Don't care how much of a nail biter a game becomes as long as we have more points then the other team when the final horn sounds.
Loyola Chicago Ramblers
- Thread starter Eight Legger
- Start date
It seems Mooney wants to let the experienced squad roll but sometimes he needs to take control, call a timeout, and draw up a play when we are losing momentum.
We just beat one of the top mid-major teams in the country on 2 days rest and many of the people on this board sound like we got our butts kicked. This is a great win for the program. This team is probably going to be ranked more weeks in the top 25 than all other U of R teams combined over the past 60 years. It is time to celebrate. Go Spiders!
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Really? Which run? I'm referring to the run that saw our lead from 20 to 6. The run where Norris hit about 4 3s. A timeout is used in those situations to stop the opponents momentum and rhythm. Is it guaranteed to work? No. But it does work and is better than doing nothing.
To his credit on the postgame, Grant said his turnover total was "piss poor" and he would take care of it. Let's hope he does. We can't be turning the ball over 15 times a game.
I don't consider this a "great win". I consider it a win. It was a game of two distinct halves. A great win would have been two complete halves where we played consistently and didn't give up 1) so many 3 pointers and 2) give up easy shots under the boards. For reference of points 1) and 2), see Vandy game. Patterns repeat, and this pattern repeated too many times will result in losses.
Great to win a game but not fundamentally a great win.
Great to win a game but not fundamentally a great win.
Great win Spiders, we are learning to play WITH’s a target on our backs as a ranked team. We we in uncharted territory. Win and survive.
The positive thing is that we are 6-1 and still have yet to play a full game even close to our potential.
Agree, sman knows Mooney can do no wrong. I will say I liked Mooney's fire against the refs. But I think Gilly was complaining way too much tonight. Again, love the fire and would rather that than conceding. Take the win and move on. Francis was great tonight.
We are ranked in the coaches poll at #25?
His hand was straight up and didn’t move. No foul. Bad call.
This is the 2nd game in a row that we faltered in the second half.
it seems to me that if CM would give the 1st line more substitution with
some of our strong, young bench players , like Wilson, we’d be in better
shape in the 2nd half.
it seems to me that if CM would give the 1st line more substitution with
some of our strong, young bench players , like Wilson, we’d be in better
shape in the 2nd half.
Top mid major? No effing way. I'm not sure if they would even be a top 10 A10 team.
come on not top 10 a10? I agree w UR80s. Whether they’ll end up as a top mid we have to see but they r good. They’ve been good for a few years here. At very least they have Spider fans in their corner rest of year.
Good road trip Spids. It’s true we haven’t played two halves and u don’t dismiss our problems 2nd half the last two games. We can be much better but if we r learning some lessons at least it’s in wins. Rest up & get ready for another solid mid in Hofstra.
What do you mean "we" kemosabi. The rest of the team had what had what 5, 6?
Yeah, I would put them ahead of GMU, Lasalle, Fordham and St. Joe's. That;s about it.
We have played the same bad half in three straight games. WVU showed us what happens when we play like that against a good team. We will lose, and lose big. Yes it is good to win. But if this trend doesn't change (and this is an old Chris Mooney team habit that seemed to finally get fixed last year) we will not finish in the top four in the A10 and we will not be playing in the NCAA tournament. A team with so much talent there is no excuse for the sloppy play on offense, only being able to play one good half on defense, not being able to counter an opposing team's adjustments, not being able to stop runs. In my book, it all comes down to in game coaching.
By the way, where were Sal and Crabtree in the second half? Sal has been playing great defense and has been a spark, he could have helped to stop that run.
By the way, where were Sal and Crabtree in the second half? Sal has been playing great defense and has been a spark, he could have helped to stop that run.
He had eight, you had three and the rest of the team had seven. At least that was my recollection.
But yeah, he needs to be a lot more careful with the ball than he has been so far this year if we're going to do something special.
In general, I feel like there are 3-4 times a game when we (and often it is Grant) try to force a back door bounce pass that just has no chance at resulting in anything but a turnover. That needs to improve.
Little change of subject, but thought the Norris kid for Loyola Chicago had all the makes of a classic Mooney guard. A most worthy and savvy competitor with excellent skill set.
That said, Gilly and Blake, particularly Blake, carried the load today. Kudos to them.
That said, Gilly and Blake, particularly Blake, carried the load today. Kudos to them.
We tried to get him on the transfer market...he visited us, Loyola, Notre Dame, and Toledo.
I’m always amazed how many refs across the country have it in for us.🥱
Who teaches our guys to leap like bullfrogs into the stands every time an opponent receives a pass beyond the three point line. A simple head fake and its either an open three or a free lane to the basket. Almost always an easy bucket. Why oh why do we keep that strategy going?
