The OFFICIAL Shocks vs. Runnin' Utes Game Thread

[Dave Stalwart]

Maybe this has already been said, but I went AWOL after the loss to recover. I see a silver lining in the fact that literally EVERY one of our guys contributed at least one serious issue toward the end that could have "caused" the loss as far as they are concerned. Obviously, I, as a fan watching all of it, would hang most of the loss on FreshVV because his game was the one that was most out of character.

However, if you break it down:
Ron missed a DUNK. Tekele fumbled a ball out of bounds in a really weird way that was uncharacteristic, especially for him. Darius fouled himself out of the game all game long. Fred missed that last free throw. Evan got the rebound and missed the follow for the potential win.

I'm not saying anyone did anything that was necessarily bad, but they all did the kind of things that make you kick yourself. I wouldn't even say that ANY of the newcomers had moments quite like these in the game. When you look at the contributions of Bush, Rauno, Shaq, Rian and Rashard, all of them had reasonably good games for freshmen. There seems to be more to complain about with the main guys, though, so that should make for a really interesting few practices. St. Lewis is in huge trouble.

[Kung Wu]

Kung Wu, care to elaborate?

Sure.

1) If you are only using points to determine who is "winning" in this close of a game (which may or may not be reasonable), then you can choose arbitrary points in the game to prove any point you want.

2) Is the only conclusion one can come to that if WSU is not "dominating", then Utah must be? It's binary? 'Cuz you said the Shox were winning 4 + 1 minutes and then gave the rest of those minutes to Utah, implying that. But it's not possible that there is a third tertiary state that they are actually tying for a large bulk of the remaining minutes after WSU's dominant period?

I would say that other than the first 5 minute (not 4) period of dominance by WSU, there were just a few very short-lived bursts of runs by both teams where one team was "winning" but the large remainder of the game was just a back-and-forth tie.

It's completely silly to say that Utah was the better team for 35 minutes of that game.

[Kung Wu]

Maybe this has already been said, but I went AWOL after the loss to recover. I see a silver lining in the fact that literally EVERY one of our guys contributed at least one serious issue toward the end that could have "caused" the loss as far as they are concerned. Obviously, I, as a fan watching all of it, would hang most of the loss on FreshVV because his game was the one that was most out of character.

However, if you break it down:
Ron missed a DUNK. Tekele fumbled a ball out of bounds in a really weird way that was uncharacteristic, especially for him. Darius fouled himself out of the game all game long. Fred missed that last free throw. Evan got the rebound and missed the follow for the potential win.

I'm not saying anyone did anything that was necessarily bad, but they all did the kind of things that make you kick yourself. I wouldn't even say that ANY of the newcomers had moments quite like these in the game. When you look at the contributions of Bush, Rauno, Shaq, Rian and Rashard, all of them had reasonably good games for freshmen. There seems to be more to complain about with the main guys, though, so that should make for a really interesting few practices. St. Lewis is in huge trouble.

Nurger had a dumb turnover, but that was completely offset by the fact that he also provided a much need answer to Poeltl defensively.

[Dave Stalwart]

Nurger had a dumb turnover, but that was completely offset by the fact that he also provided a much need answer to Poeltl defensively.

I shudder to think about being the next opponent following a game where 75% of the WSU roster is frustrated with themselves and zeroed in on "righting the ship."

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

I would say that other than the first 5 minute (not 4) period of dominance by WSU, there were just a few very short-lived bursts of runs by both teams where one team was "winning" but the large remainder of the game was just a back-and-forth tie.

It's completely silly to say that Utah was the better team for 35 minutes of that game.

The Shox dominated the first 3 1/2 minutes, not the first 5. They were up 10-0 just 3:26 into the game and then both teams traded misses before Utah finally scored at the 15:21 mark. I think we can agree that it's really irrelevant whether it was 3.5 or 5 in regards to the bigger picture discussion, so I'll move on.

Here are the scores if the game was broken down into 20 separate 2 minute segments. For example, at the 18:00 minute mark the Shox led by 4. At the 16:00 minute mark, they had added 6 more points to their lead. At the 14:00 minute mark, Utah had cut the lead by 5.

4
6
-5
3
-3
0
2
-1
0
-2

HALFTIME

-2
0
-2
-2
-3
-1
1
-3
1
7

In the 20 separate "mini-games" , Utah won 10, WSU won 7, and 3 were ties. Utah did not dominate the majority of the game, but they did win the majority of the small segments.

