Tulsa /Houston Conclusions (and end of season needs)

[I.I.]

1. We came ready to play ,almost the opposite from the game in Houston 2 weeks ago.
2. We attacked their zone with passes to the middle of the zone instead of solely relying on the 3.
3. Birt was red hot and can get his shot off quicker than anyone else. His shooting is becoming a determining factor in W/L's.
4. Our man defense was 10x better than the zone we used at Houston and Temple. The zone is good to stop momentum but we are much better in the Self/Manning man defense.
5. Smith was everywhere and played like an All-Conference player. If he and Birt are consistent we beat anyone. Those are the two keys every game.
6. Houston was without their best player Rob Gray Jr. who was out with a sprained ankle. He had 37 in the last game before he got hurt.
7. Swannegan and Wright played hard and well.
8. Juice makes his first shot of the second half which was huge in our establishment of us being the better team today.
9. Backs still to the wall. It comes down to us having to win 5 OR 6 of the next 7 SMU, UCONN, CINCINNATI, UCF, TEMPLE, MEMPHIS, USF. Impossible? Probably. But this team doesn't quit.

 

[drboobay]

II you are right as usual. If Birt can keep shooting at .40 plus AND Woodard can break out of his recent outside shooting slump it addresses one of our two obvious problems down the stretch last year of only one shooter on the court.

The other problem, lack of inside play, will not be fully addressed. But if Brandon can keep playing at his current level it helps a bit. Maybe enough for a late run. But all 3 are needed - Birt, Woodard, Swannegan playing at a high level.

Taplin is helpful but may not really break out this season.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

1. We came ready to play ,almost the opposite from the game in Houston 2 weeks ago.
2. We attacked their zone with passes to the middle of the zone instead of solely relying on the 3.
3. Birt was red hot and can get his shot off quicker than anyone else. His shooting is becoming a determining factor in W/L's.
4. Our man defense was 10x better than the zone we used at Houston and Temple. The zone is good to stop momentum but we are much better in the Self/Manning man defense.
5. Smith was everywhere and played like an All-Conference player. If he and Birt are consistent we beat anyone. Those are the two keys every game.
6. Houston was without their best player Rob Gray Jr. who was out with a sprained ankle. He had 37 in the last game before he got hurt.
7. Swannegan and Wright played hard and well.
8. Juice makes his first shot of the second half which was huge in our establishment of us being the better team today.
9. Backs still to the wall. It comes down to us having to win 5 OR 6 of the next 7 SMU, UCONN, CINCINNATI, UCF, TEMPLE, MEMPHIS, USF. Impossible? Probably. But this team doesn't quit.

If we can pull of 2-1 instead of 1-2 in the next 3, then we have a chance. 3-1 after that will be a cake walk, comparatively to 2-1 up front.

 

[TU_BLA]

If this team plays with focus and energy, there should be no reason to get blown out of games like they did against Houston. Regardless of whether or not Gray played, Houston beat SMU without him so they are capable. We played tight man to man for the majority of the 1st half and that was the difference. Man to man D will be the key for the rest of the season.

 

[lawpoke87]

Sagarin #69 RPI#69

Likely have to go 6-1 down the stretch for an at-large. That Temple loss is going to come back to haunt us imo.

 

[T Up]

Everyone knows I'm not a Haith fan and I believe a zone should only be used to mix things up and confuse the other team sporadically. But, I think Haith was tired of have his only two bigs sitting next to him for most of every game. Notice that they haven't been in foul trouble in quite some time? He has conceded that Dre and Swanny can't stay on the floor if they are forced to play man. This gives them a chance but it reduces the effectiveness of our quick guards. Not sure nows not the time to go back to man because Swanny is playing so much better and roll the dice.

 

[astonmartin708]

Everyone knows I'm not a Haith fan and I believe a zone should only be used to mix things up and confuse the other team sporadically. But, I think Haith was tired of have his only two bigs sitting next to him for most of every game. Notice that they haven't been in foul trouble in quite some time? He has conceded that Dre and Swanny can't stay on the floor if they are forced to play man. This gives them a chance but it reduces the effectiveness of our quick guards. Not sure nows not the time to go back to man because Swanny is playing so much better and roll the dice.

Those two + Smith are finishing the games with a couple fouls to give. We should at least switch between zone and man strategically to cut down on the opponents 3 pt percentage.

 

[TU_BLA]

Aston and T-Up are correct. There was one point yesterday where we switched from man to a high match-up zone and then back without a time out being called. One of the possessions was the one where #3 hit the 26 foot 3 at the shot clock buzzer. Hitting a desperate shot aside, the switches really confused Houston as their offense had zero flow as they thought they had it figured out and then it switched. It was really effective.

Need a 2-0 week this week. Tall order, but when we play focused and hit a few shots like we did yesterday, it is possible.

