Question about late game substituting

[Husker4Shockers]

I wonder why coach waits so long to sub in? Last night with nearly a 30 point lead he still had guys who play a lot - and even starters - in the game with 5-6 minutes to go. Finally Eric, Bush, J.R. and Zach B. got in with only a couple minutes left. Not necessarily a criticism, although it seemed like a good time to reward those guys with some playing time.

[jazztrane]

I wondered the same thing, it was almost like he switched halves and had the back-ups play significantly in the first, then played starters deep in the 2nd. From the 7 min or so timeout I was saying put the backups in.

[fuball7]

maybe exactly why they didnt get in til late. Maybe he didnt feel they were deserving of extra pt. also wandered if maybe there was a message being sent to loyola for some reason we arent aware?

[ShockdaWorld]

I wonder why coach waits so long to sub in? Last night with nearly a 30 point lead he still had guys who play a lot - and even starters - in the game with 5-6 minutes to go. Finally Eric, Bush, J.R. and Zach B. got in with only a couple minutes left. Not necessarily a criticism, although it seemed like a good time to reward those guys with some playing time.

I can think of at least a couple of possible reasons, although my actual knowledge is nonexistent on the subject. 1. Coach may be trying to make sure that those guys that play a lot are staying in game shape. I think the most minutes last night was 28, which is nice for staying fresh, but if you ONLY ever go 22-24, which probably would still get us blowouts in the MVC, you may lose a little of that late game stamina if you have to go 35 in a game in March. 2. Regardless of what anyone may say, a 26 point win is a lot more impressive than a 16 point win to people that don't watch the game and know that the walk-ons played the last 8 minutes.

[Cdizzle]

We are winning games by an average of 21 points through half the league schedule.

At some point, it's up to the rest of the league to not suck so much that we only get to watch our All-Americans for 20 minutes a game. They need to play. They need to get better. They need to play with the regular subs. And on a side note, a couple of these guys are chasing numbers. If you're Balentining it against SWAC-alicious in November, that is one thing. It would also be one thing if every 4th game was a blowout. But when every game is a blow out, somebody else just needs to get better.

[_kai_]

I'd say a good guess would be that the team hasn't had the opportunity to play together in live game settings very much together with everyone healthy. And these minutes are important for cohesion come March, when the crew that came in with 5-6 minutes to go won't be playing at all in the post season.

[Steeleshocker]

They mentioned some of this on the radio. With the big road matchup against Evansville on Sunday, and having an extra day to rest, coach was likely trying to get guys more opportunities to click offensively and prepare the starters to be able to go 30+ minutes if necessary.

[shocka khan]

I wondered the same thing, it was almost like he switched halves and had the back-ups play significantly in the first, then played starters deep in the 2nd. From the 7 min or so timeout I was saying put the backups in.

I'm guessing it had something to do with the 12 point halftime lead. He was probably sending a message to the backups.

[Jamar Howard 4 President]

I don't know whether to love or hate the fact that we are discussing whether beating a team by 3 points every 5 minutes (12 points by halftime) was a failure and a reason for Marshall to be upset. I love it because it means the Shox are really good. I hate it because it means the conference has some real pushovers.

[im4wsu]

I thought perhaps for the second game in a row coach was allowing time for FVV and RB to get to double-figure points, but finally gave up.

[AndShock]

Marshall had the -20

[AZ Shocker]

Playing in the Doug Elgin (keep it fair conference) coach has gotta make sure his team is up big the final 10 minutes of the game before pulling his guys. Especially on the road on a Saturday in the Doug "keep it fair" Elgin conference. Otherwise you open the game up to "anticipatory whistles" allowing the Drakes of the world sneaking back into the game.

When you by far have the better talent...you make it easier on your team the final 10 minutes by just breaking not only the other teams will...but Doug Elgins "keep it fair" officiating. Gregg has been in the league long enough to not chance it and allowing the refs to try to make it what it really is not.

[Shocker85]

I think the playing together in cohesive units and substitution patterns are the reason. There are going to be limited days off with the extra game (NMSU) plus Marshal starts to trim back practice at some point late in the season. Keeping an edge can be gained with extra PT.

[Signman]

When I was coaching I tried to get substitutes minutes with at least a couple of starters during a blowout. It helped with continuity when they did have to play in more difficult conditions. This might be what our coaching staff is doing.

[ShockerPrez]

When I was coaching I tried to get substitutes minutes with at least a couple of starters during a blowout. It helped with continuity when they did have to come in more difficult conditions. This might be what our coaching staff is doing.

This is what I think. We still have a lot of development to do and these games are those opportunities. Marks, Kelly, Connor, Nurger, Brown are all young and still need minutes. Lots and lots of minutes. Even though they look good, they don't look great.

They need to look great.