[jocoshock]

What's Behind Me, It's Not Important: http://youtu.be/AjGXn249Fc0

[WSUwatcher]

Someone else may have already said this, and if so I apologize for the duplication, but I keep meaning to mention it and getting sidetracked:

One of the most striking aspects of the game was Utah's reaction after it was over. They celebrated like they had just advanced in the NCAA tournament, about how it could be a season-defining win for them, etc., etc. This isn't to take anything away from them, because they did win, and it WAS a big win, one of the type that has been a while in coming.

Still, if Fred makes his FTs or Evan his follow and the Shocks get a stop and pull out the game, does anyone seriously think they'd have been ecstatic about it? Happy, sure; probably relieved, too. But it would have been another (successful) night's work, and on to the next game. That's the difference between a "major" program trying to establish itself, and one that in the eyes of anyone who's looking carefully (unlike Gottlieb, Keeler, and the other assorted mindless stereotypers), is already an established major power regardless of the league they play in.

Utah has a solid, impressive team with a lot of promise. Assuming they stay healthy and guys like Poeltl continue to progress normally, they will be a serious load by March, and one that no tournament coach will want to see lurking in his list of potential opponents. But WSU is that already, and if they stay healthy and continue to progress with all their new guys, the Shocks will be at least as scary if not more so: a Major load with a capital M.

[Kung Wu]

The Shox dominated the first 3 1/2 minutes, not the first 5. They were up 10-0 just 3:26 into the game and then both teams traded misses before Utah finally scored at the 15:21 mark.

And their "score" was a freakin FREE THROW. They didn't make a single 2 or 3 pointer until 14:56 into the game ... that's 5 minutes of domination by the Shocks on both the offensive and defensive end, any way you look at it.

Here are the scores if the game was broken down into 20 separate 2 minute segments
...
In the 20 separate "mini-games" , Utah won 10, WSU won 7, and 3 were ties. Utah did not dominate the majority of the game, but they did win the majority of the small segments.

That was very analytical yet long-winded way of saying, "You know what, Mr. Wu, you're right." Appreciate it. ;)

[Kung Wu]

What's Behind Me, It's Not Important: http://youtu.be/AjGXn249Fc0

Unless you lost to both Evansville and SIU in the same season. I'm never letting that go.

[RoyalShock]

Hahahaha, sometimes my mind works faster than my fingers and I leave words out. It's not the first time that I've done that. Usually I catch it though.

I do that all the time, and it's why I proof-read my posts, sometimes twice. And it's also why sometimes I never hit the Submit button! :)

[wusphlash]

27 pages. Is this the "Gunsmoke" of game threads?

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

And their "score" was a freakin FREE THROW. They didn't make a single 2 or 3 pointer until 14:56 into the game ... that's 5 minutes of domination by the Shocks on both the offensive and defensive end, any way you look at it.

And WSU's points scored during that minute and a half was... NADA, ZILCH, ZERO. 1-0 is not domination by the team that scored 0.

It was 3.5 minutes of domination, 1.5 minutes of basically a draw, and then Utah's run started.

This is getting so detailed and irrelevant to the larger point that even I'm tired and ready to move on. You have a point about it being unfair to say WSU dominated 5 minutes of the game and Utah controlled 35. That may indeed be a slight exageration the more I think about it. However, I think the 7-10-3 record that WSU had in the 20 "mini-games" does a good job reflecting that Utah had the upper hand more often than the Shox. Not 90% of the time, but it was definitely not a 50/50 split.

[Shocker-maniac]

27 pages. Is this the "Gunsmoke" of game threads?

Seems like we have developed a habit lately of burning through a lot of pages on threads. A good sign of the level of interest and passion for the Shockers by our fan base.

[jocoshock]

Seems like we have developed a habit lately of burning through a lot of pages on threads. A good sign of the level of interest and passion for the Shockers by our fan base.

Yes, but not necessarily with basketball :-)

[AZ Shocker]

Maybe this has already been said, but I went AWOL after the loss to recover. I see a silver lining in the fact that literally EVERY one of our guys contributed at least one serious issue toward the end that could have "caused" the loss as far as they are concerned. Obviously, I, as a fan watching all of it, would hang most of the loss on FreshVV because his game was the one that was most out of character.

However, if you break it down:
Ron missed a DUNK. Tekele fumbled a ball out of bounds in a really weird way that was uncharacteristic, especially for him. Darius fouled himself out of the game all game long. Fred missed that last free throw. Evan got the rebound and missed the follow for the potential win.

Late game and altitude = out of character / Shocker mistakes. Hence why I predicted a Shocker loss. Certainly didn't want it to happen...but most teams in the Top-25 would've lost that game in Salt Lake.