Final Score: UW-98 EWU-72
Before I get to the review I have to say, despite winning by 26 that game felt like a loss. Not to say we didn't have our moments, but that was pretty sloppy.
On to the Review
Just the Facts
Justin Holiday scored a career high 18 points today along side 4 rebounds and a steal. Matthew Bryan-Amaning posted another double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds with 1 assist, 2 blocks, and a steal in 19 minutes of play. Abdul Gaddy was the only other Husky in double digits tonight with 13 points, 1 steal, an impressive 6 assists, and 0 turnovers. Isaiah Thomas led the team with 5 steals and added 9 points and 2 rebounds, but turned the ball over 3 times against his 4 assists. Venoy Overton put up 9 points as well as 8 assists, 4 steals, 5 rebounds, and 2 turnovers. Scott Suggs and Terrance Ross each added 9 points. Suggs also had 5 assists. The Huskies shot slightly better from the line tonight converting on 64.7%, while their shooting was fairly bad, shooting 16 for 40 in the first half, going 5 for 19 behind the line. The Huskies were out rebounded 40 to 35. The Dawgs forced 24 turnovers while committing 10 themselves.
The Spin
Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy first half for the Dawgs offensively. Combined with the slack defense, the Eagles kept the game close for far too long. The Huskies were out rebounded 25 to 16 in the first half as they failed to gain any sort of position on the glass. Abdul Gaddy gets player of the game today for shooting 5 for 6 from the field and 3 for 4 behind the arc, committing 0 turnovers and passing out 6 assists. Venoy Overton made his presence felt today, coming off the bench and immediately snatching two quick steals that led to wonderful transition baskets we should have had more of today. Justin Holiday also had a fantastic game going 8 for 13 from the field. He played superb defense and played with an intensity it seemed the team was lacking as a whole. Isaiah shot terrible today, only making 2 shots on 9 attempts including 1 for 4 from range. The team settled far too often for the long ball and did not convert very well, shooting 26.3% in the first, but a much better 57.1% in the second half. While the Eagles played a good zone defense, our offense did a terrible job getting the ball down low and this allowed the Eagles to focus on pressuring the perimeter. Neither MBA or Aziz did a great job of imposing their will on the defense. They allowed themselves to be pushed around far too often. Shot selection needs to improve, the Huskies cannot allow zone or pressure defense to affect them at that level in a more competitive game. Thank goodness the Huskies stepped up their offense in the second half, settled down, and made plays. They played like they did against St. Martin's. They played hurried, chaotic, and played how EWU wanted them to play. They were boxed out on rebounds and couldn't hold onto the ones they grabbed. What saved the day was the Husky defense grabbing 14 steals.
What Was Bad
Shot Selection
The Huskies settled far too often for shooting the 3 versus working the ball around a little longer and finding a better shot. Terrence Ross and C.J. Wilcox were arguably the worse at this, going a combined 3 for 12 behind the arc tonight. Instead of working the ball in the post, the Dawgs passed around the perimeter until someone was mildly open at which point they would jack up a shot that would knock out three quarters of the time. As I said in the preview, the Dawgs need to force the middle to open up their range game like they were able to do so effectively against McNeese. They did not accomplish that and it led to their shooting, near and far, to suffer. If the Dawgs want to compete in Maui, they cannot let the defense deny the post the ball. This is something Romar should address in practice and work on before tournament time.
First Half Defense
The Dawgs were lazy on defense to start the game, allowing the Eagles to have their shots. Against a better shooting team this will absolutely destroy us. A lot of screening problems and communication errors on switches. The intensity needs to be there all game, not just the second half.
Rebounding
Eastern is not a big team by any means. Plenty of Pac-10 teams are much taller and stronger. If we continue to have problems rebounding against these small teams, I can't, or don't want to, imagine what kind of struggles we will have against USC, UA, UCLA, etc. We need to pound the glass hard, all night long. Getting out rebounded will destroy us come tournament time. We can rebound, we proved this last game. I don't know what the difference was, but the Dawgs need to go back to what they were doing against McNeese. If we can get the rebounds, we will score the points. The only reason we didn't reach my predicted score was the lack of rebounding tonight. We had half the rebounds of our last game and understandably we had less points at the end of the night. Rebound, rebound, rebound.
