#12 WSU @ #18 UNI - Game Thread

[proshox]

I wasn't calling for zone defense during the game, but I really thought UNI was masterful at using our high pressure half-court defense against us. Well-oiled machines don't break when pressured and it would have been nice to see what would have happened had we just backed off a few feet all around the perimeter. Maybe UNI barriers a bunch of 3 pointers, maybe not....

Also, we needed more energy on the offensive end of the court. It is hard to make jumpers consistently when you are busting your ass on defense to no avail.

[SHOXAAC]

I agree that good coaches have flexibility but you need to have spent valuable practice time practicing what you do. An ineffective, unpracticed defense is a recipe for disaster. It needs to be in the game plan. It used to be that a good number of coaches played multiple defenses (different zones, half court zone presses, full court zone presses, M/M, etc.). Now you don't see that. You may see Syracuse play lots of zone. But most play full court M/M, half run/jump trap, doubling the post from someone, full court zone trap but little half court zone.

Good coaches practice zone. I recollect 2 possessions in the 2nd half where we went zone...we cause a TO and a missed shot. I'm not advocating being a major zone team. Why not keep playing zone till UNI exploited it?

[molly jabali]

Good coaches practice zone. I recollect 2 possessions in the 2nd half where we went zone...we cause a TO and a missed shot. I'm not advocating being a major zone team. Why not keep playing zone till UNI exploited it?

This...PLUS it MIGHT keep our bigs from HAVING to chase as much...

[molly jabali]

And I should add...I'll bet Gregg does practice it some...and maybe is holding it for later...

[Play Angry]

Forgive me if this has been previously posted.

WSU's KenPom rating dipped from #9 to #14 with the loss. RPI dropped from #11 to #12.

[pinstripers]

Forgive me if this has been previously posted.

WSU's KenPom rating dipped from #9 to #14 with the loss. RPI dropped from #11 to #12.

I imagine we willl drop to 20 . With Jans we might have WON.

[Play Angry]

I imagine we willl drop to 20 .

Click here if you enjoy being pleasantly surprised.



Safe for work, in case you wondered.

[Shock&awe]

I think we knew going into the season that our front court would be a work in progress. I guess I just fell into the narrative that some growth would be done by the guys we have. Am I the only one who thinks that these guys look the same as they did the first week with the exception of maybe Brown? The way it sits right now, FVV, Baker, and Cotton have to play outstanding ball just to keep us in ball games against tough competition. If they have off nights and aren't combining for 40+ as a group we cannot seem to get picked up from an offensive bench player because we don't have any. And that's not even calling out how terrible the defense has been inside. What is the answer or is this just what we have to work with?

[shockmonster]

A lot of coaches who win a lot of games never go zone. Gregg has used a zone in past years. I don't know for sure why he didn't use it more against UNI.

[wusphlash]

We don't have the inside game to be elite. We don't have the inside game to fully utilize our guard strength. I don't think anyone who has watched our first twenty games thinks otherwise. Opposing coaches are going to attack this weakness. Major improvement this year is not expected. If we end up 17-1, Gregg will deserve COY more than he did last year at 18-0.

[Play Angry]

Remember, FVV looked mostly unspectacular as a freshman until he broke out with a big game against Drake in mid February. He then disappeared for the most part until the Gonzaga game in March.

There is still time for some of the young guys to step up. I imagine several of them will, at different points, over the next month.

Now, if you are hoping Rashard will ascend to the level Carl/Darius played at as juniors during that time span, I would prepare for disappointment.

[asiseeit]

Hard to do once your down double digits in the second half as the opponent will milk the clock.
Two things I wondered about is not playing more up tempo when behind to increase the
number of possessions and our lack of off the ball movement.

[wusphlash]

Hard to do once your down double digits in the second half as the opponent will milk the clock.
Two things I wondered about is not playing more up tempo when behind to increase the
number of possessions and our lack of off the ball movement.

To play even more up tempo would require more players effectively contributing. You can't have Fred, Ron and Tekele on full attack for 35 minutes.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

It's clear to me who the people on this board are who have very little understanding of how athletic contests are decided. Saying our guys just didn't "want it enough" or "weren't good enough leaders" yesterday is malarkey that sports journalists use to fuel their narratives and sell their writing. Sometimes you just get beat. Sometimes you just can't make enough plays, no matter how much you try. It's called variance. I love our guys, but they're not perfect. They have off nights, just like we have bad days at work and school.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

This.

[kstarheel]

It's simple game really... you have make shots. When WSU struggles from the outside, they will have a good chance of losing; just not enough down low to compensate (Michael Scott). Most knew this would be the issue this season. I'm still hoping that Shaq can add more punch at some point; I'm personally tired of Evan starting, but I get why he does. Still a great chance of winning the league (maybe winning out), and getting about a 4 seed at the very best. I don't see a deep run in the tourney; would be happy if they won a game.