Game 9 - @ Eastern Michigan Dec 3 6pm ESPN3.

[talksalot]

see you there.  will be a good test. 

just wanted to start thread

[bbtds]

see you there.  will be a good test. 

just wanted to start thread

You could do Buckeyes vs Wolverines at the Big House and 3 days later do Valpo at Emus 12 miles away. Ain't life fantastic. With the 3 extra days you got the Red Wings.........awful, never mind.......Spurs at Pistons, Sunday Dec. 1 and you might as well throw in a minor league hockey game at Port Huron, Windsor or Sarnia (take your passport and tell the customs guy you going to see hockey. They will love it!).

EDIT: Saturday night, 7:00 p.m. Niagara Ice Hogs at Windsor Spitfires in the WFCU Centre. Port Huron Prowlers and Sarnia Sting are both out of town on long bus rides.

[talksalot]

three of my grandchildren were born in the hospital across from the emu convocation center... and live 10 minutes away.  got plenty to do. 

daughter used to work at umich.  other daughter works at Ohio State.

Son in law went to UMich.  other son in law went to THE Ohio State.

we do avoid family gatherings on this Saturday.

[talksalot]

they are 3-0... will have more stats after they travel 3 time zones to play UC Irvine on Saturday night. 

[valpotx]

Valpo 78
EMU 69

EMU hasn't beaten anyone at this point, that is worth noting.  They are 6-0, but 3 of those are against non-D1.  They've also barely escaped NC A&T and UMBC, while beating UNT.  I think that UNT is down this year, versus prior years of success.

[covufan]

We need to expose their slow pace of play and force them to be completely uncomfortable. Defense needs to start our tempo.

Valpo   80
EMU     70


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[bbtds]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

[FieldGoodie05]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

100% agree here, well said.  What in your estimation are one or two contributing factors?  I think we're giving them the lane on drives by playing a lot of man-2-man.  Half expecting we will block their drive and, well....we aren't prolific in blocks.

[bbtds]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

100% agree here, well said.  What in your estimation are one or two contributing factors?  I think we're giving them the lane on drives by playing a lot of man-2-man.  Half expecting we will block their drive and, well....we aren't prolific in blocks.

Not sure. Maybe thinking about breaking down the court a bit too early? Hope Matt can figure it out before the Loyola game. Krutwig will have a humdinger against us if we don't figure it out.

[covufan]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

Agreed, that is why I'm saying we need our defense to step up and start our tempo with this game against a slower tempo team.

71 points in 80 possessions isn't too awful, but against a non-division I team I would expect a little better results.  Our best games defensively have been North Dakota and Cincinnati.  We need more games like those. 

[wh]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

100% agree here, well said.  What in your estimation are one or two contributing factors?  I think we're giving them the lane on drives by playing a lot of man-2-man.  Half expecting we will block their drive and, well....we aren't prolific in blocks.

Not sure. Maybe thinking about breaking down the court a bit too early? Hope Matt can figure it out before the Loyola game. Krutwig will have a humdinger against us if we don't figure it out.

Smits and Sorolla collectively stunk up the place in all 3 Loyola losses last year. Anyone we play at the 5 will care more than Smits and have more ability than Sorolla.

[FWalum]

I think what most are missing in the "defense" conversation is that the defensive emphasis has changed. In the past we ran a much more deliberate offense and an interior, almost pack line, centric defense. Our pace has increased and our defense has become a more perimeter "gambling" style defense. Hence the 70 steals in 8 games putting us in the top 20 in steals. This is a 43% increase from last years numbers (yes this is a small sample size). We are also creating 17.5 turnovers per game, a much higher rate than last year. So as with most things, with the good comes the bad and when you gamble on the perimeter it many times leads to easier interior shots.

I expect that as these young men play more together the interior defense will improve, at least let's hope so.

[justducky]

Smits and Sorolla collectively stunk up the place in all 3 Loyola losses last year. Anyone we play at the 5 will care more than Smits and have more ability than Sorolla.

I don't know if beating a dead horse is a criminal act but if it is wh would be convicted and sentenced to community service.    Mileek played his best center position minutes last year at the ARC vs Loyola . He actually looked good and got our hopes up! 

I think what most are missing in the "defense" conversation is that the defensive emphasis has changed. In the past we ran a much more deliberate offense and an interior, almost pack line, centric defense. Our pace has increased and our defense has become a more perimeter "gambling" style defense. Hence the 70 steals in 8 games putting us in the top 20 in steals. This is a 43% increase from last years numbers (yes this is a small sample size). We are also creating 17.5 turnovers per game, a much higher rate than last year. So as with most things, with the good comes the bad and when you gamble on the perimeter it many times leads to easier interior shots.

I expect that as these young men play more together the interior defense will improve, at least let's hope so.

Our new defensive emphasis and offensive attack style are much better suited to an athletic McMillan than a Sorolla or Smits. I think our days of recruiting backstop centers with no outside shot potential are gone!

[vu72]

Defense needs to start our tempo.

Defense hasn't exactly been our strong point.............sorry to be the debbie downer. But giving up 71 to a much smaller Trinity Christian is not exactly lock down D.

Didn't see or hear the game but Coach did say that he didn't hit the pillow the night before till 2.  I would think the travel, delays and not exactly excited about playing an NAIA team might have contributed to the effort.

