Sunday, February 27, 2011
Washington State University Review 2
No post game from me tonight. I don't have it in me. This team is the most underwhelming group of athletes I have seen on the court. I have nothing positive to say about what I saw tonight so I see no point in getting upset over something I can't change. All you need to know is this. If the Huskies lose one more regular season game they will absolutely need to win the Pac-10 tournament to get to the big dance. Simple as that.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Washington State University Preview 2
Washington State is 17-10 on the year and 7-8 in conference. WSU most recently lost to ASU and UA on the road. In the last match up between UW and WSU, WSU forced UW into a season high 24 turnovers and UW lost by 7 on the road. Strong rebounding kept UW in the game until late despite the turnovers and poor shooting.
In order to keep their at-large bid secured, UW must win out these final 3 conference games and it all starts with WSU.
UW has a definitive edge at home, with an average margin of victory around 27 points and no victory at home this season was less than a 10 point margin of victory.
WSU's lone tournament hope is to win the Pac-10 tournament, but you can bet the Cougars would love to spoil our at-large hopes and drop us into the bubble. This is not a game to be taken lightly as the Cougars can be a very strong team when they get hot. It is important for UW to keep the crowd in the game and get hot early to extinguish any hopes of an upset once more.
DeAngelo Casto recently shaved off his dreads, but it hasn't helped his game yet.
Klay Thompson continues to be the lone star for the Cougars, but his support crew is slowly coming into their own. They are a very young team who could compete for the title in another year or two when they have a bit more experience under their belts. Thompson is currently leading the Pac-10 in scoring with 21.2 points per game as well as being second on the team in rebounding with 5.2 boards per game. Thompson is also leading the Cougars in assists with 4.0 per game and steals with 1.8 per game. Thompson has the team high in turnovers with 3.6 per game. He is a one man show, doing everything good, and bad, for the Cougars.
The Cougars run a 9 man rotation with 5 players picking up 25+ minutes per game, led by Thompson at 34.3 minutes per outing and followed closely by Reggie Moore at 34.1 minutes per game.
4 players contribute significant points per game for the Cougars (~8+ ppg). Thompson, as said above, leads the team with 21.2. There is a significant drop to the second player, Faisal Aden who scores about 12.9 per game. Casto is the last double digit scorer at 11.4 points on average and Moore rounds out the group with 9.8 ppg.
Casto leads the Cougs in rebounding with 6.5 per game. Moore is second on the team in assists with 3.6 per outing.
The Cougars are averaging 73 points, 34 boards, 14 assists, and 13 turnovers per game. They are shooting a pretty nice 35.8% from behind the arc and 69% at the free throw line. Thompson leads the Cougars in both categories with 81.3% from the charity stripe and 41.5% from range.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Washington State
Reggie Moore 6-1 180lb G
Marcus Capers 6-4 185lb G
Klay Thompson 6-6 202lb G
Brock Motum 6-10 230lb F
DeAngelo Casto 6-8 255lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 190lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
This stat is one of the most important for the Huskies. It has kept us close in several games as well as separated us quickly in others. UW was dominated on the glass by Arizona and in the end it was one of the factors that cost them the game. UW must continue their success in rebounding, which begins with more strong showings from Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Aziz N'Diaye. Our perimeter players need to do their job and box their men out to prevent a sea of red inside the paint.
Ball Handling/Turnovers
Turnovers demolished the Huskies in Pullman. 24 turnovers is twice as many as this team should have on any given day. We cannot afford to commit similar mistakes on Sunday and risk a repeat of the Pullman game. Isaiah Thomas needs to bring back his A game in terms of passing and handling. He dishes out the assists well enough game in and game out, but his turnover numbers have gone up the last week or so. He is trying to do too much or is playing half assed. Neither is acceptable. I.T. needs to return to the roots of what he was doing well in those first few games without Abdul Gaddy. He also needs to get his confidence at the free throw line back.
Outside Shooting
The Cougars have done a fantastic job this season defending the perimeter shots. UW shoots much better at home and needs to find a rhythm early in the game. Their 1-9 shooting in the first half against SU was ugly and will be the death of us against a more skilled team such as WSU. When we are not hitting outside we need to become more patient and work the ball inside for an easier, higher percentage shot.
Push the Middle
The best way to open up our shooters is by getting MBA the ball inside. Even Aziz is becoming a stronger option as he has been much more aggressive in the paint and is developing a nice hook shot.I.T. should look to drive, but if he isn't getting good shots, is turning it over, and not getting foul calls then he needs to back the ball out and work the perimeter more before penetrating. It would be nice to see Overton use his speed and agility to get inside and at least drive and dish.
Free Throw Shooting
Free throws win close ball games. We missed 5 against UA in a one point loss. Any one of those misses would have tied the game and any two could have won it. We don't get much home cooking at Hec Ed so make the easy ones for Pete's sake.
Bench Production
With UW down to an 8 man rotation while Scott Suggs recovers it is important that our bench can produce and allow our starters some rest. Presumably Wilcox will start again and allow I.T. and Overton to rotate with a little more ease when one or the other needs a break. Terrence Ross and Darnell Gant need to continue to help and contribute where they can, especially on the glass.
Final Thoughts
This will be a tough game, but even Arizona fell by 17 here. UW has been playing some of its best basketball as of late, evident by the one point loss to Arizona on the road due to a debatable block/goaltend call, as well as some mistake made earlier by the team. WSU will be hard pressed to win this game, especially after the WSU student section rushed the court for some odd reason. The Husky players took this to heart and you can bet they are looking to settle the score. After a humiliating loss to last place ASU and their bubble popped, the Cougars are a team with nothing to lose and that is often one of the most dangerous types of teams to play. Think USC last season when they were banned from post season play.
Final Score Prediction
UW-88 WSU-75
The Cougs could play this one close for a majority of the game or this could be blown open from the start, it really depends on the mental attitude and level of play the Huskies bring from the start. We cannot afford to start slow as we do all too often. While I would like to start Venoy Overton to get some spark to start the game, he is not tall enough to keep a mismatch against I.T. from happening. We also need Overton to be able to sub in and out with Isaiah should either get into foul trouble. MBA against Casto should be a good match up and it will be interesting to see how Holiday and Gant are able to perform defensively against Klay Thompson at home.
As of the time I wrote this, UA just lost to USC on the road. If UCLA can complete the sweep and either UO or OSU beats UA AND we win out we will win at least a share of the title. Unlikely scenario, but it could happen. OSU has won 3 straight against UA, including one on UA's court last season. Could they make it 4-0? I sure hope so. UO has been playing pretty strong the past few games as well.
In order to keep their at-large bid secured, UW must win out these final 3 conference games and it all starts with WSU.
UW has a definitive edge at home, with an average margin of victory around 27 points and no victory at home this season was less than a 10 point margin of victory.
WSU's lone tournament hope is to win the Pac-10 tournament, but you can bet the Cougars would love to spoil our at-large hopes and drop us into the bubble. This is not a game to be taken lightly as the Cougars can be a very strong team when they get hot. It is important for UW to keep the crowd in the game and get hot early to extinguish any hopes of an upset once more.
DeAngelo Casto recently shaved off his dreads, but it hasn't helped his game yet.
Klay Thompson continues to be the lone star for the Cougars, but his support crew is slowly coming into their own. They are a very young team who could compete for the title in another year or two when they have a bit more experience under their belts. Thompson is currently leading the Pac-10 in scoring with 21.2 points per game as well as being second on the team in rebounding with 5.2 boards per game. Thompson is also leading the Cougars in assists with 4.0 per game and steals with 1.8 per game. Thompson has the team high in turnovers with 3.6 per game. He is a one man show, doing everything good, and bad, for the Cougars.
The Cougars run a 9 man rotation with 5 players picking up 25+ minutes per game, led by Thompson at 34.3 minutes per outing and followed closely by Reggie Moore at 34.1 minutes per game.
4 players contribute significant points per game for the Cougars (~8+ ppg). Thompson, as said above, leads the team with 21.2. There is a significant drop to the second player, Faisal Aden who scores about 12.9 per game. Casto is the last double digit scorer at 11.4 points on average and Moore rounds out the group with 9.8 ppg.
Casto leads the Cougs in rebounding with 6.5 per game. Moore is second on the team in assists with 3.6 per outing.
The Cougars are averaging 73 points, 34 boards, 14 assists, and 13 turnovers per game. They are shooting a pretty nice 35.8% from behind the arc and 69% at the free throw line. Thompson leads the Cougars in both categories with 81.3% from the charity stripe and 41.5% from range.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Washington State
Reggie Moore 6-1 180lb G
Marcus Capers 6-4 185lb G
Klay Thompson 6-6 202lb G
Brock Motum 6-10 230lb F
DeAngelo Casto 6-8 255lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 190lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
This stat is one of the most important for the Huskies. It has kept us close in several games as well as separated us quickly in others. UW was dominated on the glass by Arizona and in the end it was one of the factors that cost them the game. UW must continue their success in rebounding, which begins with more strong showings from Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Aziz N'Diaye. Our perimeter players need to do their job and box their men out to prevent a sea of red inside the paint.
Ball Handling/Turnovers
Turnovers demolished the Huskies in Pullman. 24 turnovers is twice as many as this team should have on any given day. We cannot afford to commit similar mistakes on Sunday and risk a repeat of the Pullman game. Isaiah Thomas needs to bring back his A game in terms of passing and handling. He dishes out the assists well enough game in and game out, but his turnover numbers have gone up the last week or so. He is trying to do too much or is playing half assed. Neither is acceptable. I.T. needs to return to the roots of what he was doing well in those first few games without Abdul Gaddy. He also needs to get his confidence at the free throw line back.
Outside Shooting
The Cougars have done a fantastic job this season defending the perimeter shots. UW shoots much better at home and needs to find a rhythm early in the game. Their 1-9 shooting in the first half against SU was ugly and will be the death of us against a more skilled team such as WSU. When we are not hitting outside we need to become more patient and work the ball inside for an easier, higher percentage shot.
Push the Middle
The best way to open up our shooters is by getting MBA the ball inside. Even Aziz is becoming a stronger option as he has been much more aggressive in the paint and is developing a nice hook shot.I.T. should look to drive, but if he isn't getting good shots, is turning it over, and not getting foul calls then he needs to back the ball out and work the perimeter more before penetrating. It would be nice to see Overton use his speed and agility to get inside and at least drive and dish.
Free Throw Shooting
Free throws win close ball games. We missed 5 against UA in a one point loss. Any one of those misses would have tied the game and any two could have won it. We don't get much home cooking at Hec Ed so make the easy ones for Pete's sake.
Bench Production
With UW down to an 8 man rotation while Scott Suggs recovers it is important that our bench can produce and allow our starters some rest. Presumably Wilcox will start again and allow I.T. and Overton to rotate with a little more ease when one or the other needs a break. Terrence Ross and Darnell Gant need to continue to help and contribute where they can, especially on the glass.
Final Thoughts
This will be a tough game, but even Arizona fell by 17 here. UW has been playing some of its best basketball as of late, evident by the one point loss to Arizona on the road due to a debatable block/goaltend call, as well as some mistake made earlier by the team. WSU will be hard pressed to win this game, especially after the WSU student section rushed the court for some odd reason. The Husky players took this to heart and you can bet they are looking to settle the score. After a humiliating loss to last place ASU and their bubble popped, the Cougars are a team with nothing to lose and that is often one of the most dangerous types of teams to play. Think USC last season when they were banned from post season play.
Final Score Prediction
UW-88 WSU-75
The Cougs could play this one close for a majority of the game or this could be blown open from the start, it really depends on the mental attitude and level of play the Huskies bring from the start. We cannot afford to start slow as we do all too often. While I would like to start Venoy Overton to get some spark to start the game, he is not tall enough to keep a mismatch against I.T. from happening. We also need Overton to be able to sub in and out with Isaiah should either get into foul trouble. MBA against Casto should be a good match up and it will be interesting to see how Holiday and Gant are able to perform defensively against Klay Thompson at home.
As of the time I wrote this, UA just lost to USC on the road. If UCLA can complete the sweep and either UO or OSU beats UA AND we win out we will win at least a share of the title. Unlikely scenario, but it could happen. OSU has won 3 straight against UA, including one on UA's court last season. Could they make it 4-0? I sure hope so. UO has been playing pretty strong the past few games as well.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Seattle University Review
Final Score: UW-95 SU-74
Well, it wasn't always pretty, but the dunks were brilliant and the outcome was nice. It wasn't the 30 to 40 point beat down I expected, but we missed a lot of shots and this allowed SU to stay in the game.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning forgot his jersey at home and wore number 55 without a name today instead of the usual number 11. He dominated regardless of the number. 24 points and 13 rebounds. Aziz also had a double double tonight with 15 points and 10 rebounds. 4 other Huskies had double digits. Isaiah Thomas had 20, Terrence Ross had 13, Darnell Gant had 10, and Justin Holiday had 10.
UW dominated the glass tonight in fantastic fashion, 49-28. UW picked up 20 offensive boards, led by Aziz with 6. MBA had the game high at 13, followed by Aziz with 10, C.J. Wilcox added 6, and Holiday had 5. Aaron Broussard led SU with 7.
C.J. Wilcox got the start tonight, but struggled to find the spark he had been showing the past few games. He finished with 3 points on 1-8 shooting, 1-6 from range. He was taking pretty good shots, they just rattled out.
We had a decent number of assists tonight, but our turnovers were atrocious. 16 assists and 17 turnovers, bleh. I.T. led the team with 4 assists, but also led the team with 5 turnovers. Not a pretty game for him. He forced too many awkward passes and drives at time, which led to giving the ball up.
UW set a new school record for blocks in a season, breaking the previous record of 151. Not sure where we officially ended tonight, but I'll update when I find out.
Justin Holiday threw down one of the most vicious dunks of the season tonight. The alley oop pass was pretty bad and behind him. Somehow, Holiday managed to find the ball, grab it behind his head and windmill it down into the hoop for a monstrous jam. The dunk was followed immediately by a brilliant block courtesy of Darnell Gant.
MBA had his own set of monster dunks, including a very nice 180 jam from the baseline.
Brendan Sherrer remained on the bench with his Staph infection.
The game was never really in doubt. Turnovers in the first half allowed SU to keep pushing within 5 points or so and every time the Huskies would jump back out to a bigger lead. They finally sealed it in the second with stronger, cleaner play.
