Terrible loss. When it's going your way its going your way. SIU has the mojo right now, making wining plays. 50/50 balls, made free throws. We gave up way to many lay ups missed assignments at the rim in the second half. Defense cost us the game again. Feels like team will not win another game the rest of the year. Compare this game to our showing at Bradley.
Thankful for Missouri State or Valpo would be looking at last place.
The bottom is starting to fall out, for the second season in a row. Turns out our play from December 20 to January 8 was a mirage.
This team is better than last years but that’s not saying much. Tons of turnover in the MVC last year but other teams have found a way.
Got outrebounded 40-27. Some of this is from SIU shooting better than us, but there were at least 4 times in the last 8 minutes where the ball was either on the ground or in our hands and we couldn’t hold on. I think 3 of those SIU scored that possession. Gotta have those.
We keep finding ways to lose and cannot close out games. This is more frustrating than last year because we know what they are capable of and yet the last three weeks have not been anywhere close. Hoping we can do what we have done 12 of the last 13 times to ISUr this Saturday or it will just keep getting worse.
We went with our small ball approach again and executed it extremely well on offense. BUT--- we lose because of rebounds and points in the paint.
I think we finished near only 6 TOs. How do we lose when that happens?
Is it too early to start talking about next year? I'm doubting that we win many more with our small ball game.
We went with our small ball approach again and executed it extremely well on offense. BUT--- we lose because of rebounds and points in the paint.
I think we finished near only 6 TOs. How do we lose when that happens?
Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. - Einstein.
Agreed, another bad loss. It felt like it was over when we got up 9 late, but we just stood around on several rebounds, and gave away free inside points. I still can't stand when we completely sell out on a pump-fake, giving away open shots and free passing angles. One of the most unathletic bigs I have seen in a long time, was made to look like a superstar against VU, simply because we would bite too hard and not transition in time, leaving him wide open for a layup. Meanwhile, we are still missing layups/bunnies, with at least 1 by both Cooper and Devon in key situations.
This is about par for the course for me in year 2 of a rebuild. Is the team better than last year, absolutely. However, there are still glaring issues that teams are exploiting. Most glaringly is the weakness inside. Looking at film, about 70% of all defensive sets, ends in the opponent crashing the boards and getting an easy layup or midrange jumper. That cannot happen at this level. Another issue that has been prevalent for a few weeks is the willingness to just let Valpo shoot the ball from anywhere outside the driving lane. This team has an issue with shooting the ball of late from those spots. Teams know that if they foul, Valpo is going to punish from the line. So this has lead to a lot of rosters just letting Valpo take the shots as the analytics says they miss it more than they make it. This team excels in drive and shoot plays, but of late. Those drivers stop around the charity stripe and don't make it the full way. That's how you generate fouls as well. Those drive plays cause the defense to sell out to stop you. Teams have started to counter this by doubling down low and breaking off from their man who is just left to sit at the top of the key in most cases. There has been no response to this from the team to counter the down low doubling. Mostly because that counter involves hitting your 3s.
All I hope is that a big is coming who can help on the inside.
Schmidt needs to return to coming off the bench. More minutes for McNair and Ellis. Reduced minutes for Sepp and Schmidt.
I'm getting curious about Jayden Watson. Might he have an impact on the 2025-26 season? How do we resolve our size problem if none of our bigs are developing?
Sepp has probably the most upside of anyone on this team. The offense essentially runs through him. He is our best rebounder and the strongest player on the team. He can be clumsy at times but over all his efficiency and effort are worth it. You reduce his minutes and we look ever worse with out a doubt.
The value for Sepp is capped by his 3 point shooting. If he can reliably improve this enough to always be closely guarded then yes his offensive value could explode. We shouldn't expect this to develop soon but I can be patient. Meanwhile if you can explain to me how either Sepp or Schmidt can measurably improve their man to man defensive play (barring the team finding a rim protector) then I'd love to hear it. More zone play could be an option but doesn't appear to be a feature of the Roger Powell grand plan.
So something has to change to get some wins now!
Side Question--- When was the last time we lost a game while only turning the ball over 6 times? I'm thinking Trevor Anderson, Kithier and Krikke may have lost 1 with 8 but 6 is a crazy low number.
You cannot both miss this many inside shots and be destroyed on the boards. Those two weaknesses together will kill any team. The good news is we know our shooting can be better, the bad news is rebounding is not improving at all allowing for an easier defensive scheme against us.
Side Question--- When was the last time we lost a game while only turning the ball over 6 times?
Dec. 1, 2022 at Belmont
Interesting! Belmont hit 15 of 34 from 3 in that game while we hit only 2 of 16. Rebounds were 41-33 in favor of Belmont. Darius played in the prior and following games but didn't see the floor in that one. Do I have a point? Indirectly yes in that turning the ball over that little should give you a great chance to win with an average shooting night and some efforts on the defensive glass.Side Question--- When was the last time we lost a game while only turning the ball over 6 times?
Dec. 1, 2022 at Belmont
