Tulsa -2

[Gold*]

Seems about right. I think this one is evenly matched. Tulsa is better on offense, they are better on defense. Tulsa has better guards, they have better bigs. Got to like that is one is at home.

 

[lawpoke87]

Once again....stealing. We know what's at stake. Home crowd, conference title, NCAA tourney....I think you will see an inspired effort and we pull away in the final 10 minutes.

 

[TU_BLA]

Tulsa is much better on offense than Cincinnati is, and we have even made the difference moreso in the last 3-4 games. The difference on defense is not as pronounced. Cincinnati has an inside advantage but the inside players are not terribly refined on offense. Cincinnati wins games by making teams play extremely ugly and just disrupting any flow and rhythm. TU is able to get out on the break and in transition better than any other team in the AAC though. I think our quickness on the perimeter will give Cincinnati some trouble as they tend to overplay passes and driving lanes and as effective as Shaq and Ray have been at passing the basketball of late, TU could really make Cincinnati pay for that aggressiveness.

 

[astonmartin708]

Scary game. In terms of height, Tulsa matches up quite nicely with Cincy, but most of the Cincy players have been listed as 20-30 lbs heavier than our players and it shows physically. Cincy is a GOOD basketball team. They don't need to score much because their opponent isn't going to. I expect them to try and game plan Juice out of the game as well as pack the driving lanes for Shaq.


Our best option might be Smith in that he has the speed advantage on their bigs. He'll be key in putting a dent in their zone (if they run one) We can't turn the ball over and expect to win either. That means Marquel needs to do his best to make smart driving decisions and not get stuck like he tends to do.

This post was edited on 3/3 3:06 PM by astonmartin708

 

[TUBballJunkie]

*throws up*
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[cmullinsTU]

Obligatory post about how TU only being favored by only 2 points means Vegas thinks Cincy would be favored by 1 since they gave the home court advantage 3 points!!!!!1111

 

[TU_BLA]

Originally posted by cmullinsTU:
Obligatory post about how TU only being favored by only 2 points means Vegas thinks Cincy would be favored by 1 since they gave the home court advantage 3 points!!!!!1111

Touche.

Or as Lawpoke always responds...or Vegas is trying to bait people into betting on a particular side because Vegas is about making money.

 

[lawpoke87]

Vegas is about making money...surely not

Most people don't realize that the Casinos are one the most risk adverse business models in existence. Every game has a house advantage. They know what the house's margins should be on every game in their Casino and monitor it all. Sport's gambling at these places is a science. Every Casino gets the opening lines from one or two sources. They then have computer programs adjusting those lines real time to guarantee their 5% margin on all bets. Occasionally a Casino will go rogue on a super bowl or other big event and roll the dice but that decision comes from the very top and are rarely made. They happily take their 5% (more on prop bets) and go down the road.

 

[jesterondirt]

That's the kind of line where we throw money on Cincinnati to cover. That way we win either way.

And if Tulsa wins by 1 = Jackpot!

 

[saliva]

Not sure I agree with saying "Tulsa is much much better on offense." UC shoots better from the field, the 3 point line and the free throw line.

 

[Gold*]

You score fewer points. We don't have good shooters but our guys are efficient at what they do. I don't think UC is as efficient.

 

[lawpoke87]

UC needs to create offense off turnovers imo to win this game. I don't see you being able to pressure our guards into enough of those needed turnovers. The game being played in Tulsa is another advantage. Teams which have given Tulsa issues have length inside and can score. I like your length inside but don't believe you have the offensive firepower to win this game on the road.

Cane 65
Cats 58

 

[saliva]

UC has a higher rating on offense according to Kenpom. UC's offense can struggle at times because of turnovers, not because they can't score. I'd expect UC to throw the ball to Ellis or Clark on every possession as I think that is where UC has their biggest advantage.

 

[lawpoke87]

I expect Cincy to struggle on both ends of the floor with Tulsa's guards. Those entry passes won't be easy with the pressure I anticipate being applied on the perimeter by TU. Swanny needs to have a big game on the defensive end. Right of wrong come back after the game and let's discuss. Huge game for both schools and their hopes of reaching the tourney.

 

[TU_BLA]

Law poke is right. From the UC games I have watched this year, their offense didn't seem to have a reason or purpose behind it. SMU flows through Moore and they almost always try to go inside first. We look for the cracks to get to the basket either with the pass or dribble pent ration. UCONN tries to break you down with Boatright to open something up for either himself, Hamilton, or Purvis. Temple is work it through Cummings to get the ball down low to Bond. I haven't been able to figure it out with UC. Their D is a different story. Guards overplay on the perimeter to disrupt flow and create turnovers and they are effective at it. Something they did really well against SMU. What SMU lacks is someone as equally quick behind Moore at PG, something we have.

The Houston game showed me how you can beat the D though and it wasn't all from deep which is what Houston normally tries to do. Houston somehow fell apart at a point when it was UC that should have fallen apart, when Ellis(?) was ejected for the flagrant 2. I don't see the UC defense able to disrupt TU the same way because of the ability to drive to the basket coming from 4 spots (5 if Dre is in the court).

 

[TU_BLA]

As long as we're talking the game, they need to play the WKRP in Cincinnati as the intro song.

 

[TulsaEye]

UC gets a lot of their points in and round the basket. Esp. off offensive rebounds and putbacks.

 

[TU_BLA]

Originally posted by TulsaEye:
UC gets a lot of their points in and round the basket. Esp. off offensive rebounds and putbacks.

Exactly. In some of the games I've watched it almost appears that their game plan is to miss an outside shot and let Ellis attack the rebound. Swannegan will need to be on his game.

 

[youngblood223]

Originally posted by saliva:
Not sure I agree with saying "Tulsa is much much better on offense." UC shoots better from the field, the 3 point line and the free throw line.

I suppose we'll find out tonight. But TU is a better and more dynamic offense than Cincinnati. I hope they throw it inside a lot tonight, we're pretty good at forcing turnovers out of that mid post.

 

[astonmartin708]

Went back and watched some of Cincy's games... their offense isn't "bad" per se. It's just that they play incredibly slowly. I think we might be able to run them out of the gym by doing just that... RUNNING THEM OUT OF THE GYM. Their bigs are talented but pretty slow getting back up the court. Rashad Smith would blaze past them.

 

[Tulsa76]

Originally posted by astonmartin708:
Went back and watched some of Cincy's games... their offense isn't "bad" per se. It's just that they play incredibly slowly. I think we might be able to run them out of the gym by doing just that... RUNNING THEM OUT OF THE GYM. Their bigs are talented but pretty slow getting back up the court. Rashad Smith would blaze past them.

+1 .... As long as we play our up tempo game and hopefully have some loud and energetic crowd support, we'll be ok.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Is BLA Tulsa Teen?