This was a letdown game where not everything went right, but we did enough good stuff to run away with it early. We shot terribly from range tonight, 1-9 in the first half and 4-18 overall. Our free throws were also horrendous. We missed 13 free throws tonight, 29-42. I.T. must have forgotten his Wheaties next to MBA's jersey because he air-balled his first free throw and short changed the next 2 or 3. 5-10 from the line tonight for Isaiah. Not good. Aziz was 5-6. Excellent. Must have stolen some Mojo along the way.
Lorenzo Romar picked up a technical after a terrible no call followed quickly on the other end by a weak foul against UW. The refs were slightly better than our usual Pac-10 slop, but they still had some very questionable calls at times. I.T. could not buy a foul on the drive no matter what he did.
SU simply stood no chance as their tallest player is 6-8 and their skill set was no match for the experience D1 play of UW. Against a Pac-10 school, this would have been a much closer and dangerous game.
What Needed Improvement
Ball Handling
UW did not do a good job handling the rock tonight. All too often they threw away transition opportunities by short changing the pass or forcing through multiple coverage. Thomas led with 5, followed by Ross with 3. 4 other players had 2 turnovers. This cannot happen come Sunday or any of the following Pac-10 games. You can't even blame it on a home crowd. Key Arena was look pretty purple tonight.
Free Throw Shooting
Aziz N'Diaye did well. So did Terrence Ross. MBA was decent (6-9) as were Holiday and Gant (both 4-6). I.T. was just plain ugly. After so much work and progress this season with his free throw shot, the last two games have seen a dramatic decrease in his efficiency at the line. We need to make the freebies. 69% is not acceptable.
Outside Shooting
Only 22% tonight. Wilcox was cold as ice and I.T. was just as frigid. The two combined for 2-11 from the arc. Terrence Ross's shot was looking good, finishing 2-3 from outside.
What was Good
Rebounding
Fantastic effort by all tonight. Sure, SU didn't have the size to compete, but we did exactly what we should against an inferior and over matched team. Dominate. Both MBA and Aziz looked very strong and aggressive on the glass tonight. Aziz pulled down one board and using a single hand, threw off two Redhawk defenders to maintain possession. What a beast.
Passing
While a few of our passes went stray, its hard to stick your nose up at 16 assists. Holiday and Venoy added 3 a piece to I.T.'s 4 and UW worked fairly well in transition and this led to several awe inspiring dunks.
Composure
After such a hard fought, important game against UA, it would be easy to see UW letting this one get much closer than they did and allowing SU to have more than a fighting chance at a win. The Huskies did well to keep their head on straight and finish this game off strong.
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
Poor tonight for the senior. 0 points, 5 fouls, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and a block. He only took one shot and that was beyond the arc. He couldn't seem to find an open shot and didn't seem to be able to create one for himself. The fouls kept him a bit out of the game and perhaps losing the starting role to Wilcox affected his mindset. Who knows. Either way we will need him to be on top of his game come Sunday.
Grade: C-
Justin Holiday
Holiday's dunk may have been one of the most impressive all year across the nation. Overton's pass was way behind Justin, yet he managed to real it in and cradle it to the grave. I am looking forward to seeing the replay of that jam over and over. FSN better make a commercial out of it. Only 3-8 shooting tonight, 0-2 from outside. His shot is getting better once more, but it is still slightly off kilter. On top of the 5 boards, Holiday also added 2 blocks and a steal. He played very strong defense, but had 2 sloppy turnovers in transition from poor passes.
Grade: A-
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP, no doubt. 24 points, 13 boards, and only 2 turnovers. Somehow MBA not only forgot his jersey, but his invitation to the block party as well. UW had 9 blocks on the night, 2 short of the season high. MBA was 9-11 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe. Great night, though I would like to see him hit 7 of 9 from the free throw line. 75% is a reasonable goal. He had an awesome two hand slam near the end of the game that added to his already impressive performance. He brought down rebounds with power and looked much more confidence attacking the glass than he has in a few games. Not to say he hasn't put up good rebounding numbers, he just looked more aggressive tonight.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
A pretty good night for the Birdman. 3-7 shooting, 4-6 from the line, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. He did a great job on defense and was looking for and creating shots on offense. This was great practice for what we need out of him, not only to end this season, but for next season as well.
Grade: A-
Isaiah Thomas
An overall poor night for I.T. despite the 20 points. His free throws were grotesque, his outside shot was anemic, and his turnovers were just plain lazy. He will not be able to coast by like he did against WSU. He needs to get his head back in the game quickly because his role is very important for the rivalry match up this Sunday. His inside shot and drive were the most redeeming part of his performance tonight. He was overall 7-12 from the field, meaning he was 6-7 inside the arc. That is where his game focus should be. The outside shot is nice, but on nights when it isn't dropping he has to stop forcing.
Grade: B-
Aziz N'Diaye
A wonderful career high point performance for the big man. He was great tonight. This was a good warm up and practice game for WSU on Sunday who is a bit taller and stronger. He picked up his first double double in quite sometime. He was 5-7 from the field, including the game opening points (an awesome 2 hand put back dunk). My favorite basket was a dunk in the second half where it looks as though he didn't even jump to dunk it. That man is long and strong.
Grade: A
Antoine Hosley
3 minutes tonight. He barely missed his lone shot, a 3 pointer from the corner. He picked up a foul in the final minutes and had no other stats to speak of.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
C.J. was bound to return to earth after soaring sky high the past 2 or 3 games. His shot was off and no amount of shooting could seemingly fix it. He did grab a fantastic 6 boards to go along with a block and 2 steals. This was his first start of his career, though it looks as thought it will not be a permanent option this season.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
A pretty decent night for Ross. He had a nice dunk to go along with MBA and Holiday. A wonderful put back dunk with two hands, similar to that against Oregon State on the road. He was the only one with success outside the arc and was perfect from the free throw line, 5-5. 13 points in only 16 minutes is pretty good, especially considering he only had 2 at half.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
The game didn't quite go how I had it envisioned, but 95 points and a 21 point win is nice. It helps elevate moral after a tough loss on the road. The focus this week needs to be on ball handling and free throws Our defense was there tonight. 16 forced turnovers, 9 blocks, and 5 steals. WSU is on the horizon and it is time for vengeance after the terrible performance in Pullman.
Well, it wasn't always pretty, but the dunks were brilliant and the outcome was nice. It wasn't the 30 to 40 point beat down I expected, but we missed a lot of shots and this allowed SU to stay in the game.
Matthew Bryan-Amaning forgot his jersey at home and wore number 55 without a name today instead of the usual number 11. He dominated regardless of the number. 24 points and 13 rebounds. Aziz also had a double double tonight with 15 points and 10 rebounds. 4 other Huskies had double digits. Isaiah Thomas had 20, Terrence Ross had 13, Darnell Gant had 10, and Justin Holiday had 10.
UW dominated the glass tonight in fantastic fashion, 49-28. UW picked up 20 offensive boards, led by Aziz with 6. MBA had the game high at 13, followed by Aziz with 10, C.J. Wilcox added 6, and Holiday had 5. Aaron Broussard led SU with 7.
C.J. Wilcox got the start tonight, but struggled to find the spark he had been showing the past few games. He finished with 3 points on 1-8 shooting, 1-6 from range. He was taking pretty good shots, they just rattled out.
We had a decent number of assists tonight, but our turnovers were atrocious. 16 assists and 17 turnovers, bleh. I.T. led the team with 4 assists, but also led the team with 5 turnovers. Not a pretty game for him. He forced too many awkward passes and drives at time, which led to giving the ball up.
UW set a new school record for blocks in a season, breaking the previous record of 151. Not sure where we officially ended tonight, but I'll update when I find out.
Justin Holiday threw down one of the most vicious dunks of the season tonight. The alley oop pass was pretty bad and behind him. Somehow, Holiday managed to find the ball, grab it behind his head and windmill it down into the hoop for a monstrous jam. The dunk was followed immediately by a brilliant block courtesy of Darnell Gant.
MBA had his own set of monster dunks, including a very nice 180 jam from the baseline.
Brendan Sherrer remained on the bench with his Staph infection.
The game was never really in doubt. Turnovers in the first half allowed SU to keep pushing within 5 points or so and every time the Huskies would jump back out to a bigger lead. They finally sealed it in the second with stronger, cleaner play.
This was a letdown game where not everything went right, but we did enough good stuff to run away with it early. We shot terribly from range tonight, 1-9 in the first half and 4-18 overall. Our free throws were also horrendous. We missed 13 free throws tonight, 29-42. I.T. must have forgotten his Wheaties next to MBA's jersey because he air-balled his first free throw and short changed the next 2 or 3. 5-10 from the line tonight for Isaiah. Not good. Aziz was 5-6. Excellent. Must have stolen some Mojo along the way.
Lorenzo Romar picked up a technical after a terrible no call followed quickly on the other end by a weak foul against UW. The refs were slightly better than our usual Pac-10 slop, but they still had some very questionable calls at times. I.T. could not buy a foul on the drive no matter what he did.
SU simply stood no chance as their tallest player is 6-8 and their skill set was no match for the experience D1 play of UW. Against a Pac-10 school, this would have been a much closer and dangerous game.
What Needed Improvement
Ball Handling
UW did not do a good job handling the rock tonight. All too often they threw away transition opportunities by short changing the pass or forcing through multiple coverage. Thomas led with 5, followed by Ross with 3. 4 other players had 2 turnovers. This cannot happen come Sunday or any of the following Pac-10 games. You can't even blame it on a home crowd. Key Arena was look pretty purple tonight.
Free Throw Shooting
Aziz N'Diaye did well. So did Terrence Ross. MBA was decent (6-9) as were Holiday and Gant (both 4-6). I.T. was just plain ugly. After so much work and progress this season with his free throw shot, the last two games have seen a dramatic decrease in his efficiency at the line. We need to make the freebies. 69% is not acceptable.
Outside Shooting
Only 22% tonight. Wilcox was cold as ice and I.T. was just as frigid. The two combined for 2-11 from the arc. Terrence Ross's shot was looking good, finishing 2-3 from outside.
What was Good
Rebounding
Fantastic effort by all tonight. Sure, SU didn't have the size to compete, but we did exactly what we should against an inferior and over matched team. Dominate. Both MBA and Aziz looked very strong and aggressive on the glass tonight. Aziz pulled down one board and using a single hand, threw off two Redhawk defenders to maintain possession. What a beast.
Passing
While a few of our passes went stray, its hard to stick your nose up at 16 assists. Holiday and Venoy added 3 a piece to I.T.'s 4 and UW worked fairly well in transition and this led to several awe inspiring dunks.
Composure
After such a hard fought, important game against UA, it would be easy to see UW letting this one get much closer than they did and allowing SU to have more than a fighting chance at a win. The Huskies did well to keep their head on straight and finish this game off strong.
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
Poor tonight for the senior. 0 points, 5 fouls, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers, and a block. He only took one shot and that was beyond the arc. He couldn't seem to find an open shot and didn't seem to be able to create one for himself. The fouls kept him a bit out of the game and perhaps losing the starting role to Wilcox affected his mindset. Who knows. Either way we will need him to be on top of his game come Sunday.
Grade: C-
Justin Holiday
Holiday's dunk may have been one of the most impressive all year across the nation. Overton's pass was way behind Justin, yet he managed to real it in and cradle it to the grave. I am looking forward to seeing the replay of that jam over and over. FSN better make a commercial out of it. Only 3-8 shooting tonight, 0-2 from outside. His shot is getting better once more, but it is still slightly off kilter. On top of the 5 boards, Holiday also added 2 blocks and a steal. He played very strong defense, but had 2 sloppy turnovers in transition from poor passes.
Grade: A-
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP, no doubt. 24 points, 13 boards, and only 2 turnovers. Somehow MBA not only forgot his jersey, but his invitation to the block party as well. UW had 9 blocks on the night, 2 short of the season high. MBA was 9-11 from the field and 6-9 from the charity stripe. Great night, though I would like to see him hit 7 of 9 from the free throw line. 75% is a reasonable goal. He had an awesome two hand slam near the end of the game that added to his already impressive performance. He brought down rebounds with power and looked much more confidence attacking the glass than he has in a few games. Not to say he hasn't put up good rebounding numbers, he just looked more aggressive tonight.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
A pretty good night for the Birdman. 3-7 shooting, 4-6 from the line, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 assists. He did a great job on defense and was looking for and creating shots on offense. This was great practice for what we need out of him, not only to end this season, but for next season as well.
Grade: A-
Isaiah Thomas
An overall poor night for I.T. despite the 20 points. His free throws were grotesque, his outside shot was anemic, and his turnovers were just plain lazy. He will not be able to coast by like he did against WSU. He needs to get his head back in the game quickly because his role is very important for the rivalry match up this Sunday. His inside shot and drive were the most redeeming part of his performance tonight. He was overall 7-12 from the field, meaning he was 6-7 inside the arc. That is where his game focus should be. The outside shot is nice, but on nights when it isn't dropping he has to stop forcing.
Grade: B-
Aziz N'Diaye
A wonderful career high point performance for the big man. He was great tonight. This was a good warm up and practice game for WSU on Sunday who is a bit taller and stronger. He picked up his first double double in quite sometime. He was 5-7 from the field, including the game opening points (an awesome 2 hand put back dunk). My favorite basket was a dunk in the second half where it looks as though he didn't even jump to dunk it. That man is long and strong.
Grade: A
Antoine Hosley
3 minutes tonight. He barely missed his lone shot, a 3 pointer from the corner. He picked up a foul in the final minutes and had no other stats to speak of.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
C.J. was bound to return to earth after soaring sky high the past 2 or 3 games. His shot was off and no amount of shooting could seemingly fix it. He did grab a fantastic 6 boards to go along with a block and 2 steals. This was his first start of his career, though it looks as thought it will not be a permanent option this season.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
A pretty decent night for Ross. He had a nice dunk to go along with MBA and Holiday. A wonderful put back dunk with two hands, similar to that against Oregon State on the road. He was the only one with success outside the arc and was perfect from the free throw line, 5-5. 13 points in only 16 minutes is pretty good, especially considering he only had 2 at half.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
The game didn't quite go how I had it envisioned, but 95 points and a 21 point win is nice. It helps elevate moral after a tough loss on the road. The focus this week needs to be on ball handling and free throws Our defense was there tonight. 16 forced turnovers, 9 blocks, and 5 steals. WSU is on the horizon and it is time for vengeance after the terrible performance in Pullman.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Seattle University Preview
After a tough, close loss to Arizona, the Huskies have a fairly quick turnaround to face Seattle U on "the road" at Key-Arena. Last year was a blowout, 123-76, in a game that saw the Huskies get up by 19 before SU could even score. Seattle also finished with 4 players on the court as Cameron Dollar's game plan out of halftime was to foul all the damn time.
