[POST GAME] WSU vs SD ST - What We Learned

[tropicalshox]

I'm too disappointed and tired to write much. I agree with Shockerfan45. The season is far from lost. The main downer to me is Garrett.

[swish1]

So then, what are the odds of being a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament?

For San Diego State? Pretty good.

If you're talking about us, about the same chances that Garrett Stutz posts a double-double this year.

then the odds are pretty good wsu will be a 7 seed b/c you are apparently forgetting that wsu plays in the valley and that the valley is terrible which will directly lead to stutz getting at least one double-double...

[wsubball96]

Re: [POST GAME] WSU vs SD ST - What We Learned

Murry was trying to do to much (but can you blame him).

Yes, I do. He is used to being the best and now he is the 3rd best player on the team (behind Kyles and JT) and he doesn't like it. I wish he would not worry about trying to be "The Man" and just worry about contributing without forcing the issue because he is feeling left out in the scoring column.

[Metalkatz]

Time to slightly lower my expectations for this team, I thought this was our year. Oh well, at least The Shockers AND The Chiefs arent playing bad. Go Chiefs!

[another shocker]

Murry fills in well at PG, wsubball96, but to play him there exclusively, game in and game out, will lead to diminishing returns, I'm afraid, as he seems more suited to the 2 spot. When will Ragland be ready?! Either way, I wouldn't put Murry and Williams together on the floor too much.. that could raise the level of turnovers too quickly. They are both pressing now.

[BAShocker]

I learned that SD St is really good. They did beat Gonzaga, at Gonzaga.

[tw805]

I'm not sure it's fair to chalk this up to WSU sucking. SDSU is really, really good. They have only one weakness that I can see, and that's at the foul line. We played them tough for a large margin of the game, and one quick mental breakdown - which all but the best teams have at some point - was enough to roll the thing downhill.

But yes, I think we have to win the Valley tournament now. We will have no quality wins going in to Selection Sunday, I'm afraid.

[Ta town]

SDSU won at Gonzaga and beat down Saint Mary's why are some so shocked at last nights outcome?

Their front court is just amazing and I would guess one of the best in the country.

I didn't think it was WSU's backcourt that caused the loss. Giving SDSU 2-3 shots every other possession and about a 3 minute stretch where Marshall could have simply cut the run in half with a time out is what hurt them last night.

Durley needs to develop an interest in defense and rebounding instead of just getting his shot off. Stutz simply can't compete with that kind of quickness.

WSU will be fine but like almost any year in the valley they will need to win the tourney.

[pinstripers]

Let's not worry about making the dance and just enjoy what we have. Remember where we were just 8-10 years ago?

[SB Shock]

Let's not worry about making the dance and just enjoy what we have. Remember where we were just 8-10 years ago?

NIT?

[pinstripers]

We were a .500 club.

[wufan]

SDSU won at Gonzaga and beat down Saint Mary's why are some so shocked at last nights outcome?

Their front court is just amazing and I would guess one of the best in the country.

I didn't think it was WSU's backcourt that caused the loss. Giving SDSU 2-3 shots every other possession and about a 3 minute stretch where Marshall could have simply cut the run in half with a time out is what hurt them last night.

Durley needs to develop an interest in defense and rebounding instead of just getting his shot off. Stutz simply can't compete with that kind of quickness.

WSU will be fine but like almost any year in the valley they will need to win the tourney.

This is the second or third comment on Marshall not calling a time out. If I remember correctly, SDSU got a basket to go up one, a stop, and another basket. That's a 4-0 run. No TO needed. WSU promptly turned the ball over 6-0 run. TO...maybe, but come on, how many 6-0 runs are there in a game. WSU again turns the ball over, intentional foul 10-0 run. WSU can't get the ball in bounds...time out called. Team should be settled down and ready to play. WSU gets a fast break and misses two guarded bunnies. SDSU beats us down the court and scores. Ball turned over in the back court Aztecs score again. Time out called and we've only gotten the ball across half court twice (once on a fast break and once where the first pass in the set was stolen). When was Marshall supposed to call a time out? When they were shooting free throws? We only had the ball for about 30 seconds during that run. There were three times in which the team huddled to calm things down. The team simply collapsed for about 4 minutes. That is what cost us the game.

[Hurley]

Re:

I think the negativity here might be a bit much. SDSU is better than us - at least last night. Might have been a different story on a neutral court or at Koch. Their bigs are as quick and athletic as any in the country. They might be limited by their guards though. Could be a problem for them in tourney time, lack of free throw and outside shooting.

Take out that horrible 3 min stretch and we were even the other 37 minutes.

We're going to dominate the Valley and get better. Come March we will still be a formidable team that nobody wants any part of.

[eeshocker]

SDSU won at Gonzaga and beat down Saint Mary's why are some so shocked at last nights outcome?.

I think most fans are not shocked that we lost, it has more to do with how they played. Had they played well and lost, I think the tone in the threads would be more positive. SDST is the best team on the West Coast and I think they are in for a huge season.

All this talk about the season being over now is just non-sense. The Shocks had a good chance to make the big dance last season. Had it not been for a couple bad losses late in the season (Drake and Evansville), I think they get in. If they avoid the bad losses (UConn and SDST are not), they have a good chance. I am hopeful that this teams gets better as the season moves on. Now if we lose to anymore of the OOC games, I might change my opinion. I am a bit worried now about the road game against LSU. While they are not a great team, they are athletic and it's on the road. I am confident that HCGM will get this team turned around and I predict a nice win streak coming up.

[Aargh]

We've learned that two 3-minute stretches have been the difference in two games against ranked opponents. Play 40 minutes instead of 37 and WSU is potentially an unbeaten top-20 team.

Some players, some coaching moves and strategies, and some player situations aren't perfect.

As of December 4, Murry is the best point guard on the roster. People who don't like that probably include Murry, the coaching staff, the fans, Williams, and Ragland. Marshall likes to have 3 point guards on the roster, but when he's recruiting, he seems to prefer combo guards. That's not working well.

The chemistry is not there. The emergence of Kyles took Murry out of his comfort zone. An attempt to move Durley from 5 to 4 isn't working well. Stutz seems to have lost all his confidence by practicing against a quick and athletic guy his own size.

It's been reported that fouls either aren't called or are called very loosely in practices. That's one way of getting players used to physical play, but that's not working out well in game situations. SDSU scored 11 more points on FT's than WSU and WSU was forced into some odd lineup combinations because of foul problems.

Marshall needs to adjust his scheme on D or the Kemba Walker model will be used by every opponent of his as long as he coaches basketball.

I'm putting the two losses this year on the coaching staff. The problems I've seen are all correctable problems and they are problems that an experienced team should have solved with repeated drills. In particular, the defense against penetrating guards seems to be to make them get their points from the free throw line. That's an ongoing problem, and ongoing problems generally are the coaches area of responsibility.