Free Throw Shooting
While better than Saturday, it was still not a good showing. MBA again shot 50% going 4 for 8 while Aziz shot 50% on 1 for 2 shooting. Isaiah Thomas went a perfect 4 for 4 and C.J. went 2 for 2 as well. Venoy missed his only free throw attempt. We need to get our team average up to 75% if we are going to be a top 15 team. Missing foul shots will lose us the tough games we will encounter in February and March. The big men need to get their shots together.
What Was Good
Perimeter Passing
The Huskies threw great passes along the perimeter, working it to the open guys. While they did not always pick the best shots, the 28 assists on 37 shots is a great statistic to have. The shooting was much more effective in the second half and gave the passing more purpose and success.
Second Half Defense
The defensive intensity picked up about 13 minutes left in the first half, but really it showed in the second half. 14 steals is excellent and we converted on most of the steals.
Scoring
I wasn't sure if I wanted to put our scoring under good or bad. While we scored 98 points (could have been 100 but we ran out the clock) our percentage was very low the first half, 40% and a much improved 58.3% the second half. I would like to see 65% shooting for the game along side 45 to 50 rebounds. Those kinds of numbers will almost guarantee a win every time. I think the highlight of how talented and scoring capable our team is was a particular possession with Overton, Ross, and C.J. on the perimeter. Ross threw it to a fairly open Overton, who faked a shot and passed to C.J. for the 3. It was a great unselfish sequence in which we opted for the open player rather than a specific shooter.
Player by Player Review
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
Not a bad night for the big Brit. 14 points, 10 rebounds, 0 fouls. Those are solid numbers. It was only disappointing due to the two fabulous nights he has had thus far and the fact that his rebounding total should have been higher if not for sloppy work bringing the ball down off the glass. His free throws were decent, but need work still. Started off 3 for 3 before going 1 for 5 the rest of the night from the charity stripe. He should have had a better night, but the Dawgs had a tough time getting him the ball. Had the Huskies found a way to get him the ball more often he may have had another 20 point night. Give the Eagles credit for double teaming MBA often and forcing him to dish out.
Grade: A-
Venoy Overton
A solid outing for Venoy tonight, much better shooting wise and somehow even better on the assist/turnover side. His defense was stellar, stealing the ball 4 times and forcing other turnovers as well. His 4 for 7 shooting was good to see. He shot 50% behind the arc. He did a solid job of stepping up and helping make up for Isaiah's lack of scoring efficiency tonight. He showed some great heart tonight and worked hard to help his team win the game. I like what I'm seeing from him. If Gaddy had not stepped up in such particular fashion, Overton would easily be starting.
Grade: A
Justin Holiday
Career high point night for the senior. 18 points along with 4 rebounds. While tonight was not his most impressive night in my opinion, he was a very effective scorer from mid range. He has developed a nice one hand, tear drop like shot from the free throw line. He brought the fire tonight, yelling in the face of his opponent while on defense at the beginning of the game. His defense was tight once again, over all doing a great job controlling his man. While he shot well over all, he took a few 3's he probably shouldn't have. His long ball, while improved, is still streaky. Being streaky is a two sided blade, if you're on no one can stop you, but if you are off it'll haunt you like a curse the whole night. I would like to see another 1 or 2 rebounds a game from Holiday, especially on nights like tonight where our big men are struggling to clean the glass.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Another 3 minutes tonight. It looks as though Romar is beginning to trust him more as a competitive D1 player. This is great for Brendan and the Huskies. If he can be a reasonably effective defensive player, it will be a great asset to have him available in case of foul trouble. Had a steal tonight. Perfect record is still in tact, look out UCLA he is coming after your record.
Grade: A
Darnell Gant
It looks as though Gant will be a permanent fixture in the starting line up as his size gives us a multitude of options and allows Holiday to play the 3 position while Gant covers the 4. Scored 4 points on 2 for 7 shooting. Gant is still not an offensive threat and while his shot may have improved I still get nervous when he faces up to shoot. Let's hope he can step up the consistency a bit to help the Dawgs spread the floor and work the defense. His defense was not as effective tonight for some reason. The Eagles were a very quick team, but Gant is also agile. A very mediocre game in my opinon. He didn't have any spectacular plays, he only tabbed 2 rebounds and had 2 turnovers. His lacking performance showed in his lack of minutes, only playing 14 on the night.