As for our players being better or worse than Smits and Sorolla, the point at least for the moment is moot. I don't think Smits has even played all season--presumed injured-- and J hasn't played in the last 3 games so also, presumably, is also injured.

[NativeCheesehead]

Yeah the timing of this game was weird. Would think it would make more sense for it to be a final tune up before conference. If we can't dictate dates to an NAIA school then why are we even playing them?

[wh]

Smits and Sorolla collectively stunk up the place in all 3 Loyola losses last year. Anyone we play at the 5 will care more than Smits and have more ability than Sorolla.

I don't know if beating a dead horse is a criminal act but if it is wh would be convicted and sentenced to community service. 

Guilty as charged. I have a long memory for disloyalty, as in Smits telling fellow players as early as January that he was out of here, and Sorolla telling Matt at the end of the season that he might or might not return depending on who might be interested in his services.

[NativeCheesehead]

So they're gone. In the words of my favorite insects: "Let It Be".

[bbtds]

So they're gone. In the words of my favorite insects: "Let It Be".

This is about a girl Marie that lived in a yellow flooded house.

https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2016/10/09

[VUBBFan]

As for our players being better or worse than Smits and Sorolla, the point at least for the moment is moot. I don't think Smits has even played all season--presumed injured-- and J hasn't played in the last 3 games so also, presumably, is also injured.

Sorolla has a foot/ankle injury and Smits has a knee issue and has not played any regular season games. However, Smits just being on the roster has propelled Butler to a 7-0 start.

[Just Sayin]

However, Smits just being on the roster has propelled Butler to a 7-0 start.

What?  Surely you jest. Just sit Michael Jordan on their bench and they'll win the championship this year. 

[VUBBFan]

However, Smits just being on the roster has propelled Butler to a 7-0 start.

What?  Surely you jest. Just sit Michael Jordan on their bench and they'll win the championship this year. 

But how else can one justify a 7-0 start for Butler? His intimidating presence on the bench scares the opposing team out of at least 15 to 20 points per game. 

[talksalot]

IRVINE, Calif. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team dropped its first decision of the 2019-20 campaign, falling to the University of California Irvine, 77-56, in non-conference action tonight, Nov. 30. The Anteaters (5-4) used hot three-point shooting to put the Eagles (6-1) away, as UCI connected on 14-of-32 attempts from downtown.

The Eagles played catch up for most of the first half after surrendering a two-point lead early, but went on a 5-0 run to close out the first half and bring the score to within six, 33-27. Redshirt senior Boubacar Toure 7-0" 240lb (Dakar, Senegal-Phase One Academy (Grand Canyon)) led the Green and White with nine points in the half. The Dakar, Senegal native also grabbed eight rebounds, had two blocks and a steal in the first 20 minutes of play. Redshirt junior Ty Groce (Ypsilanti-Mich.-Lincoln) had seven points of his own. Eastern was able to force UC Irvine into 12 turnovers, and scored capitalized off those turnovers with 16 points. The Anteaters forced EMU into seven turnovers that only results in six points for UCI.

The second half was not friendlier to Eastern as UC Irvine caught fire from downtown, shooting 50 percent in the second half to Eastern's 15.4 percent. The hot-shooting of the Anteaters sparked a 20-4 run that saw EMU down by 20 with five minutes left in the game. Freshman Shamar Dillard (South Bend, Ind.-Riley) hit back-to-back threes with two minutes left, but the Eagles were not able to comeback. Toure finished the contest with 14 points and 12 rebounds for his eleventh career double-double, his third on the year. Junior Chris Barnes (Compton, Cali-Compton (Tulsa)) scored 10 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Groce also finished the game with 10 points, going 5-of-9 from the charity stripe. 

EMU was outshot in the contest, 30.5 to 49.1 from the field and 15.8 to 43.8 from three, as well as being outrebounded, 44-34. The Eagles finished the day with 17 turnovers to UC Irvine's 15, and four steals to UCI's 10. The Green and White outscored the Anteaters in the paint 28-26 but were not able to get the ball moving, as they gathered only four assists to their 20.

The Eagles return home to the Convocation Center as they welcome Valparaiso University Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the contest on ESPN+, or listen on WEMU (89.1 FM). To stay up to date with everything EMU Men's Hoops, checkout EMUEagles.com or follow @EMUHoops on Twitter.
====================
Here's the box score...
https://emueagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2019-20/uc-irvine/boxscore/11316


I'm hoping Mileek can muscle up their big guy.   They have an active 9-player rotation...

[Just Sayin]

However, Smits just being on the roster has propelled Butler to a 7-0 start.

What?  Surely you jest. Just sit Michael Jordan on their bench and they'll win the championship this year. 

But how else can one justify a 7-0 start for Butler? His intimidating presence on the bench scares the opposing team out of at least 15 to 20 points per game. 

Whew! Glad you haven't lost it. 

[valpo64]

Has anyone heard about Fazekas' injury or when he might return?  It is hard to believe that no info has come forward or leaked out.

[Just Sayin]

Has anyone heard about Fazekas' injury or when he might return?  It is hard to believe that no info has come forward or leaked out.

Word is he injured himself sneezing hard and is done for the season.