to come back this year.

 

[OrangeFoo]

This place is a hard place to hang out after a three game losing streak.

After being encouraged by the team performance against Houston, I was less happy about Kansas. I wonder how much was fatigue and Freeman's absence, but we have those collapses all too frequently where we give up a run and turn a close game into a big loss. At 6:02 in the second half, we were down 50-52, and it looked like we might manage to come back from a devastating loss the night before and win. We didn't score again until 2:44, to narrow the deficit to 53-63... The game was lost in those three minutes of let down.

At half time against Iowa State, we were down 34-35. We lost the first four minutes of the second half 20-4. A close game turned into a blowout. Fatigue and Freeman being injured don't make that happen, there are systemic issues of some sort.

I don't think it's the roster or conditioning.

There was a lot to be happy about within the individual games, but more bad than good.

I think we'll be much better later in the season for the quality 5 halves of basketball we played against top teams. We need to figure out how not to give up those big runs in critical games.

I think we have the bodies to "almost" beat top 25 teams when we don't have Freeman. I really hope he's able to come back this year.

I respectfully disagree… the 20-4 was all about fatigue, physical and mental. The guys were making poor turnovers in the first half and then they made even worse turnovers and compounded it with even worse shots… that’s mental fatigue. they didn’t get back on D… thats physical

 

[Lame-0]

I respectfully disagree… the 20-4 was all about fatigue, physical and mental. The guys were making poor turnovers in the first half and then they made even worse turnovers and compounded it with even worse shots… that’s mental fatigue. they didn’t get back on D… thats physical

Three games against Quad 1 opponents in 42 hours. I don't care about age or conditioning, that's a tough ask.

 

[Starman]

This place is a hard place to hang out after a three game losing streak.

After being encouraged by the team performance against Houston, I was less happy about Kansas. I wonder how much was fatigue and Freeman's absence, but we have those collapses all too frequently where we give up a run and turn a close game into a big loss. At 6:02 in the second half, we were down 50-52, and it looked like we might manage to come back from a devastating loss the night before and win. We didn't score again until 2:44, to narrow the deficit to 53-63... The game was lost in those three minutes of let down.

At half time against Iowa State, we were down 34-35. We lost the first four minutes of the second half 20-4. A close game turned into a blowout. Fatigue and Freeman being injured don't make that happen, there are systemic issues of some sort.

I don't think it's the roster or conditioning.

There was a lot to be happy about within the individual games, but more bad than good.

I think we'll be much better later in the season for the quality 5 halves of basketball we played against top teams. We need to figure out how not to give up those big runs in critical games.

I think we have the bodies to "almost" beat top 25 teams when we don't have Freeman. I really hope he's able to come back this year.

I think we need to figure out how to not constantly be playing from behind. Besides just being a good idea overall, I've always heard that it takes much more effort.

 

[Niastri]

I respectfully disagree… the 20-4 was all about fatigue, physical and mental. The guys were making poor turnovers in the first half and then they made even worse turnovers and compounded it with even worse shots… that’s mental fatigue. they didn’t get back on D… thats physical

I get they had a hard run, but to come out and get smoked right after a rest at half time... That isn't pure fatigue, that's bad game plan, half time adjustments, mental adjustments. Something went wrong at halftime and it wasn't fatigue.

Once they were down double digits, I could see their fatigue crushing them and letting it turn to a 30 point loss, but that first four minutes can't be that decisive.

 

[RedtheGOB]

Three games against Quad 1 opponents in 42 hours. I don't care about age or conditioning, that's a tough ask.

Quad 1 is an understatement. We’re a quad 1 game for tennessee on Tuesday night.

As much as we’re mediocre now we’re still low 70’s. A Q1 road game is 1-75.

These felt like quad -1 games.

 

[RedtheGOB]

I get they had a hard run, but to come out and get smoked right after a rest at half time... That isn't pure fatigue, that's bad game plan, half time adjustments, mental adjustments. Something went wrong at halftime and it wasn't fatigue.

Once they were down double digits, I could see their fatigue crushing them and letting it turn to a 30 point loss, but that first four minutes can't be that decisive.

Agree with this as well. Both Kansas and Iowa st made small adjustments at half that crushed us.

Oddly enough Sampson didn’t though Monday and he’s a better coach than most. Something tells me the staff and our players were just much more prepared for Houston and some different ways it might play out. Kansas and Iowa st no adjustments at all. Thats on Autry for sure.

It’s also quite possible we were Houston’s look ahead game.

 

[AlaskaSU]

I respectfully disagree… the 20-4 was all about fatigue, physical and mental. The guys were making poor turnovers in the first half and then they made even worse turnovers and compounded it with even worse shots… that’s mental fatigue. they didn’t get back on D… thats physical

And Iowa State was just resting at the pool until they met us?

 

[Blanko97]

Three games against Quad 1 opponents in 42 hours. I don't care about age or conditioning, that's a tough ask.