Grade: C
Scott Suggs
Decent night on offensive for Suggs. 9 points on 3 for 8 shooting, of those 8 shots 6 were behind the arc and all 3 makes came on the long ball. His two boards and 5 assists really made his night a lot more successful. It's good to see him dishing for the better shot. Defensively he left a lot to be desired. All too often his man was open in the corner due to screens being set on him. He still has a way to go on defense, but it should come in time. I saw some progress with his on ball defense. His off ball defense is really where the work needs to be done.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
A slow night for Isaiah tonight. He struggled on the drives, he struggled behind the line. He had 3 turnovers. His redemption came in his team high 5 steals and 4 assists. 9 points is respectable, but we expect more from Isaiah. He is a 17+ point a game type of shooter and player. His bad shot could have been due to an external issue that was weighing on his mind. I love how successful his defense has become over the last year or two, its great to see as that type of tenacious attitude on both sides of the ball is hard to find and harder to beat. I expect him to shoot lights out in Virginia to prove his tenacity.
Grade: B
Aziz N'Diaye
Not a great night for the Senegal native. He only managed 5 points, 2 rebounds, and a block. He used his size well. Multiple times the Eagle post player would try to back him down, only to bounce off of him, resulting in a forced pass back outside. He only shot two free throws tonight, which could be considered a blessing. When he makes his shot though, it swishes beautifully I have to say. He is still learning the game, but we will see more McNeese like performances soon enough. There is a bit of a learning curve going from a JC to D1 and after not playing for a year, the curve is that much harder to climb.
Grade: C+
Abdul Gaddy
Wonderful performance tonight. This is exactly the kind of performance the Husky faithful were expecting last year. He was aggressive, calm, comfortable, assertive, and successful. His long shot was spot on and his drive was a thing of beauty. He has a fantastic tear drop that is so tough to prevent. Its almost comical how slow it gets to the hoop, but not a soul can stop it. 6 assists and 0 turnover is more impressive, in my mind, than his 13 points. Great job from the sophomore tonight. Even his defense was good tonight, managing 3 rebounds, a steal, and only 2 fouls. He may end up being the most consistent player for the Huskies, somewhat ironic considering his poor performance last year.
Grade: A+
C.J. Wilcox
2 rebounds, 3 assists, a block, and a steal to go along with 8 points. Normally a successful night, but his 2 for 7 shooting was not good, once again. For supposedly having the best shot on the team he sure hasn't done a great job of showing it. He subbed in before Suggs, but didn't have a great performance. Defensively he was above average. He got beat on occasion, but also contained his man a fair amount of the time. I'm still out on what to think of the freshman.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
While he played slightly better offensively than C.J. (4 for 9 shooting) he also suffered from poor shooting and shot selection. I love a player willing to spot up and shoot the 3, but they need to be able to hit it. For the second game in a row, Ross has struggled from behind the arc. No rebounds, no assist, no steals or blocks, 1 turnover. Like Aziz he is still rough around the edges, but once he finds his rhythm he will be a threat on the court no doubt.
Grade: C
Antoine Hosley
2 minutes in tonight's game. A rebound, an assist, and a steal. 2 and 0 on the year. Not much else to say about the walk on. Its awesome both he and Brendan have been able to play in all three games thus far and I hope the trend continues. Another A for effort night
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This may have been a bit of a wake up call for the Dawgs. While the game was never really in question, the Eagles stayed in it far longer than I wanted. The Dawgs shot poorly and allowed EWU to control the tempo. Play like this against better schools will result in a loss. We need to rebound, we need to control the tempo, we need to take our shots and not what the opposition gives us. A nice win, but not the kind we should have had. A few days off before the Dawgs head to Maui to face Virginia. With Gonzaga losing tonight to SDSU the Huskies should move up in both polls. Polls mean nothing this time of the year, but last year we let our ranking affect our game play. If we are going to be a top 15 team we need to play like it and tonight we definitely did not play like a top 25 team let alone top 15. I believe we will see a much more controlled Husky performance this weekend.
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