#14/15 Houston at Wichita State Game Thread 2-20-22

[ShockingButTrue]

Yes, blame goes on the players for falling asleep. It also goes on the coach for not calling a TO. Percentages are irrelevant here because IF SAMPSON WANTED TO SET UP A PLAY HE COULD CALL A TIMEOUT HIMSELF. They had one. KS got what he wanted. He wanted to rush down the court with a team that was more excited about celebrating a huge shot than really playing good defense.

A huge shot that did even end the game at that (only tied it).

[SubGod22]

I've heard a lot of coaches that don't want to call a TO on the offensive end in this situation for the exact reason many have talked about, the D is disorganized and in this situation, riding high from the big shot. I have no doubt Sampson and his crew knew exactly what they were going to do after that shot went in. Calling a TO defensively isn't giving Houston any sort of advantage.

You would like to expect players would know better, but we've seen this team play all year and nothing of the sort sure really be assumed. At no point in those final seconds was any pressure put on the ball or anyone else. They were not prepared for the situation and it showed.

[Stickboy46]

A huge shot that did even end the game at that (only tied it).

Agreed .. but they were still in celebration mode

[Maizerunner08]

I'll leave it at this...timeout or not, clearly our guys didn't know what they should be doing. I just hope next time IB calls the timeout.

There are some teams you trust to make the right decision in crunch time, this team isn't one of them.

[Dan]

The play was an equivalent of a hurry up offense in football. You could see all the players from both sides looking to the sidelines for instruction. No instruction came from IB, while KS waived his team to go, ala Tyus Edney from UCLA. Catch them sleeping and it worked.

[Stickboy46]

I've heard a lot of coaches that don't want to call a TO on the offensive end in this situation for the exact reason many have talked about, the D is disorganized and in this situation, riding high from the big shot. I have no doubt Sampson and his crew knew exactly what they were going to do after that shot went in. Calling a TO defensively isn't giving Houston any sort of advantage.

You would like to expect players would know better, but we've seen this team play all year and nothing of the sort sure really be assumed. At no point in those final seconds was any pressure put on the ball or anyone else. They were not prepared for the situation and it showed.

I would also think any human being is likely to be on an adrenaline high at that point in the game and likely not as focused as they should be. This was in double OT on a game no one expected them to win and had just had a "low" giving up a 3 point play right before with only 13 seconds left. Should they have been more prepared ... absolutely .. but they are still a bunch of college kids and you need to account for that by calling a TO and settling them down.

[molly jabali]

Agreed .. but they were still in celebration mode

My view was a bit blocked by the person in front of me...is there evidence WSU was in celebration mode?

[Stickboy46]

My view was a bit blocked by the person in front of me...is there evidence WSU was in celebration mode?

Yes .. they allowed Houston to run down the court with zero resistance and dunk the ball

[Dan]

My view was a bit blocked by the person in front of me...is there evidence WSU was in celebration mode?

I would say more disbelief mode that they just tied the game. I think everyone expected a timeout to be called and it never came.

[WuShock16]

I don’t care about not using the timeout after Craig’s 3. I’m more bothered by not using the timeout after Houston’s game-winning dunk. Call a timeout, and you might be able to set up something that gets the ball past halfcourt for a 30 foot shot instead of a 70 foot shot.

Or show some real basketball IQ and throw a pass to halfcourt and call a time out so that you can do a catch and shoot in the front court.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

I would say more disbelief mode that they just tied the game.

The second CP3 went for the stepback I knew it was going in. It's crazy how good he is with that move, but not regular 3s.

[pinstripers]

If you take the timeout, you can at least put pressure on the inbounds and avoid a guy going coast-to-coast. Like I said, it might have not mattered in the end. However, I think there a lot of benefits of refocusing the team after a big shot.

hellya

[Kel Varnsen]

On a more macro level, this game does seem good, and in a lot of ways it was. But ultimately it hasn’t shown us anything new, either about this team or the state of the program.

We already competed with Houston and came up short. We match up with them better than Memphis and other teams in this conference. The crowd showed up, which again, was awesome. But it doesn’t change much about this team’s trajectory going forward.

[Dan]

On a more macro level, this game does seem good, and in a lot of ways it was. But ultimately it hasn’t shown us anything new, either about this team or the state of the program.

We already competed with Houston and came up short. We match up with them better than Memphis and other teams in this conference. The crowd showed up, which again, was awesome. But it doesn’t change much about this team’s trajectory going forward.

Not sure I agree. For one, Council was on the court all but 2 minutes, so that was a change for the better. I'm also hoping the lightbulb clicked on for Craig Porter and gives him the confidence he needs going forward to run this team. All that said, Memphis is a terrible matchup for us and I'm not sure it will make difference in that game.

[Stickboy46]

Not sure I agree. For one, Council was on the court all but 2 minutes, so that was a change for the better. I'm also hoping the lightbulb clicked on for Craig Porter and gives him the confidence he needs going forward to run this team. All that said, Memphis is a terrible matchup for us and I'm not sure it will make difference in that game.

I just for once would like the bad Memphis to show up when they play us. Not the Final Four caliber team their talent says they should be.