By the way, Joe Lunardi has the Huskies still as a 7 seed with a possible match up against San Diego State in the second round. Arizona moved up to number 10 in the polls and will likely break the top 10 before season end if they win out in conference.
Seattle University is 10-16 on the year and is still without a conference this year. I believe next season they will join a league. They have 2 nice wins over Oregon State and Virginia. They also have several bad losses including a 29 point loss in their opener against Maryland and a 30 point loss to Fresno State.
SU is averaging 68.7 ppg on the season, 38.7 rpg, 11.0 apg, and a measly 39.1% shooting. 4 players are averaging double digits for the Redhawks: Aaron Broussard leads with 15.0, Sterling Carter with 13.5, Alex Jones at 11.2, and Cervante Burrell at 10.7. Broussard also leads the Redhawks in rebounding at 8.1 per game followed by Garrett Lever with 5.6 boards per outing.
Turnovers have been a big problem for Seattle U this season. They are averaging about 18 per game and have 2 players with more than 3 turnovers per game (Carter at 3.3 and Burrell with 3.2).
The Redhawks run an 8 man rotation with 3 other players having limited roles and playing in about half of their games thus far. If the foul-a-thon happens again we could see all 11 players enter the game and bout 7 of them foul out. I hope this isn't the case. I like a good, quick game not slowed down by fouls left and right.
Let's take a look at the starting line up for Seattle U.
Aaron Broussard is the most important and dangerous play on the Redhawk squad. At 15 points and 8 rebounds per game he can do it all. He is a 6-5 205lb forward. He has improved his numbers every year going from 5 points per game his freshman year to 10 his sophomore season and now 15 his senior year. He has scored in double digits in all but 3 games this season and has 5 20+ point games. He also has 9 games with 10 or more rebounds. He is also a dangerous defender with 5 games of 3+ steals. He is not very good at handling and distributing the ball. He averages 1.1 assist per game and 2.6 turnovers. Strong defensive pressure will be key in shutting him down.
Galvin Gilmore is a 6-8 220lb forward whose numbers have decreased since his last season. He is averaging 15 minutes per game and is scoring 2.4 points and picking up 2.6 rebounds per game. He does not have strong defensive stats either (blocks, steals) and is not a passer. On the other side he does not turn the ball over as much as a large majority of his team (.4 assists, 1.4 turnovers). Matthew Bryan-Amaning will have a great size and skill advantage should this be his match up.
Alex Jones is a 6-8 215lb senior forward. 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. .2 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game. Like the rest of the Redhawks, Jones is turnover prone. He has 12 20+ point games on the year and a season high of 29 points. He fouls a lot. 16 games with 4+ fouls, including 6 foul outs on the year. If we can put pressure in the post and force him to foul MBA or Aziz we will remove him from the game quickly and can really gain a huge advantage in the frontcourt.
Sterling Carter is a freshman guard standing at 6-0 200lb. He is picking up 13.5 points and a very respectable 3.3 rebounds per game. He is a stronger passer with 2.1 assists per game, but also suffers from freshmen mistakes and turns the ball over about 3 times per game (10 games with 4+ turnovers). Carter can be a very prolific scorer with 7 games of 19+ points and a career high of 28 points. 6 of those 7 games he hit 4 or more 3 pointers, including 1 game with 7 makes on 15 attempts. Against Eastern Washington he dealt out 13 assists. With a very experienced and seasoned backcourt we can force a lot of mistakes through Carter by pressing hard defensively and not allowing him to get in a shooting rhythm.
Garrett Lever rounds out the starting 5. He is a 6-0 180lb guard in his senior season. While not a great scorer, 3.7 points per game, he does grab 5.6 rebounds and dish out 1.8 assists to his 1.4 turnovers. Like Carter, Lever is fairly strong on defense with 6 games with 4+ steals with a season high of 7 against Maryland.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Seattle University
Garrett Lever 6-0 180lb G
Sterling Carter 6-0 200lb G
Aaron Broussard 6-5 205lb F
Alex Jones 6-8 215lb F
Galvin Gilmore 6-8 220lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Venoy Overton 6-0 185lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
As a side note, Aziz did not start versus Arizona due to being late to the team bus. Not the reason we lost, but an unnecessary distraction.
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
After a very poor showing versus Arizona, the Huskies are looking to return to their strong rebounding ways. MBA played a great game and picked up his portion of the work load, Darnell Gant did his share of the rebounding, we just lacked it from other players. We match up fantastically against Seattle U and should have no problem boxing out and getting the boards. Last season we only won the rebounding battle by 1, 44-43. That is likely to change this year as MBA has been great on the glass and both Aziz and Gant have shown great promise. Our rebounding by committee has been wonderful the majority of the year and I expect no less tonight.
Free Throw Shooting
I expect us to see the line more than a few times in this game. While the 45 fouls Seattle U had last time is a bit unreasonable to expect again, I would not be surprised to see 30 to 35 fouls. With WSU, UCLA, and USC on the horizon we need to get our free throw form in shape and ready to go. This should not be a close game, but that is no reason to slack on the line.
Perimeter Pressure
Carter can get hot from outside and Broussard is decent in his own right. 4 players have 15+ makes on the season and Carter is by far the specialist and focal point with 65 makes on 191 attempts (34%). Extend out pressure, prevent the 3 pointers, and force turnovers.
Passing/Ball Handling
We can easily force the Redhawks into 20+ turnovers if we play defense as strong as we have been. Hell, we forced Arizona into 18 turnovers and they are a much, much, much better team offensively. Seattle U plays an uptempo game like us and is ranked 4th in the adjusted tempo category according to Ken Pom (UW is 9th). For a large majority of the year Seattle U was ranked number 1 in this category. By handling the ball well, we can move in transition and score in boat loads.
Push the Middle
MBA and Aziz should have a field day. Thomas and Holiday should excel. The biggest problem should be not enough possessions to go around rather than any sort of competitive problem. MBA should get 30 points and 15 boards if he can maintain his high level of play. If we can force Seattle U into a zone early we will see our outside shot open up and this will force the Redhawks to extend their pressure, opening up the middle for penetration by our guards who can either score or dish it out down low.
Avoid the Letdown
It would be easy for the Huskies to overlook this team, especially following the close loss to Arizona. It is extremely important to treat this game seriously and not have our heads towards WSU on Sunday. This should not be a close game. This should be a blow out. This is not a game to lose. The Huskies must come out of the gates firing on all cylinders.
Final Thoughts
Seattle U is an up and rising D1 team. They are a fair few years away from being competitive at this level again, but they are making progress. Their wins over OSU and UVA show this. Cameron Dollar has them headed in the right direction, its just a matter of time and players' talent levels. UW should have no problem with this game. We just need to bring the right mental attitude to the game.
Final Score Prediction
UW-115 SU-72
By the way, Joe Lunardi has the Huskies still as a 7 seed with a possible match up against San Diego State in the second round. Arizona moved up to number 10 in the polls and will likely break the top 10 before season end if they win out in conference.
Seattle University is 10-16 on the year and is still without a conference this year. I believe next season they will join a league. They have 2 nice wins over Oregon State and Virginia. They also have several bad losses including a 29 point loss in their opener against Maryland and a 30 point loss to Fresno State.
SU is averaging 68.7 ppg on the season, 38.7 rpg, 11.0 apg, and a measly 39.1% shooting. 4 players are averaging double digits for the Redhawks: Aaron Broussard leads with 15.0, Sterling Carter with 13.5, Alex Jones at 11.2, and Cervante Burrell at 10.7. Broussard also leads the Redhawks in rebounding at 8.1 per game followed by Garrett Lever with 5.6 boards per outing.
Turnovers have been a big problem for Seattle U this season. They are averaging about 18 per game and have 2 players with more than 3 turnovers per game (Carter at 3.3 and Burrell with 3.2).
The Redhawks run an 8 man rotation with 3 other players having limited roles and playing in about half of their games thus far. If the foul-a-thon happens again we could see all 11 players enter the game and bout 7 of them foul out. I hope this isn't the case. I like a good, quick game not slowed down by fouls left and right.
Let's take a look at the starting line up for Seattle U.
Aaron Broussard is the most important and dangerous play on the Redhawk squad. At 15 points and 8 rebounds per game he can do it all. He is a 6-5 205lb forward. He has improved his numbers every year going from 5 points per game his freshman year to 10 his sophomore season and now 15 his senior year. He has scored in double digits in all but 3 games this season and has 5 20+ point games. He also has 9 games with 10 or more rebounds. He is also a dangerous defender with 5 games of 3+ steals. He is not very good at handling and distributing the ball. He averages 1.1 assist per game and 2.6 turnovers. Strong defensive pressure will be key in shutting him down.
Galvin Gilmore is a 6-8 220lb forward whose numbers have decreased since his last season. He is averaging 15 minutes per game and is scoring 2.4 points and picking up 2.6 rebounds per game. He does not have strong defensive stats either (blocks, steals) and is not a passer. On the other side he does not turn the ball over as much as a large majority of his team (.4 assists, 1.4 turnovers). Matthew Bryan-Amaning will have a great size and skill advantage should this be his match up.
Alex Jones is a 6-8 215lb senior forward. 11.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. .2 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game. Like the rest of the Redhawks, Jones is turnover prone. He has 12 20+ point games on the year and a season high of 29 points. He fouls a lot. 16 games with 4+ fouls, including 6 foul outs on the year. If we can put pressure in the post and force him to foul MBA or Aziz we will remove him from the game quickly and can really gain a huge advantage in the frontcourt.
Sterling Carter is a freshman guard standing at 6-0 200lb. He is picking up 13.5 points and a very respectable 3.3 rebounds per game. He is a stronger passer with 2.1 assists per game, but also suffers from freshmen mistakes and turns the ball over about 3 times per game (10 games with 4+ turnovers). Carter can be a very prolific scorer with 7 games of 19+ points and a career high of 28 points. 6 of those 7 games he hit 4 or more 3 pointers, including 1 game with 7 makes on 15 attempts. Against Eastern Washington he dealt out 13 assists. With a very experienced and seasoned backcourt we can force a lot of mistakes through Carter by pressing hard defensively and not allowing him to get in a shooting rhythm.
Garrett Lever rounds out the starting 5. He is a 6-0 180lb guard in his senior season. While not a great scorer, 3.7 points per game, he does grab 5.6 rebounds and dish out 1.8 assists to his 1.4 turnovers. Like Carter, Lever is fairly strong on defense with 6 games with 4+ steals with a season high of 7 against Maryland.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Seattle University
Garrett Lever 6-0 180lb G
Sterling Carter 6-0 200lb G
Aaron Broussard 6-5 205lb F
Alex Jones 6-8 215lb F
Galvin Gilmore 6-8 220lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Venoy Overton 6-0 185lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
As a side note, Aziz did not start versus Arizona due to being late to the team bus. Not the reason we lost, but an unnecessary distraction.
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
After a very poor showing versus Arizona, the Huskies are looking to return to their strong rebounding ways. MBA played a great game and picked up his portion of the work load, Darnell Gant did his share of the rebounding, we just lacked it from other players. We match up fantastically against Seattle U and should have no problem boxing out and getting the boards. Last season we only won the rebounding battle by 1, 44-43. That is likely to change this year as MBA has been great on the glass and both Aziz and Gant have shown great promise. Our rebounding by committee has been wonderful the majority of the year and I expect no less tonight.
Free Throw Shooting
I expect us to see the line more than a few times in this game. While the 45 fouls Seattle U had last time is a bit unreasonable to expect again, I would not be surprised to see 30 to 35 fouls. With WSU, UCLA, and USC on the horizon we need to get our free throw form in shape and ready to go. This should not be a close game, but that is no reason to slack on the line.
Perimeter Pressure
Carter can get hot from outside and Broussard is decent in his own right. 4 players have 15+ makes on the season and Carter is by far the specialist and focal point with 65 makes on 191 attempts (34%). Extend out pressure, prevent the 3 pointers, and force turnovers.
Passing/Ball Handling
We can easily force the Redhawks into 20+ turnovers if we play defense as strong as we have been. Hell, we forced Arizona into 18 turnovers and they are a much, much, much better team offensively. Seattle U plays an uptempo game like us and is ranked 4th in the adjusted tempo category according to Ken Pom (UW is 9th). For a large majority of the year Seattle U was ranked number 1 in this category. By handling the ball well, we can move in transition and score in boat loads.
Push the Middle
MBA and Aziz should have a field day. Thomas and Holiday should excel. The biggest problem should be not enough possessions to go around rather than any sort of competitive problem. MBA should get 30 points and 15 boards if he can maintain his high level of play. If we can force Seattle U into a zone early we will see our outside shot open up and this will force the Redhawks to extend their pressure, opening up the middle for penetration by our guards who can either score or dish it out down low.
Avoid the Letdown
It would be easy for the Huskies to overlook this team, especially following the close loss to Arizona. It is extremely important to treat this game seriously and not have our heads towards WSU on Sunday. This should not be a close game. This should be a blow out. This is not a game to lose. The Huskies must come out of the gates firing on all cylinders.
Final Thoughts
Seattle U is an up and rising D1 team. They are a fair few years away from being competitive at this level again, but they are making progress. Their wins over OSU and UVA show this. Cameron Dollar has them headed in the right direction, its just a matter of time and players' talent levels. UW should have no problem with this game. We just need to bring the right mental attitude to the game.
Final Score Prediction
UW-115 SU-72
Saturday, February 19, 2011
University of Arizona Review 2
UW-86 UA-87
Name of the game. Too little too late. Big props to Derek Williams who blocked the game winning shot by Darnell Gant. I'll have to wait for a replay to see if it was a goal tend or not, but from what I saw initially it looked clean. UW came back from 9 down at half and 12 down at one point in the second half. UW had a 4 point lead at one point, but couldn't finish the game off. We shot ourselves in the foot once more. Isaiah Thomas and Venoy Overton both had break away plays blocked by Arizona due to pure laziness and poor communication. You have to go strong to the basket. No excuses. At all. 5 missed free throws. Arizona only missed 2. Do the math. We win by 2, 6 if you count the two break aways that should have been made.
Home cooking was around, but not the reason we lost. Arizona was shooting hot and we played lax defense in the first half. MBA had a posterization over Derek Williams that should have been an And 1 shot, but no foul was called. Tie game if that is called. On the other end Derek Williams was getting weak calls all night. As bad as that is, those 7 missed points is why we lost.
Offensive rebounding is another reason why we lost. 16-6 in Arizona's favor. 35-22 overall. Terrible. Despite forcing 7 more turnovers and blocking 10 shots and picking up 8 steals we lost. 16 extra opportunities for UA. 10 extra over UW. We did not box out and this led to fouls against us and And 1 plays for UA.
