I don't know if we get to 50 ...
I can’t be too upset. A lot of shots coming up short probably due to some tired legs. 5 very close conference games to start and 3OTs and games every 3 days. We battled.
Didnt expect to win this one anyways, but would like to see us grab the next two.
it's painful to watch all these missed shots though. hopefully doesn't knock our confidence
Just tuned in and saw halftime score - very low scoring and poor shooting by both teams
Defense very good.
Offense very poor.
We were outplayed and out defended. Wright goes from his best game of the year to his worst.
we actually had better 2pt and 3pt fg% than Murray State and only one more turnover. Definitely a game we have a good chance of win back at home but All and Jeff will need to improve their 1-10 and 3-9 stat lines
Brings us back to reality a bit. Murray has been playing like the best team in the league the past couple of games, so not a bad loss, except shooting 34.5% changes that optic a bit. This doesn’t greatly change my outlook on the team, as I think we still are looking good for finishing at or close to .500 in Valley play, which would be a major victory in year two for Powell, but it still is disappointing and such an ugly game.
Tale of the Tape: Murray had 24 FT attempts; Valpo 3 in the ENTIRE game (ZERO in the second half). FGs about the same %age. The difference: We never got to the line. Can you say “home court advantage” boys and girls?
Where was the aggressive Valpo team we have been watching this season that draws fouls, perhaps their greatest strength? Valpo was averaging more than 25 free throw attempts per game, and they were 4th in the nation in free throws made per game (just above 20). Today, they badly lose the FT contest against Murray St.: Valpo 2-3, MSU 18-24. That 16 point difference was the whole ballgame in a 9-point spread, especially since Valpo won on FGs 19-18 and 3 Pt FGs 7-4.
Tough to win shooting 34% FG, and 25% from 3pt land. Oh, wait, Murray State just did.
FT attempts beat us today.
Where was the aggressive Valpo team we have been watching this season that draws fouls, perhaps their greatest strength? Valpo was averaging more than 25 free throw attempts per game, and they were 4th in the nation in free throws made per game (just above 20). Today, they badly lose the FT contest against Murray St.: Valpo 2-3, MSU 18-24. That 16 point difference was the whole ballgame in a 9-point spread, especially since Valpo won on FGs 19-18 and 3 Pt FGs 7-4.
Ya can’t win the FT contest when you can’t get the calls (3 attempts. THREE attempts all freakin game) But apparently at the other end we were overly aggressive —> 24 Murray attempts. 🙄
My gut: can’t wait to get them in the ARC.
We were well defended when we took it inside. I didn't see many missed calls.
We played like absolute crap, especially from the Guard spot, with bad shots and turnovers from All and Jeff. Agreed on the foul call differences. The reason that Cooper was clapping so boisterously is that their bigs were constantly hooking him early in the second half on those high-lows, and we should have had many more FT attempts. They were calling absolute minimal contact on Sepp and Jeff, and wouldn't give us the same treatment on our drives where baby contact was made. I didn't mind our last game when both teams were getting called for minimal contact, but it wasn't consistent today. We weren't chucking it up from 3 and had a ton of drives/inside shots. The law of averages would say that we should have received well more than 3 FTs...
Overall the game was not the worst officiated game. The refs missed the grabbing of Coopers jersey on a pass inside, McNair steal at mid court and the Murray player tripping on his own feet on the way to basket. For the most part they let Valpo defend on the interior and our guards pressuring on the perimeter. They called the reaching in the second half on the interior, and Schmidt's contest on the corner three.
Murray's size on the wings made it difficult for our guys to finish at the hoop. Wright needs to muscle up in the offseason to finish those drives. Murray did a good job of walling off our dribble drives. No wide open lay ups. Racers play much better defense than Indiana State combined with our uncharacteristic mid range misses and horrendous three point shooting. A few times we missed a few post entries but credit to Racers making it difficult. Our rhythm was off from the jump, maybe because they arrived earlier than normal.
Murray did not impress me on the offensive side of the ball, but their size and athleticism on the wings make them a very difficult team to play. They prolly have as much size as anyone in the Valley. Must win ugly to defeat them.
I sat next to Coopers dad, and he is a very nice guy! He and Coop were making eye contact during the game, reminding him of his foul count etc. All Wright's parents were behind the bench as well.
I expect Tuesday's game in Nashville to be much different. Belmont has two or three excellent scoring weapons and in my opinion are the best offensive team in the league. With that being said, their defense is pretty lousy. I think this will be a wide open high scoring game. Belmont will give us many more scoring opportunities than today. Cooper will have a huge game @ Belmont.
