A10 Game 6 - Rhode Island
- Thread starter Eight Legger
- Start date
Weird game, never put Rhody away but also never felt like they were really in it. Always happy with a W, but was hoping for a bit more dominant of a performance leading up to the VCU game. Hopefully we can execute better on a bigger stage Friday night!
We aren’t going to beat them anyway. Go see a movie Friday night.
12-14 from the free throw line wins the game.
I only saw last 5 mins, but thought he made the key play down stretch to shut down & then contest that fast break. URI converts there and I think it gets uncomfortable at end. Never quite did. Only going by box and some score updates it didn't get too uncomfortable all game. I don't think we wanted a test right b4 VCU. but that doesn't matter to vcu w the way they beat us regularly. What stood out to me from box is just 5 assists? That's bad. 5 assists on 24 FGs. idk 5 may be up there for assist futility in UR hoops history. Something not right there. Gotta change Friday, also must shoot the 3 ball much better (I'd tell Goose to take more 3s with his % this year but 3 attempts feels like max we'll get), & obv need to take care of the ball.
Not a bad idea. From what I read here, the popcorn would be better.
1) Spiders had 9-4 2ndCP ad while only allowing 5 offensive boards ..... while against Bonnies 0 2ndCP allowed 1st half but gave up 12 in 2nd half.
2) Spiders 40-26 PinP ad tonight while only 19 of 55 their shots (only 34%) were 3PTA. If not making them well enough, why keep taking them?
Here's a can't be true stat, Mooney's team now ranked 24th in defensive rebounding, great job!
2) Spiders 40-26 PinP ad tonight while only 19 of 55 their shots (only 34%) were 3PTA. If not making them well enough, why keep taking them?
Here's a can't be true stat, Mooney's team now ranked 24th in defensive rebounding, great job!
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Goose played great. Tyler played great. Quinn missed some easy ones, but scored 14 and was a factor tonight. Nelson played a solid 2nd half, and hit a big time 3 after they got within 3. I mentioned Goose should be under 30 minutes unless we have a nice lead, and things are clicking defensively. Well, we maintained a good lead, and our defense was good, especially from Goose, so I didn't want him to come out tonight. He was great, and hit a couple key 3s as well.
All about defense. Bigelow and Tyler have definitely been a huge factor with defensive rebounding, but when you hold teams to about 40% shooting overall and 30% from 3 on the year like we have done, you will get more defensive rebounds. Our guys are really getting after it defensively.
@MDspider8 - Exactly.
Nice effort by Quinn, 6/11 = 0.54545454 - Yep pretty maddening.
Tyler has to have some scoring support, so glad Quinn provided it. Terrible night from 3 with 0/4 for Roche, 1/6 for Burton, and 0/2 from Grace. Hopefully, they were just saving them for Friday. Not going to be able to bully the next Rams down low, so will come down to points off turnovers and outside shooting.
Go Spiders!
24th in the A-10 usually.
Only 5 assists because Nelson can’t hold on to the ball or see over anyone. Tyler had to create his points all on his own.
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Defense was very solid in the win tonight. Great contributions from everyone including Dji who it was good to see return.
Offense still a big issue though. Nelson had a couple big shots but dribbles waaaay too much and had no assists. We did keep the overall turnover number down a little tonight but many of the ones we did have were unforced.
It was kind of a weird game - never felt like we would lose but we never really pulled away either. No huge momentum swings or runs. All in all good to get back in the win column with VCU coming in Friday.
Offense still a big issue though. Nelson had a couple big shots but dribbles waaaay too much and had no assists. We did keep the overall turnover number down a little tonight but many of the ones we did have were unforced.
It was kind of a weird game - never felt like we would lose but we never really pulled away either. No huge momentum swings or runs. All in all good to get back in the win column with VCU coming in Friday.
It was very good to see Dji back in. Hope he is ok after taking a tough fall. He was very tired after staying out so long while Nelson was being punished.