Arizona was hot from outside. 8-10 in the first half, 11-18 overall. UW was 5-16 with C.J. Wilcox hitting all but 1 of those 3 pointers. Williams was a perfect 2-2 and Lamont Jones was 3-6 from outside. We did not extend our defense well in the first half and UA capitalized by draining shots left and right.
Every stat seems to say we should have won this game, except rebounding. So when it comes down to it that was what killed us. Our normally strong rebounding support did a poor job helping MBA on the inside. Aziz N'Diaye hardly played the second half (or the first for that matter) as he picked up his fourth foul early in the second and had 3 quick ones in the first. Darnell Gant started in place of Aziz, but was subbed out 3 minutes in after a few backdoor cuts led to easy points.
I should amend that last statement. Rebounding and free throws. Both teams attempted 18 shots, UA made 3 extra. I.T. missed 3 free throws. Including the first of a 3 point foul and 1 from a technical given to Solomon Hill. The technical foul shot never should be missed. No one is around. Ignore the crowd and put the damn ball in the basket.
MBA played out of his mind along with I.T. They were slow in the first half, but the second they were much more productive and efficient. MBA had 3 straight lay-ins/dunks off of assists by Isaiah Thomas. MBA finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. Isaiah Thomas had 12 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.
As good as MBA was he missed some easy bunny shots, a few he rebounded and put back in to his credit. He finished 12-19 from the field and did not attempt. ONE. SINGLE. FREE THROW. I'm not saying he gets fouled every time, but there is no reason a post player with 19 attempts and 24 points does not see the free throw line at least once. Derek Williams was 8-17 from the field and he shot 9 free throws (made 8).
C.J. Wilcox came off the bench and scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting, 4-8 outside the arc. He was hot tonight. He is looking good once more.
UW has 20 assists to UA's 11. Another category we dominated. The difference, again, was rebounding. Darnell Gant had 5 rebounds to assist MBA, but no other player managed more than 2 after MBA and Gant. Pathetic.
A slow start made this game difficult to come back from. Arizona got up by 10 early and UW made several runs in the first half to cut the lead to 5 or less. At one point, UW was down only 4 points and made 4 defensive stops in a row, did not score on a single one of those opportunities. 3 of the stops ended with UW jacking up a 3 point shot, one of which Wilcox air-balled. The other two were both long and bounced into awaiting Arizona hands.
Arizona did a pretty good job of keeping I.T. out of the lane and I.T. did a great job of finding open teammates to finish. Still, it drives me mad how many easy free throws Thomas missed. I.T. finished 4-9 from the field, 0-2 from the arc.
UW was terrific defensively in the second half, but it was too little too late. When they got the lead, UW got a little sloppier on defense and this led to a pair of And 1 shots for UA, something I think UW only saw one or two times the entire game.
We had every reason to win and once more we fell. This loss hurts a lot. Not only does this drop of from title contention, effectively, but it also puts us on the bubble in my mind. We haven't picked up a huge win, we've dropped bad games to UO and OSU, and we are 10-5 in conference. We have no choice but to win out if we want to lock in a tournament bid. We have not learned how to close a game. USC is the lone time we have held onto a late lead to win. We have not gone into half down and come out to win yet either. This does not bode well for the NCAA. Injuries have killed us. Our once deep team is getting pond thin and we can't afford anymore injuries or mistakes.
What Needed Improvement
Rebounding
35-22. That says it all. 16-6, that is painful. How many times did UA shoot a bad shot thanks to strong defense only to have Arizona rebound it and put it back in for the easy shot? Too many times. That is how many. MBA was strong and Gant was strong. That was all we had. Aziz was in too much foul trouble to be effective at any point. The rest of the team was just plain weak on the box out and rebound.
Free Throw Shooting
This stat also hurt us. 3 misses more than UA, 1 point loss. Make any one of those and its a tie game, make 2 and its a win. No excuse for missing. Not in a big game like this, especially I.T. who has been so strong this year. Terrence Toss and Wilcox both missed 1 free throw. Free throws win close ball games and Arizona made theirs, we did not. We lost. They did not.
Outside Shooting
With the exception of C.J. Wilcox, UW was terrible from range. Holiday was the only other Husky to make a 3 pointer. 5-16 is not up to our standard. We should be 8-16 or 9-16.
What was Good
Passing/Ball Control
We had 20 assists and only 11 turnovers. I said we needed 10 or less to win and it looks like that was the case. Venoy Overton had a critical turnover when we were up 2. He threw it right into the hands of an Arizona player. They went down and got the And 1 to put them up 1 point. It ended up being the game changing play. Instead of up 4 we go down 1 and finish there. Silly turnover, bad ending.
Big Three
MBA, Holiday, and I.T. all played strong. Gant ad Wilcox were also tough and contributed in big ways. We could have used more rebounding from Holiday, but he managed 11 points, hit both his free throws and shot 4-8 from the field (1-3 from outside). He also had 1 steal, 1 block, and a turnover.
Second Half Defense
Strong play in the second half, but it was not enough. We got over the hump only to give the lead right back. We get up and give it up way too easy. I said in the preview we could not let UA go on a run let ASU. Well, UA did go on a big run to start the game and they won. Its hard enough to overcome an 8+ point lead. Its even harder against a talented team like UA.
Player by Player Review
Justin Holiday
Not his strongest game, but a pretty good one overall. His shot was decent, he played strong D, but he didn't rebound well. He had a few moments where he did not box out well. He made his lay-ins this time and did not miss the easy ones. We needed him to rebound the ball 5+ times, he only managed 2. Ouch.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
A decent game as well for Overton. You don't want to blame him alone for the loss, but the missed break away (due to a block) and the dumb turnover were both costly plays that changed the dynamic of the game. He had 4 assists, 6 points, and 2 steals, but the 3 turnovers hurt us big time. He had some nice passes, but the turnovers loom too big to really appreciate them.
Grade: B
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
I'm going to give him the MVP. He should have had an And1 shot on the dunk over Derek Williams. He had 4 shots where he was fouled and no call was made. Its tough to win games when your post players aren't able to get to the foul line. He played a very tough game and interacted well with I.T. in the second half to battle back into things. You can't ask him to do much more than he did. 6 blocks, 3 steals, 4 assists. Huge numbers. Add in his 24 points and its a fabulous night. His 3 turnovers weren't even that big of a deal because his other stats were so strong.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
You can't blame him for getting blocked. Williams is a phenomenal athlete and played great help defense on that play. Darnell had 7 points and 5 rebounds. 2 blocks and 1 assist, 0 turnovers. Great play from him tonight. He had a fantastic put back rebound to keep us in the game.
Grade: A
Isaiah Thomas
You really can't ask I.T. to do much more than he did, but he did miss 3 free throws and an easy lay-in (blocked). 9 assists and 12 rebounds. That is wonderful offensive production. He was tough on defense for a majority of the game. He played Jones tight, but Jones hit some big shots despite the hand in his face. I found it odd that Romar kept I.T. out of the game when UW got up 4. In my mind, that is where you want I.T. in the game to bump up the lead and put the choke hold on. Instead, Overton stayed in and turned it over. I.T. came in soon after. Honorary MVP. He makes his free throws and he is MVP. He makes his lay-in, he is MVP.
Grade: A-
Aziz N'Diaye
Non-factor. He played extremely limited minutes due to high fouling, only one was complete nonsense that I noticed. Only 2 rebounds and 2 points. He needs to step his game up. He is out post option next year and we need him to play big.
Grade: D
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Terrence Ross
5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 turnover. 1-3 from the field and 3-4 from the line. You can't expect him to make all his free throws and you can hardly blame him for the loss when he shot 75% from the line. Not his greatest game, but decent enough. He had a great put back off an MBA miss, showing those bursts of brilliance we need to become consistent performances.
Grade: B
C.J. Wilcox
19 points tonight, 7-11 form the field, 4-8 from the arc. No rebounds and 1 assist. He did not have a turnover, which is great. He was an offensive demon tonight and overall was good on defense. He had some problems getting his hips in the right place to force his man towards the top of the key or sidelines.
Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. This was our shot. This was our time. We had every reason to win. We had every opportunity to win and we couldn't pull it off. That fact alone will kill us come Selection Sunday. We have not made a convincing argument that we will be a competitive team in the NCAA and at this point a win out of the remaining 3 conference games is a must to get in the NCAA. I am hoping for a 10 seed at this point. If we can win out and win the Pac-10 tournament we could get up to a 7 or 8 seed, but without a convincing finish it is hard to argue how deserving we are of great seeding. To call this year underwhelming is an understatement. Every chance to dominate and we shoot ourselves night in and night out. There isn't much time to correct these problems, but it has to be done. not enough pressure defense in the first half, in my opinion. Down 9, got to pressure the ball. At least throw a three quarters court press. Make them work a bit, slow down the offense. Even a half court press would have been nice to see. Can we win the Pac-10 title? No, it would take a miracle. UA would have to lose 3 of their final 4 and with 2 games at McKale center I just don't see it turning out that way. UW would have to win out. UCLA would have to lose 2 to 3 of their final 4. The preseason favorites drowned their hopes in Oregon and are paying for it now. My heart is torn and I hope this team can finished with 5 or 6 straight wins to get into the NCAA and get to work in the post season. Can this team make it past the Sweet Sixteen? Sure. Will it happen? I'm not convinced at this point. They play plenty of teams strong and down to the wire, but they can't finish. For one reason or another they cannot finish. For me this is coaching. Plain and simple. I love Romar, but I'll be damned if the teams inability to finish isn't in part due to Romar and crew's coaching. They have to do something to inspire confidence ad make the team into winners and not close losers.
Name of the game. Too little too late. Big props to Derek Williams who blocked the game winning shot by Darnell Gant. I'll have to wait for a replay to see if it was a goal tend or not, but from what I saw initially it looked clean. UW came back from 9 down at half and 12 down at one point in the second half. UW had a 4 point lead at one point, but couldn't finish the game off. We shot ourselves in the foot once more. Isaiah Thomas and Venoy Overton both had break away plays blocked by Arizona due to pure laziness and poor communication. You have to go strong to the basket. No excuses. At all. 5 missed free throws. Arizona only missed 2. Do the math. We win by 2, 6 if you count the two break aways that should have been made.
Home cooking was around, but not the reason we lost. Arizona was shooting hot and we played lax defense in the first half. MBA had a posterization over Derek Williams that should have been an And 1 shot, but no foul was called. Tie game if that is called. On the other end Derek Williams was getting weak calls all night. As bad as that is, those 7 missed points is why we lost.
Offensive rebounding is another reason why we lost. 16-6 in Arizona's favor. 35-22 overall. Terrible. Despite forcing 7 more turnovers and blocking 10 shots and picking up 8 steals we lost. 16 extra opportunities for UA. 10 extra over UW. We did not box out and this led to fouls against us and And 1 plays for UA.
Arizona was hot from outside. 8-10 in the first half, 11-18 overall. UW was 5-16 with C.J. Wilcox hitting all but 1 of those 3 pointers. Williams was a perfect 2-2 and Lamont Jones was 3-6 from outside. We did not extend our defense well in the first half and UA capitalized by draining shots left and right.
Every stat seems to say we should have won this game, except rebounding. So when it comes down to it that was what killed us. Our normally strong rebounding support did a poor job helping MBA on the inside. Aziz N'Diaye hardly played the second half (or the first for that matter) as he picked up his fourth foul early in the second and had 3 quick ones in the first. Darnell Gant started in place of Aziz, but was subbed out 3 minutes in after a few backdoor cuts led to easy points.
I should amend that last statement. Rebounding and free throws. Both teams attempted 18 shots, UA made 3 extra. I.T. missed 3 free throws. Including the first of a 3 point foul and 1 from a technical given to Solomon Hill. The technical foul shot never should be missed. No one is around. Ignore the crowd and put the damn ball in the basket.
MBA played out of his mind along with I.T. They were slow in the first half, but the second they were much more productive and efficient. MBA had 3 straight lay-ins/dunks off of assists by Isaiah Thomas. MBA finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 4 turnovers. Isaiah Thomas had 12 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers.
As good as MBA was he missed some easy bunny shots, a few he rebounded and put back in to his credit. He finished 12-19 from the field and did not attempt. ONE. SINGLE. FREE THROW. I'm not saying he gets fouled every time, but there is no reason a post player with 19 attempts and 24 points does not see the free throw line at least once. Derek Williams was 8-17 from the field and he shot 9 free throws (made 8).
C.J. Wilcox came off the bench and scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting, 4-8 outside the arc. He was hot tonight. He is looking good once more.
UW has 20 assists to UA's 11. Another category we dominated. The difference, again, was rebounding. Darnell Gant had 5 rebounds to assist MBA, but no other player managed more than 2 after MBA and Gant. Pathetic.
A slow start made this game difficult to come back from. Arizona got up by 10 early and UW made several runs in the first half to cut the lead to 5 or less. At one point, UW was down only 4 points and made 4 defensive stops in a row, did not score on a single one of those opportunities. 3 of the stops ended with UW jacking up a 3 point shot, one of which Wilcox air-balled. The other two were both long and bounced into awaiting Arizona hands.
Arizona did a pretty good job of keeping I.T. out of the lane and I.T. did a great job of finding open teammates to finish. Still, it drives me mad how many easy free throws Thomas missed. I.T. finished 4-9 from the field, 0-2 from the arc.
UW was terrific defensively in the second half, but it was too little too late. When they got the lead, UW got a little sloppier on defense and this led to a pair of And 1 shots for UA, something I think UW only saw one or two times the entire game.
We had every reason to win and once more we fell. This loss hurts a lot. Not only does this drop of from title contention, effectively, but it also puts us on the bubble in my mind. We haven't picked up a huge win, we've dropped bad games to UO and OSU, and we are 10-5 in conference. We have no choice but to win out if we want to lock in a tournament bid. We have not learned how to close a game. USC is the lone time we have held onto a late lead to win. We have not gone into half down and come out to win yet either. This does not bode well for the NCAA. Injuries have killed us. Our once deep team is getting pond thin and we can't afford anymore injuries or mistakes.
What Needed Improvement
Rebounding
35-22. That says it all. 16-6, that is painful. How many times did UA shoot a bad shot thanks to strong defense only to have Arizona rebound it and put it back in for the easy shot? Too many times. That is how many. MBA was strong and Gant was strong. That was all we had. Aziz was in too much foul trouble to be effective at any point. The rest of the team was just plain weak on the box out and rebound.