I thought we benefitted a lot in the first half from the officiating and honestly didn't notice it much in the second half aside from twin seemingly bad calls.
Leave Ply alone. If he is like me, in 25 years he will slightly lower his criticism on the refs. Slightly.
I do hope Grant is not rubbing off too much on his roomie Gilly. He was ref griping big time tonight.
I do hope Grant is not rubbing off too much on his roomie Gilly. He was ref griping big time tonight.
It amazes me that Mooney blames this 2nd half collapse on the offense. We scored 37 in the first half and 38 in the second half. Yes, we missed some opportunities but the offense wasn't the problem. And yes, they were going to score more than 44 in the game, but it is inexcusable to give up 51 in the second half. It scares me that this is his take on the game.
I have never understood the anger over a lack of a timeout. Is there some kind of rule that says the other team has to stop scoring if you call timeout? It works both ways. Sometimes we answer the other team's run with a 6-0 or 8-0 run when we do not call a timeout. Other times we have a few empty possessions and they score again. But, of course when we answer their runs with ours, no one will be on here questioning why we didn't call timeout. We were up 19, they made it 14, and then the 8 minute timeout happened. It then got to 6 before Blake's 3 made it 9 with 4 minutes left. Mooney then called a timeout to set up the defense, which makes a lot more sense than calling one on offense just because the team made a shot or two. We came out of that timeout with 29.9 seconds of great defense, but they scored at the end of the shot clock. It happens. There is no need to just call timeout every time a team gets a 7 or 8 point run. Those runs happen a lot in college basketball. I'm not sure how a timeout could have changed anything.
I am more than happy with the win. Better to be up big, and lose a lot of the lead but win, than be down big, make a great comeback and lose. Not many teams will play a great 40 minutes this year. We are playing good teams that are more than capable of going on runs. When teams are cold in the 1st half, chances are their shots will fall in the 2nd half. No reason to ever complain about a win over a good team.
Looking at Grant`s minutes, he played 30 minutes, which is more than his average. I am wondering if the coaches could have subbed in Grace or Sal for Grant. They sped up the game and spread the Spiders out, forcing the good guys to chase them around the court. We are going to need more points out of Burton and Cayo. They double and triple teamed Cayo, to shut him down. He will need to learn to pass out of that.
But, others have said our offense was fine, and it was the defense at fault. It's like when some will say we took the air out of the ball too much after getting a lead and others will say we were too aggressive. They were cold from 3 most of the game, and then hit 5 out of 6 during a 4 minute stretch. The 3s came from 3 different guys, and there was a TV timeout after they made the first 2 of these 3s. When did you want the timeout, and what play should we have drawn up? Maybe after they cut the lead from 19 to 11? Well, there was already a TV timeout in there, and after they made it 11, Blake got an open shot and buried it. We certainly didn't need a timeout for that look. Then, they hit another 3 and Jacob missed an open 3. Not a thing wrong with that possession or that shot. They made their 3. We missed ours. It happens. It was still 9 when they scored inside and then made a 3 after the offensive foul on Blake, and just like that it's a 4 point game. Not sure what a timeout would have changed there. Grant then made a couple of huge buckets and we made 4 straight FTs down the stretch to hang on. Well done guys!
The lead was 20 at the 16 minute timeout. Norris hit a 3 to pull them within 15, and Grant answered with a bucket to make it 17.
The lead was 19 at the 12 minute timeout. Norris' next made 3 made it 16, and the lead was still 14 at the 8 minute timeout.
Norris' 3rd 3 made it 11, but Blake answered with a jumper and it was back to 13 with 7 minutes left.
Norris' 4th 3 made it 12 with 6 minutes left, and the lead was still 9 at the 4 minute mark, when we did call timeout.
When exactly did you want the other timeouts called?
Yep. Jacob went straight up and was 2 feet inside the 3 point line. The guy came into Jacob, and the ref should not have called that one.
I don't think I could sit Blake or Jacob much at all in this one. I'm glad they each played 39 tonight.
The drop off was not Francis or Gilyard. With 4 points each, Burton and Cayo did not score much. Cayo had foul trouble; Burton went 2-7, but had 9 rebounds. Golden played 30 minutes and had eight turnovers.
Probably because of their big guy down low. Grant battled down there, and held Krutwig to 14, when he had scored 22, 22, and 19 his previous 3.
I was also wondering if the starters weren't a little tired in the second half. Seems like Mooney is shortening the bench early in the season. With both Gilyard and Francis more than likely leaving next year, can we please get our young freshman guards some meaningful game time? I sure don't want to start the cycle of a couple good years followed by 6-7 years of mediocrity again.
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