Yes Bigs and Tyler very good but don't see much about those great defensive shooting % numbers relating to defensive rebounding success. Look 2009-10, 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams. They had as good as your defensive shooting numbers above. You know what, they were ranked 260, 246, 298 and 279 in defensive rebounding.
RI had some pieces but not a good team. We executed when needed, and there were some periods of good momentum. This is a game we should have won and did. There was a bit too much sloppy play, and VCU is a much more talented team than RI. Need to step out game up a couple notches on Friday.
Mooney was pulling guys quickly tonight on mistakes. Great for building individual and team confidence 👎.
True, and good point. Has to at least be a combination though. I would think to have good defensive rebounding numbers, you need good defenses causing more misses, and then you need guys like Tyler and Bigelow.
No great fan of Mooney.
But if he leaves players playing poorly in the game, he gets ripped for that.
It's like when we won last year, it was because the players refused to lose (until, of course, they refused to defend or make a shot against Providence). But when we lost, it was coaching.
Why anyone would want to coach is beyond me.
Didn't see the score on the crawl while watching the KSU-KU game. But when I saw it was only a two-page thread I figured we won.
TB was absolutely incredible. I love when he takes it to the hoop. 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 turnovers is exactly what we need.
I thought Goose was awesome too. He just does so much that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. He was so damn good out there today.
This feels like the type of game where we would have a letdown in the past. But even though they dragged us into the mud we still never trailed the full 40 minutes and took care of things at home. Thought we had a great gameplan and I thought Mooney absolutely outcoached Arch in this one
I thought Goose was awesome too. He just does so much that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. He was so damn good out there today.
This feels like the type of game where we would have a letdown in the past. But even though they dragged us into the mud we still never trailed the full 40 minutes and took care of things at home. Thought we had a great gameplan and I thought Mooney absolutely outcoached Arch in this one
This team is an oxymoron of everything that Mooney wants to be. On the one hand, we continue to do well on glass, Rhody was one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the league and we outrebounded them on both ends on the floor.
On the other hand, we had 5 assists to 11 turnovers. We all know Mooney's undying love for the assist to turnover ratio, so this has to cause him a lot of consternation. In particular, Nelson played 25 minutes and had ZERO assists.
These two stats tell a little of the tale of why this team is so much better defensively (because we place a priority of rebounding the damn ball) and also inept for long periods of the game offensively (our flow-motion offense is not generating any easy looks and we commit too many turnovers).
The only thing we do well offensively right now is Burton taking the ball to rack, which he has gotten so much better finishing through lots of contact. This is not really an offensive strategy though, it is just a really good player knowing he has to make plays. I think we are seeing some good things start to happen with Quinn in the past few games on offense, which is a good thing.
On the other hand, we had 5 assists to 11 turnovers. We all know Mooney's undying love for the assist to turnover ratio, so this has to cause him a lot of consternation. In particular, Nelson played 25 minutes and had ZERO assists.
These two stats tell a little of the tale of why this team is so much better defensively (because we place a priority of rebounding the damn ball) and also inept for long periods of the game offensively (our flow-motion offense is not generating any easy looks and we commit too many turnovers).
The only thing we do well offensively right now is Burton taking the ball to rack, which he has gotten so much better finishing through lots of contact. This is not really an offensive strategy though, it is just a really good player knowing he has to make plays. I think we are seeing some good things start to happen with Quinn in the past few games on offense, which is a good thing.
That does seem way low, but I think a main reason is how we are scoring. The NCAA rule says the pass has to create the shot for the scorer, and if a player receives a pass and has to make a move to get a shot, an assist will not be credited. A lot of judgement involved, but when Quinn takes a few dribbles down low before scoring, there is probably no assist credited, and when Tyler dribbles out front before attacking the rim, no assist will be credited. So, that would be a reason for fewer assists, but I agree 5 is very low, and in addition to how we are scoring affecting this, we also are missing the back doors and the rhythm pass and shooting this year. No question we could be a little better there.