Free Throw Shooting
This stat also hurt us. 3 misses more than UA, 1 point loss. Make any one of those and its a tie game, make 2 and its a win. No excuse for missing. Not in a big game like this, especially I.T. who has been so strong this year. Terrence Toss and Wilcox both missed 1 free throw. Free throws win close ball games and Arizona made theirs, we did not. We lost. They did not.
Outside Shooting
With the exception of C.J. Wilcox, UW was terrible from range. Holiday was the only other Husky to make a 3 pointer. 5-16 is not up to our standard. We should be 8-16 or 9-16.
What was Good
Passing/Ball Control
We had 20 assists and only 11 turnovers. I said we needed 10 or less to win and it looks like that was the case. Venoy Overton had a critical turnover when we were up 2. He threw it right into the hands of an Arizona player. They went down and got the And 1 to put them up 1 point. It ended up being the game changing play. Instead of up 4 we go down 1 and finish there. Silly turnover, bad ending.
Big Three
MBA, Holiday, and I.T. all played strong. Gant ad Wilcox were also tough and contributed in big ways. We could have used more rebounding from Holiday, but he managed 11 points, hit both his free throws and shot 4-8 from the field (1-3 from outside). He also had 1 steal, 1 block, and a turnover.
Second Half Defense
Strong play in the second half, but it was not enough. We got over the hump only to give the lead right back. We get up and give it up way too easy. I said in the preview we could not let UA go on a run let ASU. Well, UA did go on a big run to start the game and they won. Its hard enough to overcome an 8+ point lead. Its even harder against a talented team like UA.
Player by Player Review
Justin Holiday
Not his strongest game, but a pretty good one overall. His shot was decent, he played strong D, but he didn't rebound well. He had a few moments where he did not box out well. He made his lay-ins this time and did not miss the easy ones. We needed him to rebound the ball 5+ times, he only managed 2. Ouch.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
A decent game as well for Overton. You don't want to blame him alone for the loss, but the missed break away (due to a block) and the dumb turnover were both costly plays that changed the dynamic of the game. He had 4 assists, 6 points, and 2 steals, but the 3 turnovers hurt us big time. He had some nice passes, but the turnovers loom too big to really appreciate them.
Grade: B
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
I'm going to give him the MVP. He should have had an And1 shot on the dunk over Derek Williams. He had 4 shots where he was fouled and no call was made. Its tough to win games when your post players aren't able to get to the foul line. He played a very tough game and interacted well with I.T. in the second half to battle back into things. You can't ask him to do much more than he did. 6 blocks, 3 steals, 4 assists. Huge numbers. Add in his 24 points and its a fabulous night. His 3 turnovers weren't even that big of a deal because his other stats were so strong.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
You can't blame him for getting blocked. Williams is a phenomenal athlete and played great help defense on that play. Darnell had 7 points and 5 rebounds. 2 blocks and 1 assist, 0 turnovers. Great play from him tonight. He had a fantastic put back rebound to keep us in the game.
Grade: A
Isaiah Thomas
You really can't ask I.T. to do much more than he did, but he did miss 3 free throws and an easy lay-in (blocked). 9 assists and 12 rebounds. That is wonderful offensive production. He was tough on defense for a majority of the game. He played Jones tight, but Jones hit some big shots despite the hand in his face. I found it odd that Romar kept I.T. out of the game when UW got up 4. In my mind, that is where you want I.T. in the game to bump up the lead and put the choke hold on. Instead, Overton stayed in and turned it over. I.T. came in soon after. Honorary MVP. He makes his free throws and he is MVP. He makes his lay-in, he is MVP.
Grade: A-
Aziz N'Diaye
Non-factor. He played extremely limited minutes due to high fouling, only one was complete nonsense that I noticed. Only 2 rebounds and 2 points. He needs to step his game up. He is out post option next year and we need him to play big.
Grade: D
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Terrence Ross
5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, 1 turnover. 1-3 from the field and 3-4 from the line. You can't expect him to make all his free throws and you can hardly blame him for the loss when he shot 75% from the line. Not his greatest game, but decent enough. He had a great put back off an MBA miss, showing those bursts of brilliance we need to become consistent performances.
Grade: B
C.J. Wilcox
19 points tonight, 7-11 form the field, 4-8 from the arc. No rebounds and 1 assist. He did not have a turnover, which is great. He was an offensive demon tonight and overall was good on defense. He had some problems getting his hips in the right place to force his man towards the top of the key or sidelines.
Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. This was our shot. This was our time. We had every reason to win. We had every opportunity to win and we couldn't pull it off. That fact alone will kill us come Selection Sunday. We have not made a convincing argument that we will be a competitive team in the NCAA and at this point a win out of the remaining 3 conference games is a must to get in the NCAA. I am hoping for a 10 seed at this point. If we can win out and win the Pac-10 tournament we could get up to a 7 or 8 seed, but without a convincing finish it is hard to argue how deserving we are of great seeding. To call this year underwhelming is an understatement. Every chance to dominate and we shoot ourselves night in and night out. There isn't much time to correct these problems, but it has to be done. not enough pressure defense in the first half, in my opinion. Down 9, got to pressure the ball. At least throw a three quarters court press. Make them work a bit, slow down the offense. Even a half court press would have been nice to see. Can we win the Pac-10 title? No, it would take a miracle. UA would have to lose 3 of their final 4 and with 2 games at McKale center I just don't see it turning out that way. UW would have to win out. UCLA would have to lose 2 to 3 of their final 4. The preseason favorites drowned their hopes in Oregon and are paying for it now. My heart is torn and I hope this team can finished with 5 or 6 straight wins to get into the NCAA and get to work in the post season. Can this team make it past the Sweet Sixteen? Sure. Will it happen? I'm not convinced at this point. They play plenty of teams strong and down to the wire, but they can't finish. For one reason or another they cannot finish. For me this is coaching. Plain and simple. I love Romar, but I'll be damned if the teams inability to finish isn't in part due to Romar and crew's coaching. They have to do something to inspire confidence ad make the team into winners and not close losers.
University of Arizona Preview 2
Link is up here. Romar has said Venoy Overton will start in Scott Suggs place.
http://www.montlakemadness.com/game-preview-arizona-2/
http://www.montlakemadness.com/game-preview-arizona-2/
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Arizona State University Review 2
UW-79 ASU-62
A great start to a critical weekend. UW had a 21 point lead before subbing in Antoine Hosley and entering garbage time. MBA had another dominate performance over ASU, finishing with a double double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, and only 1 turnover). 4 Huskies finished with double digit scoring. C.J. Wilcox had 16, Isaiah Thomas had 11, and Venoy Overton finished with 10.
Scott Suggs left early in the game after a tumble that resulted in a sprained MCL. He will likely not be available until the WSU game. *Update* Reports indicate 2-3 weeks for recovery, so WSU game is a maybe at best. More likely he won't return until the Pac-10 tournament.
Brendan Sherrer did not travel with the team this weekends as he is currently dealing with a Staph infection in his arm.
UW won the rebounding battle 41-38 led by MBA at 12, followed by Overton and Wilcox with 8 a piece. Keala King led ASU with 8 off the bench. ASU picked up a lot of rebounds from long misses by both UW and themselves. UW shot a measly 8-26 from range, led by Wilcox going 4-9. I.T.'s shot was off and missed his first 8 shots including 6 from deep. He finished 4-12 over all, 2-8 from outside.
Overall the free throws were very solid. MBA elevated his game by not only going 7-11 from the field, but 8-11 from the charity stripe. On the other side, normally constant Overton was 5-9 from the free throw line and constituted a majority of the misses. UW finished 21-30 from the line, while ASU went 6-19. Only due to the fouling at the end of the game did UW have the foul advantage 23-22. ASU was shooting one and ones only 4 minutes into the game and Holiday picked up 3 rather quickly, all on rather weak fouls.
UW played strong defense today. Despite only forcing 9 turnovers, the Dawgs hosted another block party with 10 on the night. MBA led with his 4 with both Aziz N'Diaye and Wilcox added in two of their own. UW also stole the ball twice.
To add onto the strong defense, UW handled the ball extremely well, only committing 9 turnovers themselves and dishing out 21 assists to ASU's 14. I.T. led the team with 6 assists and was followed closely by Overton who had 5, while both MBA and Wilcox added 3 a piece.
Terrence Ross struggled to find his shot tonight, going 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from outside. He picked up 2 points off a pair of free throws, had 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 2 silly turnovers. He played 24 minutes tonight because he played tough defense and moved well around the court.
I was most impressed with C.J. Wilcox. He has resurfaced and brought back with him that sweet, sweet shot and the quick release. With Scott Suggs out for at least the next 2, if not 3, games there is a starting spot open and I believe it will go to either Terrence Ross or C.J. Wilcox to prevent mismatches at point guard for Isaiah. Ross has been having some statement games, but C.J. argued his case well tonight. If it was up to me, I'd go with Ross. He has been better overall as of late. Also, bringing C.J. in gives us some instant firepower from the bench.
The refs, perhaps inspired by the Stanford Teabag Theme, held their own T party tonight. An ASU player ran over Isaiah when there was no reason to be near him. I.T. got up the court and said "Hey, don't do that." No swearing, no contact, no nothing. I.T. got T'ed up by the refs. After review by the refs, the ASU player was also issued a technical. Shortly after, the ASU bench picked up another technical as the ASU assistant coach blew his top. None of those T's should have happened, the refs needed to step in early and issue warnings.
I was most impressed with our composure during the game. UW started off shooting slow and got down by 8 quickly. They went on a run and finished the half up 10. Tough defense and a will to win, not to mention making their free throws, was what enabled them to make the run.
What Needed Improvement
Boxing Out
While UW rebounded well, so did the Devil. We only had a 3 rebound margin. This won't cut it against UA on Saturday. We need to do a better job of boxing out, especially the guards on the long rebounds. There were flashes of strong boxing out, but overall it was lacking on the perimeter.
Fouling
This was not entirely the players fault, but players need to adjust their game. The refs were calling weak sauce fouls all over the place. While the second half was much better we still need to avoid the sloppy ones right off the bat. We have had more stressful games in terms of foul trouble, but no need to start again.
Outside Shooting
Everyone but C.J. seemed to struggle. Thomas was 2-8, Holiday was 1-3, Ross was 0-3, Gant was 0-1, and Venoy was fairly solid at 1-2. They weren't necessarily bad shots, they just weren't hitting the open ones like they should, I.T. especially.
What was Good
Rebounding
As I said above, our rebounding was good enough, we just need to defend against it a little better. 41 boards is nothing to turn your nose up at. MBA was very solid and Overton and Wilcox surprised me with their solid play. Aziz didn't pick up many, but he usually struggles a bit against the zone. Ross and Gant were also a little below their averages, but their slack was picked up by the above mentioned.
Defense
Looked pretty solid for a majority of the night. ASU made a short run at the start of the second and the very end of the game (as expected), but that was about it. If not for the poor shooting to start the game and heavy fouling, UW would not have trailed at all this game. At one point UW had 6 points, 7 fouls. Ridiculous.
Ball Control/Passing
As I said earlier, we did a fantastic job holding onto and distributing the ball tonight. Players outside the point guard position were handling and distributing the ball well. I.T. only had 1 turnover to his 6 assists, which was great to see after his 1 assist 5 turnover game last week. Overton has been very solid as well and is returning to his prime level of play on both ends of the court.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Another quiet night for the senior. 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 0 turnovers. A fairly solid line for 22 minutes. It only seems so quiet because he sat a bit with foul trouble. We have also become spoiled when it comes to his 15 to 20 point games so hearing he only put up 9 seems like an off night now-a-days. 3-7 from the field and a very nice 3 pointer to keep the momentum going our way off a sweet pass by C.J. Wilcox.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
Can I say the Venoyance is back? I feel like I can. He was strong on defense, harassing people all night, he only had 1 foul, picked up 8 huge rebounds (7 defensive), and despite poor free throw shooting still managed to hit double digits with 10 points. He only had 1 steal, but he did much more than the stats show. He did a great job running the team after Suggs left with his injury and played a team high 30 minutes. Like I.T., Venoy only had 1 turnover on the night. Fantastic.
Grade: A- (make your free throws and its an A kind of day)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP of the game tonight. This season MBA has averaged 26 points and 10.5 rebounds against ASU. Brilliant numbers. His 22 and 12 with 4 added blocks was tremendous. To do so while only picking up 2 fouls and even handing out 3 assists is beautiful. He was fantastic receiving it down low, faking in and then dishing out to our waiting guards and wings for the 3 ball. Some strong dunks tonight, including a great alley oop dish in transition. We will need this kind of performance against UA this weekend.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Can't say a whole lot. He only played 3 minutes before the tumble and won't play for another few weeks. We wish you quick healing and a magnificent return.
Grade: A for effort
Darnell Gant
Not as strong tonight as he was against the Bay Area schools, but a decent game as is. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnovers. He played defense well and worked in the zone to shut down the ASU outside shot. He will be important as well on Saturday, working in turns to contain Derek Williams.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Fairly quiet tonight. He missed a lot of shots, including 2 open 3 pointer he should have nailed. It wasn't until late in the first that he found his shot again and didn't miss any more shots until games end. He passed well and dished out of the drive more often, which was great to see. That's the kind of play we needed from him tonight as our post was having its way all game long.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
Picked up 4 fouls and went 2-4 from the field, 1-2 from the free throw line. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover. Not bad, but not great for 21 minutes. The 3-2 zone really gives him troubles as he is still learning how to box out and rebound properly against the zone defense. It'll come with time, no worries there. He had a brilliant dunk, ramming it home on a nice pass by Overton. Big boy needs to go up that strong and with authority more often. He crumpled one ASU player tonight, but drew the foul rather than just a pure block.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. The only stat to report is a lone turnover that occurred to his O button smashing. If you don't get the reference, visit seattlesportsnet.com and look up the Human Victory Blunt. Hilarious article by Alex Akita.
Grade: A for effort
Terrence Ross
After 2 solid performances last week, Ross was quiet today. It happens with freshmen and against the zone it is much harder to pull off those fancy, athletic moves. Let's hope he shows up strong against Arizona on Saturday. I'm picking him as my starter until I hear otherwise from Romar or see it in the game.
