UR vs Cal
- Thread starter Ulla1
- Start date
Mite, your are correct. Cal has two of the top ten freshmen recruits in Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brantley, and just their size and quickness will present problems. However, I think that the Spiders match up better with them than West Virginia. Although, quite honestly, our problem was not so much WVU last night as it was, IMHO, our shooting. OSC
Can TJ stay out of foul trouble against their young talented big guys?
36 minutes, 19 and 7 against Wake = win
21 minutes, 5 and 4 against WVU = loss
Through 5 games seems like we know what we're going to get from TA and SDJ but TJ (and MW's shooting) is the X factor...
With Cal's size and back to back games may need some minutes from PF and without the press hopefully some more minutes from the freshman guards
36 minutes, 19 and 7 against Wake = win
21 minutes, 5 and 4 against WVU = loss
Through 5 games seems like we know what we're going to get from TA and SDJ but TJ (and MW's shooting) is the X factor...
With Cal's size and back to back games may need some minutes from PF and without the press hopefully some more minutes from the freshman guards
I think part of the shooting problem was worrying about the WVU defense closing in, instead of concentrating on the shot.
If a team sits back in a half court defense and lets us plan a strategy we generally do much better. We usually have more difficulty if we have to react without planning.
Lets see how active their half court man defense is. And get well Wood!
I wouldn't say that today is a must win for the Spiders in that it would be a failure going back home 0-2. Keep in mind we played West Virginia the #22 team in the nation according to USA Today and now Cal the #14 team in the nation according to AP. Yes, winning today would be huge for our team's confidence and NCAA resume but if we have to lose, I'd like to see us not back down and play with tenacity. If we can come back 0-2 but have played these top teams tough, I'd consider that a plus. The biggest thing for our program this OOC is to try and not have any bad losses. So far it's only JMU. Signature wins will be really nice, but the A10 is a strong conference this year and will likely get 4-5 bids. There will be plenty of opportunities during the season to get quality wins. Our goal is to put ourselves in a position to be a top team in the league. Winning OOC against these great opponents would be amazing, but not a bust in my book if we fall short.
Glad we are playing Cal, if for no reason other than the hopeful RPI bump we'll get from it (assuming they remain a top team). I agree that it is not a game we "must" win, however. We have 3 or 4 other OOC opportunities, not to mention 3-5 more good ones in league. If we go .500 in those games and finish in the top 4 in the league, we'll probably make the tourney.
But I'd feel a lot better if we do manage a win here, given last night's frustrations. We need to turn the corner and learn how to finish games against teams that are on our level or better.
But I'd feel a lot better if we do manage a win here, given last night's frustrations. We need to turn the corner and learn how to finish games against teams that are on our level or better.
Let's hope Cal's free throw defense is not as good as WVA - I give credit to West Virginia for winning but our free throw shooting was the pits.................
Legger, I would not put last night's game in the "didn't finish" category. We know what those are.
We trailed the entire game. I would put it in the "couldn't get over the hump", either we got a stop and missed on the other end, or would have a defensive breakdown to put us back down 5, etc.
Glad we are playing a higher profile team like Cal. They just imploded last night in a game that they should have won. They are BIG so want to see if the Spider rebounding success last night continues tonight along with the good defense.
Seems we could really use a good 3PT shooting night. Hopefully MW finds his stroke and a newcomer or two does something. Hey, only a 6 point fav Cal is so they can be beat. Go Spiders!
Seems we could really use a good 3PT shooting night. Hopefully MW finds his stroke and a newcomer or two does something. Hey, only a 6 point fav Cal is so they can be beat. Go Spiders!
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