Don’t we want to be a quad 1 team? If so you need to beat these guys. Let’s also not forget they also played those 3 games, most against 3 quad 1 opponents

 

[jncuse]

Quad 1 is an understatement. We’re a quad 1 game for tennessee on Tuesday night.

As much as we’re mediocre now we’re still low 70’s. A Q1 road game is 1-75.

These felt like quad -1 games.

I agree not all Q1 games are alike.

When I do my conference analysis I label games as IT and 1B... 1T being top half quad 1 games, and 1B being bottom half. And these were 3 top half games games. Maybe even "top-quarter" Q1 games.

These are games that bubble teams are most likely going 0-3 against as well.

Optimistic me was hoping we were above bubble level this year and would skip that step in our progression. But that doesn't look to be the case.

 

[Niastri]

Don’t we want to be a quad 1 team? If so you need to beat these guys. Let’s also not forget they also played those 3 games, most against 3 quad 1 opponents

Both of our later opponents came off easier games and schedules than we did. When you are playing games back to back to back, the difference of a few extra hours rest and treatment is non trivial.

The level of competition difference between teams wasn't trivial either. Nobody played the games we played, even though the whole festival is a crazy grind for everybody.

Iowa State had Creighton, who they handled easily. Kansas had Notre Dame, who they handled easily.

We played two very hard games, came up short, and then had to play Iowa State on 12 hours notice, only 18 hours after finishing our Kansas game. It was a brutal schedule for our team.

 

[OrangeCrush22]

The fatigue narrative doesn’t hold up when every team we played was also playing multiple days in a row. ISU must have players with horse hearts

 

[Blanko97]

Both of our later opponents came off easier games and schedules than we did. When you are playing games back to back to back, the difference of a few extra hours rest and treatment is non trivial.

The level of competition difference between teams wasn't trivial either. Nobody played the games we played, even though the whole festival is a crazy grind for everybody.

Iowa State had Creighton, who they handled easily. Kansas had Notre Dame, who they handled easily.

We played two very hard games, came up short, and then had to play Iowa State on 12 hours notice, only 18 hours after finishing our Kansas game. It was a brutal schedule for our team.

but we want to be a good team… the games seemed difficult because we aren’t good. If we were a good team the Kansas game without their best player likely doesn’t seem like such a challenge.

 

[Lame-0]

Both of our later opponents came off easier games and schedules than we did. When you are playing games back to back to back, the difference of a few extra hours rest and treatment is non trivial.

The level of competition difference between teams wasn't trivial either. Nobody played the games we played, even though the whole festival is a crazy grind for everybody.

Iowa State had Creighton, who they handled easily. Kansas had Notre Dame, who they handled easily.

We played two very hard games, came up short, and then had to play Iowa State on 12 hours notice, only 18 hours after finishing our Kansas game. It was a brutal schedule for our team.

That was exactly my point. Against both Kansas and Iowa St we were playing on shorter rest than our opponent. Playing 3 games in 3 days, that's huge.

 

[RedtheGOB]

The fatigue narrative doesn’t hold up when every team we played was also playing multiple days in a row. ISU must have players with horse hearts

While I agree. Something funny I saw was that Iowa State had just been fleeced out of 300K in nil by the tournament organizers just because they didn’t run up the score by 2 points Tuesday. Talk about ammunition for the next game.

 

[OrangeFoo]

The fatigue narrative doesn’t hold up when every team we played was also playing multiple days in a row. ISU must have players with horse hearts

You people are insane.. how is playing in two blowouts where you are clearly the superior team the same as playing tight, stressful games against Houston and Kansas... two physical and athletically loaded teams.

Also the SU style of defense is much more intense and requires more than Iowa State... Also Iowa State's D got to play against a much easier offense than ours did because they were playing against us. We are very easy to guard and don't require going all out. There are also ways to play D more efficiently and effectively that don't require the max effort that Red wants... hopefully he learns this as a coach.

Then there is the issue that the team is mentally fatigued because their shots aren't going in and they panicked. Please tell me all of the times when as adults everything was going wrong for you and you didn't lose spirit or hope. Now tell me the time you did this as a teen/young adult on national tv playing against elite athletes who are ready to go for the kill.

Give these poor kids a break... They clearly left everything on the floor. What more can you ask of them?
Or try coaching an overmatched team against 3 straight quality opponents.

 

[nyucuse]

You people are insane.. how is playing in two blowouts where you are clearly the superior team the same as playing tight, stressful games against Houston and Kansas... two physical and athletically loaded teams.

Also the SU style of defense is much more intense and requires more than Iowa State... Also Iowa State's D got to play against a much easier offense than ours did because they were playing against us. We are very easy to guard and don't require going all out. There are also ways to play D more efficiently and effectively that don't require the max effort that Red wants... hopefully he learns this as a coach.

Then there is the issue that the team is mentally fatigued because their shots aren't going in and they panicked. Please tell me all of the times when as adults everything was going wrong for you and you didn't lose spirit or hope. Now tell me the time you did this as a teen/young adult on national tv playing against elite athletes who are ready to go for the kill.