Grade: B for defensive effort and overall tenacity
C.J. Wilcox
He has returned at last, ladies and gentlemen. After passing on his Staph to poor Brendan, his swag and shot are back in action. While not quite at his 50%+ level we saw at the start of the season, 4-9 is pretty damn sweet. His release is just fantastic. Watch Ray Allen, who recently set the NBA record for 3 pointers, and you will see a similar shot style. Elbows up, elevate, quick release. Its a thing of beauty. His defense is also looking very solid as evident by his 2 blocks, which were not just tips, but full on rejections. He gets an honorable mention for MVP tonight.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This was a great way to start the road trip. Get some confidence, shoot well enough, hit our free throws, defend the ball, and control the rock. We need to carry our momentum through Saturday and pick up the sweep. WSU lost a game against UA that was never really in question, but fairly close at times. Klay Thompson had something like 30 points for the Cougars, but had no additional support to pull off the upset. It is up to us to start a losing trend for Arizona. The game on Saturday will be the biggest of the year, by far. Playing #12/13 on the road on ESPN, essentially for the title in many ways. We pick up that win and we sit only a half game back with 3 home games to finish off the conference season. A great time and place to win the title if you ask me. Sure we need UA to drop one more after that, but it can happen. UA finishes with UCLA, USC, UO, and OSU all of whom would beat UA on any given day. My bet is on UCLA or OSU. Both teams have played well against Arizona in the past. UO is a dark horse for the upset. The Trojans haven't played well enough as of late for me to have confidence in them pulling the upset, but it could happen. Before worrying too much about what Arizona does, we need to take care of ourselves first. Win out and the title is ours. Lose on Saturday and aim for second. That is pretty much what it comes down to. This is it. This is our time. Let's get it done. Go Dawgs.
A great start to a critical weekend. UW had a 21 point lead before subbing in Antoine Hosley and entering garbage time. MBA had another dominate performance over ASU, finishing with a double double (22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, and only 1 turnover). 4 Huskies finished with double digit scoring. C.J. Wilcox had 16, Isaiah Thomas had 11, and Venoy Overton finished with 10.
Scott Suggs left early in the game after a tumble that resulted in a sprained MCL. He will likely not be available until the WSU game. *Update* Reports indicate 2-3 weeks for recovery, so WSU game is a maybe at best. More likely he won't return until the Pac-10 tournament.
Brendan Sherrer did not travel with the team this weekends as he is currently dealing with a Staph infection in his arm.
UW won the rebounding battle 41-38 led by MBA at 12, followed by Overton and Wilcox with 8 a piece. Keala King led ASU with 8 off the bench. ASU picked up a lot of rebounds from long misses by both UW and themselves. UW shot a measly 8-26 from range, led by Wilcox going 4-9. I.T.'s shot was off and missed his first 8 shots including 6 from deep. He finished 4-12 over all, 2-8 from outside.
Overall the free throws were very solid. MBA elevated his game by not only going 7-11 from the field, but 8-11 from the charity stripe. On the other side, normally constant Overton was 5-9 from the free throw line and constituted a majority of the misses. UW finished 21-30 from the line, while ASU went 6-19. Only due to the fouling at the end of the game did UW have the foul advantage 23-22. ASU was shooting one and ones only 4 minutes into the game and Holiday picked up 3 rather quickly, all on rather weak fouls.
UW played strong defense today. Despite only forcing 9 turnovers, the Dawgs hosted another block party with 10 on the night. MBA led with his 4 with both Aziz N'Diaye and Wilcox added in two of their own. UW also stole the ball twice.
To add onto the strong defense, UW handled the ball extremely well, only committing 9 turnovers themselves and dishing out 21 assists to ASU's 14. I.T. led the team with 6 assists and was followed closely by Overton who had 5, while both MBA and Wilcox added 3 a piece.
Terrence Ross struggled to find his shot tonight, going 0-5 from the field and 0-3 from outside. He picked up 2 points off a pair of free throws, had 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 block, and 2 silly turnovers. He played 24 minutes tonight because he played tough defense and moved well around the court.
I was most impressed with C.J. Wilcox. He has resurfaced and brought back with him that sweet, sweet shot and the quick release. With Scott Suggs out for at least the next 2, if not 3, games there is a starting spot open and I believe it will go to either Terrence Ross or C.J. Wilcox to prevent mismatches at point guard for Isaiah. Ross has been having some statement games, but C.J. argued his case well tonight. If it was up to me, I'd go with Ross. He has been better overall as of late. Also, bringing C.J. in gives us some instant firepower from the bench.
The refs, perhaps inspired by the Stanford Teabag Theme, held their own T party tonight. An ASU player ran over Isaiah when there was no reason to be near him. I.T. got up the court and said "Hey, don't do that." No swearing, no contact, no nothing. I.T. got T'ed up by the refs. After review by the refs, the ASU player was also issued a technical. Shortly after, the ASU bench picked up another technical as the ASU assistant coach blew his top. None of those T's should have happened, the refs needed to step in early and issue warnings.
I was most impressed with our composure during the game. UW started off shooting slow and got down by 8 quickly. They went on a run and finished the half up 10. Tough defense and a will to win, not to mention making their free throws, was what enabled them to make the run.
What Needed Improvement
Boxing Out
While UW rebounded well, so did the Devil. We only had a 3 rebound margin. This won't cut it against UA on Saturday. We need to do a better job of boxing out, especially the guards on the long rebounds. There were flashes of strong boxing out, but overall it was lacking on the perimeter.
Fouling
This was not entirely the players fault, but players need to adjust their game. The refs were calling weak sauce fouls all over the place. While the second half was much better we still need to avoid the sloppy ones right off the bat. We have had more stressful games in terms of foul trouble, but no need to start again.
Outside Shooting
Everyone but C.J. seemed to struggle. Thomas was 2-8, Holiday was 1-3, Ross was 0-3, Gant was 0-1, and Venoy was fairly solid at 1-2. They weren't necessarily bad shots, they just weren't hitting the open ones like they should, I.T. especially.
What was Good
Rebounding
As I said above, our rebounding was good enough, we just need to defend against it a little better. 41 boards is nothing to turn your nose up at. MBA was very solid and Overton and Wilcox surprised me with their solid play. Aziz didn't pick up many, but he usually struggles a bit against the zone. Ross and Gant were also a little below their averages, but their slack was picked up by the above mentioned.
Defense
Looked pretty solid for a majority of the night. ASU made a short run at the start of the second and the very end of the game (as expected), but that was about it. If not for the poor shooting to start the game and heavy fouling, UW would not have trailed at all this game. At one point UW had 6 points, 7 fouls. Ridiculous.
Ball Control/Passing
As I said earlier, we did a fantastic job holding onto and distributing the ball tonight. Players outside the point guard position were handling and distributing the ball well. I.T. only had 1 turnover to his 6 assists, which was great to see after his 1 assist 5 turnover game last week. Overton has been very solid as well and is returning to his prime level of play on both ends of the court.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Another quiet night for the senior. 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 0 turnovers. A fairly solid line for 22 minutes. It only seems so quiet because he sat a bit with foul trouble. We have also become spoiled when it comes to his 15 to 20 point games so hearing he only put up 9 seems like an off night now-a-days. 3-7 from the field and a very nice 3 pointer to keep the momentum going our way off a sweet pass by C.J. Wilcox.
Grade: B
Venoy Overton
Can I say the Venoyance is back? I feel like I can. He was strong on defense, harassing people all night, he only had 1 foul, picked up 8 huge rebounds (7 defensive), and despite poor free throw shooting still managed to hit double digits with 10 points. He only had 1 steal, but he did much more than the stats show. He did a great job running the team after Suggs left with his injury and played a team high 30 minutes. Like I.T., Venoy only had 1 turnover on the night. Fantastic.
Grade: A- (make your free throws and its an A kind of day)
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
MVP of the game tonight. This season MBA has averaged 26 points and 10.5 rebounds against ASU. Brilliant numbers. His 22 and 12 with 4 added blocks was tremendous. To do so while only picking up 2 fouls and even handing out 3 assists is beautiful. He was fantastic receiving it down low, faking in and then dishing out to our waiting guards and wings for the 3 ball. Some strong dunks tonight, including a great alley oop dish in transition. We will need this kind of performance against UA this weekend.
Grade: A+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Scott Suggs
Can't say a whole lot. He only played 3 minutes before the tumble and won't play for another few weeks. We wish you quick healing and a magnificent return.
Grade: A for effort
Darnell Gant
Not as strong tonight as he was against the Bay Area schools, but a decent game as is. 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 turnovers. He played defense well and worked in the zone to shut down the ASU outside shot. He will be important as well on Saturday, working in turns to contain Derek Williams.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Fairly quiet tonight. He missed a lot of shots, including 2 open 3 pointer he should have nailed. It wasn't until late in the first that he found his shot again and didn't miss any more shots until games end. He passed well and dished out of the drive more often, which was great to see. That's the kind of play we needed from him tonight as our post was having its way all game long.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
Picked up 4 fouls and went 2-4 from the field, 1-2 from the free throw line. 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover. Not bad, but not great for 21 minutes. The 3-2 zone really gives him troubles as he is still learning how to box out and rebound properly against the zone defense. It'll come with time, no worries there. He had a brilliant dunk, ramming it home on a nice pass by Overton. Big boy needs to go up that strong and with authority more often. He crumpled one ASU player tonight, but drew the foul rather than just a pure block.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. The only stat to report is a lone turnover that occurred to his O button smashing. If you don't get the reference, visit seattlesportsnet.com and look up the Human Victory Blunt. Hilarious article by Alex Akita.
Grade: A for effort
Terrence Ross
After 2 solid performances last week, Ross was quiet today. It happens with freshmen and against the zone it is much harder to pull off those fancy, athletic moves. Let's hope he shows up strong against Arizona on Saturday. I'm picking him as my starter until I hear otherwise from Romar or see it in the game.
Grade: B for defensive effort and overall tenacity
C.J. Wilcox
He has returned at last, ladies and gentlemen. After passing on his Staph to poor Brendan, his swag and shot are back in action. While not quite at his 50%+ level we saw at the start of the season, 4-9 is pretty damn sweet. His release is just fantastic. Watch Ray Allen, who recently set the NBA record for 3 pointers, and you will see a similar shot style. Elbows up, elevate, quick release. Its a thing of beauty. His defense is also looking very solid as evident by his 2 blocks, which were not just tips, but full on rejections. He gets an honorable mention for MVP tonight.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
This was a great way to start the road trip. Get some confidence, shoot well enough, hit our free throws, defend the ball, and control the rock. We need to carry our momentum through Saturday and pick up the sweep. WSU lost a game against UA that was never really in question, but fairly close at times. Klay Thompson had something like 30 points for the Cougars, but had no additional support to pull off the upset. It is up to us to start a losing trend for Arizona. The game on Saturday will be the biggest of the year, by far. Playing #12/13 on the road on ESPN, essentially for the title in many ways. We pick up that win and we sit only a half game back with 3 home games to finish off the conference season. A great time and place to win the title if you ask me. Sure we need UA to drop one more after that, but it can happen. UA finishes with UCLA, USC, UO, and OSU all of whom would beat UA on any given day. My bet is on UCLA or OSU. Both teams have played well against Arizona in the past. UO is a dark horse for the upset. The Trojans haven't played well enough as of late for me to have confidence in them pulling the upset, but it could happen. Before worrying too much about what Arizona does, we need to take care of ourselves first. Win out and the title is ours. Lose on Saturday and aim for second. That is pretty much what it comes down to. This is it. This is our time. Let's get it done. Go Dawgs.
Arizona State University Preview 2
Arizona State is 9-15 on the year and 1-11 in conference with their lone win coming over Oregon on the road. The most recently lost to UA by 15 in a 67-52 game. They have lost 10 straight conference games.
ASU only has 2 players who have competed in all 24 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 2 players are Rihards Kuksiks and Kyle Cain.
ASU is led in scoring by Trent Lockett with 13.9 points per game, followed closely by Ty Abbott with 12.9 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.6 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 64 per game.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 32 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 5.6 per game and Lockett adds 5.2 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Jamelle McMillian is shooting well form outside as well. Those 3 make up the main vein of ASU's outside shooting force.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81.8% and Carrick Felix is 76.3% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more. Abbott has stepped up his game, but is scoring less than earlier in the season, while Lockett has elevated his play.
McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers per game. He only scores 7.2 points per game. A 1 point improvement from earlier this season.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 16 or 17 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both. He and MBA combined for 12 boards last game against a strong rebounding Stanford Team. They can do better. MBA put up 30 points and 9 rebounds last time out and I expect to see similar results, but perhaps a few more rebounds. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.0 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU has hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. Defense is the name of the game form here on out.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can continue to break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Same story different game. Road games mean less free throws and our bigs struggle. Our posts have got to start working with I.T. and others to get their percentages up. 65% or higher please.
Ball Handling
Less turnovers mean less points and opportunities for ASU. When we handle well we win with ease. It isn't too hard, we just need to execute.
Final Thoughts
ASU kept it close at Hec-Ed with the Dawgs only having a 2 point lead with 4 minutes to go before blowing the doors open. On the road will be no easier. The ASU game was the start of our defensive problems. We were too complacent and allowed ASU to shoot lights out. We have to extend our pressure and force them to look inside where our size advantage can really play out. We need to establish our shot on the road as well. Get hot quick and keep the fire burning. Defense, rebounding, scoring. In that order. We cannot drop this game. At all. We must win out if we want the title, simple as that. ASU played both USC and UCLA close at home, losing to USC by 2 and UCLA by 1 in overtime. On the other hand, ASU is averaging only 63 points in conference. If UW can score well, ASU won't be able to keep up. It all starts defensively. Get steals, get turnovers, get in transition.
Final Score UW-83 ASU-70
ASU only has 2 players who have competed in all 24 games this year, a little strange considering a team needs 5 players on the court to start the game (yes this is not always true, but for college it essentially is). Those 2 players are Rihards Kuksiks and Kyle Cain.
ASU is led in scoring by Trent Lockett with 13.9 points per game, followed closely by Ty Abbott with 12.9 points per game. Kuksiks is the only other major point contributor with 9.6 per game. ASU is a low scoring team, averaging 64 per game.
ASU does not rebound extremely well either, averaging only 32 per game. Kyle Cain is picking up 5.6 per game and Lockett adds 5.2 boards per match up. To say the least, this is a big opportunity for our bigs to put up some big rebounding numbers as ASU lacks a strong post player with rebounding talents.
Both Abbott and Kuksiks are strong outside shooters. Both are shooting around 40% from range. Jamelle McMillian is shooting well form outside as well. Those 3 make up the main vein of ASU's outside shooting force.
Thankfully, ASU is a terrible free throw shooting team as well, with only two players above 75% on the year. Kuksiks leads the team with 81.8% and Carrick Felix is 76.3% on the season.
ASU does not have any stand out players except for Rihards Kuksiks and he is only mildly impressive. Much like Jorge Guitierrez of Cal, Kuksiks is good because he has to be. At least that is how I see it. He shoot well from outside, but doesn't do much more. Abbott has stepped up his game, but is scoring less than earlier in the season, while Lockett has elevated his play.