Anyone notice that Chicken was pretty ineffective, as was the hockey player (swear that was Osetkowksi from Tulane in a Houston jersey).

 

[quincy101]

Pretty decent crowd, although with all the kids I'll bet they gave away a bunch of tix. I didn't expect much from the Temple hangover but was really pleased with tuff D from the git-go & Birt shooting out of his mind. Loved the curtain-climber derby & especially the tiny girl at the east end of the line who thought: "Bleep this race, I'm not gonna skin up my knees" and promptly laid down on the court & went to sleep. Never moved from the starting line. Classic!

 

[TUBballJunkie]

Really good point on the man-to-man/zone and our bigs' abilities and limitations.

 

[TU Sepp]

There was a radio station passing out tickets at the boat show!

 

[seniorgolfer]

2. We attacked their zone with passes to the middle of the zone instead of solely relying on the 3.

3. Birt was red hot and can get his shot off quicker than anyone else. His shooting is becoming a determining factor in W/L's.

4. Our man defense was 10x better than the zone we used at Houston and Temple. The zone is good to stop momentum but we are much better in the Self/Manning man defense.
.

In actuality, Birt's shooting has been a determining factor from early on...
While he didn't score as much in the early games, He did hit some big
crunch time buckets to swing momentum in our direction in some of
our OOC wins, and even in some that we eventually lost....All of this
in an offense that wasn't giving him the ball very often, even when he
was open.....And, his performance at Temple was certainly deserving
of a win....That one, assuming we can finish the season with some
success in the remaining games, may well haunt us on selection
Sunday...

His passing and ball handling have been both very good, and mostly
under appreciated...He is active on the floor, and prob. sets more screens
than anyone except Swanny...

It appears Taplin will be surrounded by some really good shooters next
season....It seems to me that he will have to look pretty hard to find
anyone on that team that will out shoot (and out play) his current team
mate...A couple of bright spots to look forward to among the carry
overs.....

I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to watch a really good, cold-
blooded shooter ply his trade..

Agree with you re: the zone vs. man-to-man....Trouble is, if Haith goes
man to man too early, Dre will give him very few minutes, and won't be
available at the end....

Haith is paying the price for not recruiting even ONE "Big" in his first
two recruiting classes (that could play a lick).......

 

[nevadanatural]

The Temple loss burns more than any other loss this season, at least for me. It would have helped our resume to have beaten South Carolina but we were so far down early in the second I felt pretty good about making it a game, especially when they kept winning. Yeah, ORU was a bummer but that's a rivalry game where you never know what's going to happen. The Temple game though is one of those late season road games that can really make a difference in March. We're talking about a team that beat SMU, UCONN, and Cincinnati twice already this season. I still can't believe we lost that game. We outplayed them the whole game and just needed one free throw to salt it away. That ones gonna sting for awhile.

 

[I.I.]

I don't think we have stolen a game yet, but have certainly given away a few that were in the bag. The old rule is you have to win the close ones.

 

[Bill Lowery]

I'm with Nevada. The Temple loss was so tough to take. We had that game won and had many, many chances to put it away. I felt it was a must win, as was the 1st Houston game. That was assuming we'd lose 2-3 other games like @SMU, @UConn and Cincy at home. With those 2 losses we pretty much have to win out or only lose 1-2 more and win 2 of 3 against SMU, UConn and Cincy

 

[I.I.]

I'm with Nevada. The Temple loss was so tough to take. We had that game won and had many, many chances to put it away. I felt it was a must win, as was the 1st Houston game. That was assuming we'd lose 2-3 other games like @SMU, @UConn and Cincy at home. With those 2 losses we pretty much have to win out or only lose 1-2 more and win 2 of 3 against SMU, UConn and Cincy

SMU and UCONN are must road games due to the Eastern press requirements, to have any at-large chance and then only one more loss before the tournament. And yes WSU would have to win out. Our discussions could be over soon.

 

[TulsaEye]

In the past 5 or 6 games as far I am concerned Birt has been one of the most consistent on the team. You know what he is going to bring game to game. Some of the others need to match him. If they do Tulsa still has a chance.

 

[TU_BLA]

I think if you redo the 1st half of the season, Birt should have started over Curtis to prevent some of the slow starts we had against teams.

 

[astonmartin708]

I think if you redo the 1st half of the season, Birt should have started over Curtis to prevent some of the slow starts we had against teams.

I advocated that lineup since we found out Birt was committed. Birt's not a 4. And Curtis is a utility guy at best.

 

[TulsaEye]

I advocated that lineup since we found out Birt was committed. Birt's not a 4. And Curtis is a utility guy at best.

Pretty much agree, Curtis has proved too inconsistent to be a main starter. Or get a lot of minutes. To rest the starters yes.