Give these poor kids a break... They clearly left everything on the floor. What more can you ask of them?
Or try coaching an overmatched team against 3 straight quality opponents.

Because a top notch coach would find a way to maximize his team's potential and devise a gameplan, particularly offensively, to create points. We do not have that. Into our third season this is painfully, painfully, obvious. Alex Kline in particular should be given credit for bringing in exactly the kids Autry wanted. We are not overmatched. Team athleticism is top notch. Gameplanning is clearly not. This requires more than intensity. Xs and Os are a necessity, not a nice to have.

No one is blaming the kids. The general consensus is our coaching is not on par with the top teams in the country. Can you argue that at this point? With the resources, history and cache of this program, the fanbase expects a top 20 coach who can consistently deliver a contender. I don't think that is an unrealistic expectation.

 

[Dinkyspond]

Both of our later opponents came off easier games and schedules than we did. When you are playing games back to back to back, the difference of a few extra hours rest and treatment is non trivial.

The level of competition difference between teams wasn't trivial either. Nobody played the games we played, even though the whole festival is a crazy grind for everybody.

Iowa State had Creighton, who they handled easily. Kansas had Notre Dame, who they handled easily.

We played two very hard games, came up short, and then had to play Iowa State on 12 hours notice, only 18 hours after finishing our Kansas game. It was a brutal schedule for our team.

Kansas only beat ND by 10, not exactly a blowout

 

[Dinkyspond]

You people are insane.. how is playing in two blowouts where you are clearly the superior team the same as playing tight, stressful games against Houston and Kansas... two physical and athletically loaded teams.

Also the SU style of defense is much more intense and requires more than Iowa State... Also Iowa State's D got to play against a much easier offense than ours did because they were playing against us. We are very easy to guard and don't require going all out. There are also ways to play D more efficiently and effectively that don't require the max effort that Red wants... hopefully he learns this as a coach.

Then there is the issue that the team is mentally fatigued because their shots aren't going in and they panicked. Please tell me all of the times when as adults everything was going wrong for you and you didn't lose spirit or hope. Now tell me the time you did this as a teen/young adult on national tv playing against elite athletes who are ready to go for the kill.

Give these poor kids a break... They clearly left everything on the floor. What more can you ask of them?
Or try coaching an overmatched team against 3 straight quality opponents.

Poor kids? BS. They are professional athletes making a lot of NIL.$. The poor kids excuse doesn’t cut it anymore. I would be hesitant before to boo a college team at a game. Not anymore, it's a new game and time.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Team athleticism is top notch, LOL. Top notch must mean not being able to rebound, hit threes or foul shots.

 

[nyucuse]

Team athleticism is top notch, LOL. Top notch must mean not being able to rebound, hit threes or foul shots.

Ummm, foul shots are based on athleticism? 3s? It is scheme that is our failure. How many teams have a front line as athletic as ours? That is not the issue here. At all. It is coaching and scheme. Period. A competent coach makes this team top-25. No doubt in my mind. Now in theory that can still happen. Fair to say we played a gauntlet in Vegas. But AA's history suggests it is unlikely.

 

[OrangeFoo]

Because a top notch coach would find a way to maximize his team's potential and devise a gameplan, particularly offensively, to create points. We do not have that. Into our third season this is painfully, painfully, obvious. Alex Kline in particular should be given credit for bringing in exactly the kids Autry wanted. We are not overmatched. Team athleticism is top notch. Gameplanning is clearly not. This requires more than intensity. Xs and Os are a necessity, not a nice to have.

No one is blaming the kids. The general consensus is our coaching is not on par with the top teams in the country. Can you argue that at this point? With the resources, history and cache of this program, the fanbase expects a top 20 coach who can consistently deliver a contender. I don't think that is an unrealistic expectation.

I completely agree that Red is overmatched as a coach... see all of my other posts on his coaching. Since the jump I have believed that George is either severely overrated or we are not helping him enough in the offense because he and Kingz are the 2nd reasons our offense stinks after shooting... we are getting almost nothing from our starting guards who both came in with reputations. I don't think they both forgot how to play hoops... it's the lack of a choesive offensive set. They are not one on one guys... not sure why Red doesn't see that. I also identified the high pick and roll with George and Kyle as a complete waste of time and assumed that we would do something else when the games count. Nope... we are still running that terrible set.

But I don't think it's fair to say Autry has lost the team or the team quit, etc... I think the second half was a one off where big mo turned a run into a landslide. Stuff happens.

 

[kcsu]

We have a very solid team tournament talent for sure but only if our top player returns. SU simply can't replace Donnie.
I'm not sure how the FT nightmare is fixed but it has to be addressed as it cost us the Houston game and will cost us others. We have the talent to make the tournament but only if Donnie is healthy.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Team athleticism is top notch, LOL. Top notch must mean not being able to rebound, hit threes or foul shots.

lol. Athleticism is the least of our problems. Skills are another story.

 

[atlanticuse]

If if if.

For another year.