Few assists means we are not doing much in an organized/designed format -- we are just freewheeling and hoping for the best. Players are not getting designed open shots (Roche, anyone?), or if they are, they're not making them. So either the "system" is not working, or the players are not executing the system. I know, I know, it takes 12 years to properly learn our highly complicated system, which revolves around 4 guys passing it back and forth around the perimeter for 25 seconds.
I was talking to someone at the game that was complaining about Quinn being 7 foot and could not finish at the rim or rebound very well. I just reminded him if he could do all that he would be at Duke or NC. We have him because he is inconsistent, but that’s the best type of big man we get. Grant was the same way. I am happy to have Quinn. He tries hard and wants to please the crowd.
Exactly. We run a motion based offense that is designed to open looks through efficient passing, which is why our assist to turnover ratio is usually pretty darn good.
If we had scored more points than Wichita, William and Mary, Syracuse, St. Bonaventure, George Mason, Charleston and everyone else who beat us, we would be undefeated! How was the crowd last night?
I can remember a time on here, not so long ago, when we had a tremendously fluid offense that generated all kinds of open looks and a high assist/basket ratio, but couldn't stop anyone.
And there was lots of hand-wringing and mocking of the value of "fluidity."
And now we have a pretty hard-nosed team that loves to get after it defensively and actually rebounds pretty darn well, and we have lots of hand-wringing about the lack of fluidity and low assist/basket ratio.
I find this to be inconsistent.
And there was lots of hand-wringing and mocking of the value of "fluidity."
And now we have a pretty hard-nosed team that loves to get after it defensively and actually rebounds pretty darn well, and we have lots of hand-wringing about the lack of fluidity and low assist/basket ratio.
I find this to be inconsistent.
We could scoot around the court on our butts for 40 minutes blindfolded, and if it resulted in wins, I’d be all for it. Most of us only care about winning, not about the systems that we employ in pursuit of that. It’s up to the coach to figure out how to win as many games as possible.
So going from an offense-first to a defense-first philosophy (if that’s actually what we’ve done) really doesn’t matter if it doesn’t result in more wins, which so far it hasn’t.
So going from an offense-first to a defense-first philosophy (if that’s actually what we’ve done) really doesn’t matter if it doesn’t result in more wins, which so far it hasn’t.
agreed, Goose played really well. Tyler was Tyler.
I know Quinn missed some bunnies (gotta focus on the finish, not just the move) but his moves were tremendous. he played a nice game.
It seems that Boyden is getting a lot of credit for the defense. Again, this balance is something that falls on the head coach. I had a problem with our soft defense, and was so glad when Hardt woke up and talked to Mooney about ditching the match up zone. That match up worked great for a few years, but Mooney kept it going and going and going. And it got figured out - especially by the A10 coaches. So yes, I have been happy with the defense and rebounding this year. I was not able to watch last night, but was glad to see Goose get 7 points in the first half. The offense is Mooney's baby. He needs to get Roche more minutes, and prod Goose to be aggressive and confident on O. I do think he is pushing Quinn. Quinn is close, but am afraid the VCU game is not his best situation. Hopefully he proves me wrong and has a big game.
So, you think Hardt told Mooney to change defenses? LOL. Okay. As for Roche getting more minutes, I have said the same, and even said give him 20+ every game unless we have a nice lead and are playing well defensively. Well, last night we led all game and played great defense. As a result, there wasn't a time where I said "get Roche in there" or "keep him in there". The lineups we were using were working just fine, and I was more than happy that Goose got 34 minutes. I didn't want him to come out. I think if you would have watched the game, you would have felt the same. So, I guess my point is it's easy to just say find Roche more minutes, as I have done as well, but last night was an example where it's not just about giving a guy minutes regardless. You still need to get a feel for how the game is going and all that. So, for last night's game, I think Goose with 34 minutes and Roche with 18 was the correct way to go.
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