The Rest of the Way

Bottom line is win or lose Sunday after that we have to run the table in non conference and really no excuse why we shouldn't.  We CANNOT afford a let down for any of those remaining games.  Leaving non conference with at worst 2 losses is not bad.

And also take a look at the start of our BE season.  Very winnable games vs teams we have beaten before and can beat again.

@ Nova
@ Cincy
Rutgers
Gtown
ND
@DePaul
@Rutgers
Hall
DePaul

Murray's top 3 scorers are all Sr's.  Saw some Murray fans out after the game and they thought they were losing during that game.  But they agreed later in the year they don't win that game.

Harrison lit it up and his 3% should increase when he's not forcing it.  Branch will be a more important addition than Sanchez I feel.  His presence will open up everyone else.

Agreed with pretty much everything you said. Orlando is important because he is another offensive option, but we need a true point guard much more.

moose killin it as of late.
keeping it real down in dixie

moose killin it as of late.
keeping it real down in dixie

Thanks Choz.
Auburn is staying at my hotel.  They just carried up like 30 pizza's on the luggage cart.  I asked them if I can hang they said the more the merrier haha

Agree Moose.  Win or lose Sunday, we need to win the rest until Big East play.  We'll get Branch back at that time.  If we do lose to Baylor, our only losses will be to two top 25 teams in Murray who I believe was around 25 and #16 Baylor

Optimally we beat #16 Baylor and run the table til Big East play which would leave us with a ranked win and only 1 loss to a highly ranked Murray State team.  Bottom line though is that beating Baylor would be big for us.

Agree Moose.  Win or lose Sunday, we need to win the rest until Big East play.  We'll get Branch back at that time.  If we do lose to Baylor, our only losses will be to two top 25 teams in Murray who I believe was around 25 and #16 Baylor

Optimally we beat #16 Baylor and run the table til Big East play which would leave us with a ranked win and only 1 loss to a highly ranked Murray State team.  Bottom line though is that beating Baylor would be big for us.

And we need Murray to win on Sunday as well.  Boost their record all day.  Go Racers over my new man crush coach Tad Boyle!

My thoughts:

The obvious, refs killed us with the Harrison out of bounds push, the Harrison push over the half court, the block they called a jump which should have been a travel and of course the no call foul at the end on the Harrison shot

Lavin was outcoached and didn't adjust the defense to the corner shot. I think MSU hit 4 of those in second half alone

Ball is in Harrison's hands too much and he forced some things and didn't get the team involved and MSU just keyed on him entire second half

Strides made by Sampson tonight but as I discussed with someone the diff between him and Moe is basketball IQ and creating own shot

Very strange substitution patterns. Marco and Felix should have played more and Greene and Jones less.

Obekpa has ball in hands way too much

With Sanchez and Branch we win this game easily. Sanchez would have been another gifted inside force that MSU could simply not contain. Branch and Pointer would have provided superior defense to defend the MSU 3 point shot

I'm defintely bummed but this is a really solid team that will only get better.

Baylor after a loss will be tough but we can run with them and they are not the best coached team in the country. If we lose, we must run the table and probably finish 2 games above .500 in big east and 1 tourney win to make NCAA. It is doable and this MSU loss won't hurt in selection committee eyes.   

this loss falls on Lavin. He should've switched to man.

this loss falls on Lavin. He should've switched to man.

You are right

We need both Orlando and Branch.   We were dieing for a third guard tonight, and D'angelo is 10x a better shooter when he can catch and shoot, than when he has to bring the ball up and fire a 3 from 29 feet.

We need Orlando because despite their athleticism Obekpa and Sampson/Garrett were pushed around by that Daniel kid with the fro, who in addition to being a flopper, is just not that good.
But he's got a big body and he's a senior.   We'll see more of that in the future.

Also, teams will be foolish not to start playing a zone against us until we prove we can pass and shoot.   

Ted is just bummed his losing ways have returned

Also, teams will be foolish not to start playing a zone against us until we prove we can pass and shoot.   

We know how hard it is for a team to pickup a zone not having to look past our own guys.  Some teams just play man and trying to teach their kids a zone is pointless and will take too long for them to learn.  Those games will play into our hands.

For years I've harped on how we get leads and we don't go for the jugular.  We had a 13 point lead and never made it 17 or 18.  Last night we had 17 and never made it 20 or 21 and all of a sudden it slips a bit.  Some games it slips all the way to 0, some days it doesnt.  We have to make sure we keep pressing the gas not the brakes.  But we need a true PG to press the gas sometimes.  Hello Branch!

Ted is just bummed his losing ways have returned

Just for that comment, I am calling you at 8AM and you are buying me a beer tomorrow LOL   

Quote from: Moose on November 16, 2012, 11:51:13 PM

Ted is just bummed his losing ways have returned

Just for that comment, I am calling you at 8AM and you are buying me a beer tomorrow LOL   

Come by the hotel we can hang with Auburn and have some pizza!

Quote from: sju89tr on November 16, 2012, 11:54:53 PM

Quote from: Moose on November 16, 2012, 11:51:13 PM

Ted is just bummed his losing ways have returned

Just for that comment, I am calling you at 8AM and you are buying me a beer tomorrow LOL   

Come by the hotel we can hang with Auburn and have some pizza!

After my tour tonight, I am beat. We will hit them up tomorrow LOL

this loss falls on Lavin. He should've switched to man.

Cant play man without your best one on one defender. Canaan would've killed us.

Quote from: redmen4life on November 16, 2012, 11:42:41 PM

this loss falls on Lavin. He should've switched to man.

Cant play man without your best one on one defender. Canaan would've killed us.

not covering the 3 has been a consistent problem under Lavin.  he fails to make the adjustments. 

Quote from: Save The Hero on November 17, 2012, 12:08:36 AM

Quote from: redmen4life on November 16, 2012, 11:42:41 PM

this loss falls on Lavin. He should've switched to man.

Cant play man without your best one on one defender. Canaan would've killed us.

not covering the 3 has been a consistent problem under Lavin.  he fails to make the adjustments.

Some of those corner threes were frustrating to watch, but its because they are reversing the ball and getting it to the open guy mostly. Players need to be more aware there. Im sure Lav has spoken to them about it. Would be asinine not to.

Lavin cant go out there and play. We lost because we ran out of gas and started having mental errors. It easy for everyone to criticize every move after a loss but I think Lavin put together a great gameplan. It worked for most of the game but as a team we didn't execute it down the stretcg

Lavin cant go out there and play. We lost because we ran out of gas and started having mental errors. It easy for everyone to criticize every move after a loss but I think Lavin put together a great gameplan. It worked for most of the game but as a team we didn't execute it down the stretcg

Pre season is where you work out the kinks and discover what needs work. We're doing that now, and surely tomorrow. This was Murray State, who really is the new Gonzaga. If we are losing to Holy Cross, we're in trouble. This was a battle, and we came up short. The season can still be solid after one loss.