McMillian is a fairly good point guard, averaging 4.0 assists and 1.4 turnovers per game. He only scores 7.2 points per game. A 1 point improvement from earlier this season.
Starting Line Ups
Arizona State
Jamelle McMillian 6-2 180lb G
Ty Abbott 6-3 205lb G
Trent Lockett 6-3 210lb G
Rihards Kuksiks 6-6 206lb G/F
Ruslan Pateev 7-0 249lb C
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 6-6 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
As usual, rebounding will be key. Unlike the Arizona game, ASU does not have a dominate rebounding force, nor are they a highly competitive team for UW. Regardless, more rebounds = more chances for us and less for ASU. Personally, I would love to see a 16 or 17 board advantage by games end including 10+ for both MBA and Aziz. I think it is very plausible for both. He and MBA combined for 12 boards last game against a strong rebounding Stanford Team. They can do better. MBA put up 30 points and 9 rebounds last time out and I expect to see similar results, but perhaps a few more rebounds. Pateev, despite being 7 feet tall, only picks up 2.0 boards per game.
Outside Defense
This is one of the few places ASU has hurt us. As I stated earlier, Kuksiks was on fire from range last time the teams met and along with Abbott there could be a closer game if they are hitting. Strong outside, man to man defense will be key in preventing this. Defense is the name of the game form here on out.
Push the Middle
This has been working extremely well for the Huskies as I.T. has really stepped up his passing game, creating hell for the opposition. With UW having a big size advantage inside there is a big opportunity for MBA and/or Aziz to put up major numbers. Once our bigs get going or I.T. is slashing the court up, ASU will be forced to double up on the defenders or resort to a zone, giving out shooters space to put up their shots.
Outside Shooting
Once the middle is strong we need to take advantage by abusing ASU from range. Holiday has been shooting well and I.T. as well. Hopefully C.J. Wilcox can continue to break out of his slump and move his way back up the rotation. Let it rain, Dawgs.
Free Throw Shooting
Same story different game. Road games mean less free throws and our bigs struggle. Our posts have got to start working with I.T. and others to get their percentages up. 65% or higher please.
Ball Handling
Less turnovers mean less points and opportunities for ASU. When we handle well we win with ease. It isn't too hard, we just need to execute.
Final Thoughts
ASU kept it close at Hec-Ed with the Dawgs only having a 2 point lead with 4 minutes to go before blowing the doors open. On the road will be no easier. The ASU game was the start of our defensive problems. We were too complacent and allowed ASU to shoot lights out. We have to extend our pressure and force them to look inside where our size advantage can really play out. We need to establish our shot on the road as well. Get hot quick and keep the fire burning. Defense, rebounding, scoring. In that order. We cannot drop this game. At all. We must win out if we want the title, simple as that. ASU played both USC and UCLA close at home, losing to USC by 2 and UCLA by 1 in overtime. On the other hand, ASU is averaging only 63 points in conference. If UW can score well, ASU won't be able to keep up. It all starts defensively. Get steals, get turnovers, get in transition.
Final Score UW-83 ASU-70
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Angelo Chol Drops UW and Alabama
http://twitter.com/evandanielscout
Evan Daniels broke the news. Angelo Chol confirmed on Twitter. UW and Alabama have been dropped from his consideration. He will be choosing between Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina.
Aziz N'Diaye, Darnell Gant, Desmond Simmons, and Brendan Sherrer. Get Jernard Jerreau in the gym, get yourselves in beast mode 'cause we are going to need your A++ games next season. To all the MBA haters out there, you'll be begging for his return if our current frontcourt can't step up and replace him.
Evan Daniels broke the news. Angelo Chol confirmed on Twitter. UW and Alabama have been dropped from his consideration. He will be choosing between Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina.
Aziz N'Diaye, Darnell Gant, Desmond Simmons, and Brendan Sherrer. Get Jernard Jerreau in the gym, get yourselves in beast mode 'cause we are going to need your A++ games next season. To all the MBA haters out there, you'll be begging for his return if our current frontcourt can't step up and replace him.
Justin Holiday Pic
Monday, February 14, 2011
Isaiah Thomas Wins Third Pac-10 POW Award
Isaiah Averages 22.5 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds against the Bay Area schools this past win and went on to win his third POW award of his career and this season.
The Huskies remained out of the polls and Arizona moved up to 12/13 in the AP and ESPN/Coaches Polls.
Joe Lunardi's current Bracket has the Huskies as a 7 seed against Marquette in the first round again. Arizona is a 5 seed and UCLA is the last Pac-10 team at a 9 seed. WSU is part of the First Four Out category.
The Huskies remained out of the polls and Arizona moved up to 12/13 in the AP and ESPN/Coaches Polls.
Joe Lunardi's current Bracket has the Huskies as a 7 seed against Marquette in the first round again. Arizona is a 5 seed and UCLA is the last Pac-10 team at a 9 seed. WSU is part of the First Four Out category.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Stanford Univeristy Review 2
Final Score UW-87 Stanford-76
Interesting game tonight. The crowd was in it to start and died out during the game. The Huskies were up 84-64 with about 4 minutes to go before letting garbage time play turn into a too late run from the Cardinals.
The Huskies scored well, passed fairly well, defended well, and overall played a much more successful game than the last meeting. Terrence Ross had two monster dunks. One off the baseline and another off a put back from an MBA miss. The only weak point tonight was the rebounding. Free throw shooting wasn't great either.
Isaiah Thomas had a somewhat uncharacteristic night. He scored 22 points, but only had 1 assist and 5 turnovers. Venoy Overton on the other hands had one of his best nights of the season. 12 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers. Brilliant.
Isaiah had a bit of a tough time shutting down Green tonight who was simply shooting over him. Sometimes I.T. can pull it off, tonight was not that night. Aziz N'Diaye also had some defensive problems early shutting down the baseline and allowing his man to get the inside lane and score the easy lay in.
The refs were loving the technical fouls tonight. 3 were called. All were legitimate. Stanford coach, Johnny Dawkins, picked one up for talking to the refs. A Stanford player picked one up for elbowing C.J. Wilcox in the face. Aziz picked one up for hanging on the rim after a monster jam. MBA nearly picked up a technical for elbowing, but did not make contact.
Scott Suggs fouled out tonight. Kind of odd. Not something I ever thought I would write. MBA had 4 and Aziz's lone foul was the technical. UW actually had the foul and free throw advantage tonight. Excellent.
I.T. was scoreless in the first 17:23 of the game then went on to score 14 points in the final two and a half minutes, hitting 4 3 pointers including 2 back to back that were about 30 feet out. After the final shot with 6 seconds to go in the half he pointed to the ground and yelled at his teammates "This is my house! This is our house!"
MBA and Ross had a vicious block on a driving Cardinal. Ross then brought the ball up and handed off to MBA for a great lay in. Got to love those kind of hustle plays. Always rewarding. C.J. Wilcox had a big block on Jeremy Green. Wilcox finished with 10 on 3-8 shooting, 2-7 from range. Not his normal production level, but he played some solid defense.
Justin Holiday was also low on the offensive end tonight, but his defense was excellent and he made some good hustle plays.
Aziz N'Diaye was finally aggressive on offense and was looking and begging for the ball. He wanted to score and ended with 9 points and 6 boards. 4-4 shooting, but only 1-5 from the free throw line. Someone get Rick Barry in the building. Aziz needs a new technique.
Ross was all over tonight. His defense is improving as is his court vision. His athleticism is off the charts. He picked up 6 boards as well, tonight, and dished out 3 assists. He only scored the 4 points off the dunks, but man were they impressive points.
A couple of strange things happened tonight. I'll start with what everyone watching the game saw. Half the lights in the arena went out during the first media timeout. There was an additional timeout added on as the lights warmed back up and the coaches agreed to playing in the lower light settings. The lights dimmed once more during half time. The second strange thing was Antoine Hosley playing 4 minutes while Brendan Sherrer rode the pine the entire game. Maybe he was hurt? Tired? Not sure. The final strange thing was something Percy Allen coined as "Fangate." A girl in the Dawg Pack was wearing a UW hat, but a Stanford sweatshirt and T-shirt. She was pointed out and booed until the ushers came and removed her. She was evidently a med student here, but did undergraduate work at Stanford. There is a rule that all members of the Dawg Pack have to wear UW school colors. This occurred after a game against Arizona where a UA fan was disguised as a Dawg Pack member revealed themselves and earned a lot of harassment. She returned later, crying, and a member of the media crew brought her a purple shirt to wear. Not sure why she thought that would be OK, nor am I sure why her friends thought it would be OK. You never wear opposing colors in the student section. Ever. If this was Oregon and she was an Oregon State fan, she would have been pushed around no doubt. Luckily, the Dawg Pack is much classier and is satisfied by substantial booing and removal.
What Needed Improvement
Rebounding
Stanford had the edge on the glass tonight and did a much better job getting the long rebounds and second chance opportunities from offensive boards. 36-33 in favor of Stanford. MBA, Aziz, and Ross all grabbed 6 boards, and Gant had 5 (excellent). All 4 did a good job, just needed a little more support from the other players. We shot 29 3 pointers tonight, which resulted in a lot of long rebounds that the Cardinals got their hands on.
Free Throws
60% overall tonight. MBA went 3-7 and Aziz was 1-5. I.T. went 6-7, his miss was the front end of a 1 and 1, and Venoy went 5-7. Wilcox nailed both his free throws after the technical. Got to work on our big men and their free throw shooting. Post players get to the line quite often so they need to make shots to benefit us.
Ball Control
MBA had 6 turnovers and I.T. had 5. These two guys are normally much better at handling the rock, but tonight they struggled. Those kind of numbers are only acceptable because we won, yet they still need to be looked at and corrected.
What Was Good
Defense
UW forced 19 turnovers tonight, had 6 blocks, and 6 steals. The Dawgs also drew several charges, a 5 second call, and nearly 2 over and backs. Minus a few slips here and there and the garbage time nonsense, UW played a solid defensive game. Green was the only Cardinal to do what he wanted regardless of defender.
Role Player Production
Aziz, Overton, and Wilcox all put up solid numbers tonight, something they haven't done a ton this season. It is always great to see normally quiet offensive players get aggressive and score.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Quiet offensively, 2-5 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist. Quiet overall. He was a real hustle player though, and did well defensively containing his man. Not a whole ton else to say about him, sadly.
Grade: B-
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
15 points, 6 boards, 6 turnovers. 6-10 shooting and 3-7 from the free throw line. Not his best night, but he did well moving in transition and drawing fouls. I was really hoping for a huge teabag dunk, but every opportunity resulted in a hard foul, including one intentional foul called against Stanford.
Grade: B-
Venoy Overton
Venoy picks up the MVP tonight, in my opinion. His 3-8 shooting was not impressive, but the 12 points and 4 assists with 0 turnovers were great. Fantastic performance tonight. His fire, drive, and talent is slowly returning as his injuries heal and confidence returns. Great passing work finding the open men down low and around the perimeter.
Grade: A-
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
No points tonight, 0-3 shooting, but he did grab 5 boards, dished out 2 assists, and snatched the ball out of the Cardinal hands once for a steal. Fairly solid numbers for only 17 minutes of play time. He is really shaping nicely into a good rebounder and with a little more weight and work, he could serve as a fill in for MBA if for whatever reason we do not land Angelo Chol.
Grade: B+
Scott Suggs
Despite fouling out and the somewhat lower point total, Suggs looked great shooting tonight. He went 3-5 over all and 1-1 from range. He took some nice fake pumps, dribbled in a step and knocked in the jumper. He is polishing his game nicely and is doing well to be more than just a catch and shoot player. 7 points, 2 assists, 1 turnover. Not terrible by any means.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Interesting play from Isaiah tonight. He scored in bunches and barely picked up an assist. His shot was hot to end the first half, but relatively cold the rest. He took a poke to the eye from teammate, Darnell Gant, and went to the training room to get looked at. He returned later after icing. Not sure why the assists were accumulating tonight, but it is what it is. I'll take 22 points.
Grade: B
Aziz N'Diaye
Loved the aggression offensively tonight. That technical was worth it. What a jam. Aziz needs to cherry pick at least once this season. I want to see an absurd dunk from him. His defense was not as good tonight, but he rebounded well still. Only 18 minutes tonight, likely due to the defensive issues.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. Scored 2 points off a nice jumper. Missed his 3 point shot.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
The shot aggressiveness is returning and so are his talents. He has a beautiful touch at the free throw line, a great, quick release. Drains every time. His long rage shot is still rattling around a bit during the game, but in warm ups it was looking sweet as candy. He drilled one shot from beyond NBA range.
Grade: B+
Terrence Ross
This kid is going to be a star, mark my words. All the pieces are there and starting to fall together. Bit by bit he is becoming more consistent, smarter with his shot choices, and improving his court vision His put back jam was vicious and his baseline dunk was just plain nasty. I'll post the highlight video once it is up on Youtube. Loved the rebounding and passing effort he put out tonight. He plays with confidence and never looks scared. He also handles the ball much better than Suggs or Wilcox in my opinion.
Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
Strange game, but a win none the less. UW led by 20 before garbage time. Won by 11. Got to carry this weeks momentum into the desert of Arizona. Two huge games coming up. Both are must wins. Lose to ASU and title aspirations all but disappear. Lose to UA and see them rise beyond our reach. Keep it going boys.
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgArTX3JWzU&feature=feedu Starts with the Ross Baseline Dunk
Interesting game tonight. The crowd was in it to start and died out during the game. The Huskies were up 84-64 with about 4 minutes to go before letting garbage time play turn into a too late run from the Cardinals.
The Huskies scored well, passed fairly well, defended well, and overall played a much more successful game than the last meeting. Terrence Ross had two monster dunks. One off the baseline and another off a put back from an MBA miss. The only weak point tonight was the rebounding. Free throw shooting wasn't great either.
Isaiah Thomas had a somewhat uncharacteristic night. He scored 22 points, but only had 1 assist and 5 turnovers. Venoy Overton on the other hands had one of his best nights of the season. 12 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers. Brilliant.
Isaiah had a bit of a tough time shutting down Green tonight who was simply shooting over him. Sometimes I.T. can pull it off, tonight was not that night. Aziz N'Diaye also had some defensive problems early shutting down the baseline and allowing his man to get the inside lane and score the easy lay in.
The refs were loving the technical fouls tonight. 3 were called. All were legitimate. Stanford coach, Johnny Dawkins, picked one up for talking to the refs. A Stanford player picked one up for elbowing C.J. Wilcox in the face. Aziz picked one up for hanging on the rim after a monster jam. MBA nearly picked up a technical for elbowing, but did not make contact.
Scott Suggs fouled out tonight. Kind of odd. Not something I ever thought I would write. MBA had 4 and Aziz's lone foul was the technical. UW actually had the foul and free throw advantage tonight. Excellent.
I.T. was scoreless in the first 17:23 of the game then went on to score 14 points in the final two and a half minutes, hitting 4 3 pointers including 2 back to back that were about 30 feet out. After the final shot with 6 seconds to go in the half he pointed to the ground and yelled at his teammates "This is my house! This is our house!"
MBA and Ross had a vicious block on a driving Cardinal. Ross then brought the ball up and handed off to MBA for a great lay in. Got to love those kind of hustle plays. Always rewarding. C.J. Wilcox had a big block on Jeremy Green. Wilcox finished with 10 on 3-8 shooting, 2-7 from range. Not his normal production level, but he played some solid defense.
Justin Holiday was also low on the offensive end tonight, but his defense was excellent and he made some good hustle plays.
Aziz N'Diaye was finally aggressive on offense and was looking and begging for the ball. He wanted to score and ended with 9 points and 6 boards. 4-4 shooting, but only 1-5 from the free throw line. Someone get Rick Barry in the building. Aziz needs a new technique.
Ross was all over tonight. His defense is improving as is his court vision. His athleticism is off the charts. He picked up 6 boards as well, tonight, and dished out 3 assists. He only scored the 4 points off the dunks, but man were they impressive points.
A couple of strange things happened tonight. I'll start with what everyone watching the game saw. Half the lights in the arena went out during the first media timeout. There was an additional timeout added on as the lights warmed back up and the coaches agreed to playing in the lower light settings. The lights dimmed once more during half time. The second strange thing was Antoine Hosley playing 4 minutes while Brendan Sherrer rode the pine the entire game. Maybe he was hurt? Tired? Not sure. The final strange thing was something Percy Allen coined as "Fangate." A girl in the Dawg Pack was wearing a UW hat, but a Stanford sweatshirt and T-shirt. She was pointed out and booed until the ushers came and removed her. She was evidently a med student here, but did undergraduate work at Stanford. There is a rule that all members of the Dawg Pack have to wear UW school colors. This occurred after a game against Arizona where a UA fan was disguised as a Dawg Pack member revealed themselves and earned a lot of harassment. She returned later, crying, and a member of the media crew brought her a purple shirt to wear. Not sure why she thought that would be OK, nor am I sure why her friends thought it would be OK. You never wear opposing colors in the student section. Ever. If this was Oregon and she was an Oregon State fan, she would have been pushed around no doubt. Luckily, the Dawg Pack is much classier and is satisfied by substantial booing and removal.
What Needed Improvement
Rebounding
Stanford had the edge on the glass tonight and did a much better job getting the long rebounds and second chance opportunities from offensive boards. 36-33 in favor of Stanford. MBA, Aziz, and Ross all grabbed 6 boards, and Gant had 5 (excellent). All 4 did a good job, just needed a little more support from the other players. We shot 29 3 pointers tonight, which resulted in a lot of long rebounds that the Cardinals got their hands on.
Free Throws
60% overall tonight. MBA went 3-7 and Aziz was 1-5. I.T. went 6-7, his miss was the front end of a 1 and 1, and Venoy went 5-7. Wilcox nailed both his free throws after the technical. Got to work on our big men and their free throw shooting. Post players get to the line quite often so they need to make shots to benefit us.
Ball Control
MBA had 6 turnovers and I.T. had 5. These two guys are normally much better at handling the rock, but tonight they struggled. Those kind of numbers are only acceptable because we won, yet they still need to be looked at and corrected.
What Was Good
Defense
UW forced 19 turnovers tonight, had 6 blocks, and 6 steals. The Dawgs also drew several charges, a 5 second call, and nearly 2 over and backs. Minus a few slips here and there and the garbage time nonsense, UW played a solid defensive game. Green was the only Cardinal to do what he wanted regardless of defender.
Role Player Production
Aziz, Overton, and Wilcox all put up solid numbers tonight, something they haven't done a ton this season. It is always great to see normally quiet offensive players get aggressive and score.
Player by Player Reviews
Justin Holiday
Quiet offensively, 2-5 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist. Quiet overall. He was a real hustle player though, and did well defensively containing his man. Not a whole ton else to say about him, sadly.
Grade: B-
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
15 points, 6 boards, 6 turnovers. 6-10 shooting and 3-7 from the free throw line. Not his best night, but he did well moving in transition and drawing fouls. I was really hoping for a huge teabag dunk, but every opportunity resulted in a hard foul, including one intentional foul called against Stanford.
Grade: B-
Venoy Overton
Venoy picks up the MVP tonight, in my opinion. His 3-8 shooting was not impressive, but the 12 points and 4 assists with 0 turnovers were great. Fantastic performance tonight. His fire, drive, and talent is slowly returning as his injuries heal and confidence returns. Great passing work finding the open men down low and around the perimeter.
Grade: A-
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
No points tonight, 0-3 shooting, but he did grab 5 boards, dished out 2 assists, and snatched the ball out of the Cardinal hands once for a steal. Fairly solid numbers for only 17 minutes of play time. He is really shaping nicely into a good rebounder and with a little more weight and work, he could serve as a fill in for MBA if for whatever reason we do not land Angelo Chol.
Grade: B+
Scott Suggs
Despite fouling out and the somewhat lower point total, Suggs looked great shooting tonight. He went 3-5 over all and 1-1 from range. He took some nice fake pumps, dribbled in a step and knocked in the jumper. He is polishing his game nicely and is doing well to be more than just a catch and shoot player. 7 points, 2 assists, 1 turnover. Not terrible by any means.
Grade: B
Isaiah Thomas
Interesting play from Isaiah tonight. He scored in bunches and barely picked up an assist. His shot was hot to end the first half, but relatively cold the rest. He took a poke to the eye from teammate, Darnell Gant, and went to the training room to get looked at. He returned later after icing. Not sure why the assists were accumulating tonight, but it is what it is. I'll take 22 points.
Grade: B
Aziz N'Diaye
Loved the aggression offensively tonight. That technical was worth it. What a jam. Aziz needs to cherry pick at least once this season. I want to see an absurd dunk from him. His defense was not as good tonight, but he rebounded well still. Only 18 minutes tonight, likely due to the defensive issues.
Grade: B
Antoine Hosley
Played 4 minutes tonight. Scored 2 points off a nice jumper. Missed his 3 point shot.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
The shot aggressiveness is returning and so are his talents. He has a beautiful touch at the free throw line, a great, quick release. Drains every time. His long rage shot is still rattling around a bit during the game, but in warm ups it was looking sweet as candy. He drilled one shot from beyond NBA range.
Grade: B+
Terrence Ross
This kid is going to be a star, mark my words. All the pieces are there and starting to fall together. Bit by bit he is becoming more consistent, smarter with his shot choices, and improving his court vision His put back jam was vicious and his baseline dunk was just plain nasty. I'll post the highlight video once it is up on Youtube. Loved the rebounding and passing effort he put out tonight. He plays with confidence and never looks scared. He also handles the ball much better than Suggs or Wilcox in my opinion.
Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
Strange game, but a win none the less. UW led by 20 before garbage time. Won by 11. Got to carry this weeks momentum into the desert of Arizona. Two huge games coming up. Both are must wins. Lose to ASU and title aspirations all but disappear. Lose to UA and see them rise beyond our reach. Keep it going boys.
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgArTX3JWzU&feature=feedu Starts with the Ross Baseline Dunk
Stanford University Preview 2
Stanford is 13-10 on the year and 6-6 in conference, most recently having beat WSU on the road. UW lost a nail biter in a terribly played game by the Huskies.
Stanford runs a 9 to 10 man rotation with 6 players getting 20+ minutes a game.
Stanford is led by Jeremy Green, a solid 6-4 guard who took the backseat last season to Landry Fields. He is currently leading the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. Green is a good shooter with a nice outside shot, currently 61 of 145 (42.1%) on the year. Green averages 32 minutes per outing. He also averages 1.2 assist per game and 2.0 turnovers per game.
Aaron Bright, 5-11, is putting up 2.1 assists and 1.1 turnovers, while Jarrett Mann is sitting at 3.7 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game.
Josh Owens is a solid 6-8 forward/center who is second in scoring at 11.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, 1st on the team.
Dwight Powell is the last starter for the Cardinals. At 6-9 and 227lbs he is a fairly big forward and is third on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.9 boards per game. As a team the Cardinals grab 35 rebounds per game.
Perhaps the most telling stat is that Stanford averages 2 more turnovers than they do assists. They also shoot free throws as terribly as us with both Stanford and UW shooting 66.7% on the year.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Stanford
Aaron Bright 5-11 175lb G
Jarrett Mann 6-4 190lb G
Jeremy Green 6-4 198lb G
Josh Owens 6-8 230lb F/C
Dwight Powell 6-9 227lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
UW did a great job against Cal cleaning the glass. MBA has been a monster in the post all conference season and Aziz is shaping up pretty well. Terrence Ross, Holiday, and I.T. have been great supporting members and Darnell Gant has done a great job stepping his game up.
Passing
UW plays its best game when they are dishing the ball out and finding the open shot instead of forcing it. With Isaiah averaging nearly 5.9 assists per game its easy to see why our team has been so solid. Overton is also performing quite well with 3.6 per game and an assist/turnover ratio of 3.2. These two begin the attack, but without the support of our wings the ball doesn't move as well. This is where Holiday, Ross, Wilcox, Suggs, and even Gant and MBA come in. They don't necessarily need to get the assist, but the better they pass around and use their field vision to find open shots, the better we are.
Ross had 6 assists in the last game. Very nice.
Perimeter Defense
Jeremy Green is a good shooter. Powell shows potential. Anthony Brown and Aaron Bright both have legit shots. UW cannot afford to let them get hot. With 3 or 4 good outside shooters it is important to move our feet well, transition off of screens, and get a hand in their face. Prevent the outside shot and prevent Green from lighting us up. That's where our defensive game plan should start. Man to Man all the way.
Free Throws
Stanford is a terrible free throw shooting team like us. Bright and Green are their best FT shooters. Keep them off the line and make our shots and the game will have one less way for Stanford to stay in it. We have had problems getting to the line this year, something the Dawgs thrived on in '08-'09. Each one is big and that makes them extremely important whether we are up a bunch or in a close game. In our last game we only attempted 7 free throws to Cal's 37, absurd. How 'bout some home cooking refs?
Work the Post
With MBA riding a hot streak and Aziz drawing all sorts of pressure, an inside out game plan is a great basis for our starting attack. MBA and Aziz don't need to take the shot, but if they at least get a look or two and are able to move the defense about our perimeter shooters will have an easier time of getting into open space. Also look for I.T. and Overton to drive the lane and create space that way.
Final Thoughts
UW has some vengeance to exact after the 2 point loss on the road. After crushing Cal so solidly it looks like UW has returned to its winning ways, but anything could happen. With the home crowd behind them the Dawgs are unstoppable. Sadly, we have to play places other than Hec Ed so the real question answerer will not be this game, it'll be on the road at Arizona. Win that and get respect and seeding. Lose and show weakness. This game is huge because a loss at home will kill all title hopes and makes us a bubble team, no doubt.
Final Score Prediction
UW-95 Stanford-70
Stanford runs a 9 to 10 man rotation with 6 players getting 20+ minutes a game.
Stanford is led by Jeremy Green, a solid 6-4 guard who took the backseat last season to Landry Fields. He is currently leading the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. Green is a good shooter with a nice outside shot, currently 61 of 145 (42.1%) on the year. Green averages 32 minutes per outing. He also averages 1.2 assist per game and 2.0 turnovers per game.
Aaron Bright, 5-11, is putting up 2.1 assists and 1.1 turnovers, while Jarrett Mann is sitting at 3.7 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game.
Josh Owens is a solid 6-8 forward/center who is second in scoring at 11.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, 1st on the team.
Dwight Powell is the last starter for the Cardinals. At 6-9 and 227lbs he is a fairly big forward and is third on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.9 boards per game. As a team the Cardinals grab 35 rebounds per game.
Perhaps the most telling stat is that Stanford averages 2 more turnovers than they do assists. They also shoot free throws as terribly as us with both Stanford and UW shooting 66.7% on the year.
Starting Line Up Predictions
Stanford
Aaron Bright 5-11 175lb G
Jarrett Mann 6-4 190lb G
Jeremy Green 6-4 198lb G
Josh Owens 6-8 230lb F/C
Dwight Powell 6-9 227lb F
Washington
Isaiah Thomas 5-9 185lb G
Scott Suggs 195lb G
Justin Holiday 6-6 185lb F
Matthew Bryan-Amaning 6-9 240lb F
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb C
Keys to the Game
Rebounding
UW did a great job against Cal cleaning the glass. MBA has been a monster in the post all conference season and Aziz is shaping up pretty well. Terrence Ross, Holiday, and I.T. have been great supporting members and Darnell Gant has done a great job stepping his game up.
Passing
UW plays its best game when they are dishing the ball out and finding the open shot instead of forcing it. With Isaiah averaging nearly 5.9 assists per game its easy to see why our team has been so solid. Overton is also performing quite well with 3.6 per game and an assist/turnover ratio of 3.2. These two begin the attack, but without the support of our wings the ball doesn't move as well. This is where Holiday, Ross, Wilcox, Suggs, and even Gant and MBA come in. They don't necessarily need to get the assist, but the better they pass around and use their field vision to find open shots, the better we are.
Ross had 6 assists in the last game. Very nice.
Perimeter Defense
Jeremy Green is a good shooter. Powell shows potential. Anthony Brown and Aaron Bright both have legit shots. UW cannot afford to let them get hot. With 3 or 4 good outside shooters it is important to move our feet well, transition off of screens, and get a hand in their face. Prevent the outside shot and prevent Green from lighting us up. That's where our defensive game plan should start. Man to Man all the way.
Free Throws
Stanford is a terrible free throw shooting team like us. Bright and Green are their best FT shooters. Keep them off the line and make our shots and the game will have one less way for Stanford to stay in it. We have had problems getting to the line this year, something the Dawgs thrived on in '08-'09. Each one is big and that makes them extremely important whether we are up a bunch or in a close game. In our last game we only attempted 7 free throws to Cal's 37, absurd. How 'bout some home cooking refs?
Work the Post
With MBA riding a hot streak and Aziz drawing all sorts of pressure, an inside out game plan is a great basis for our starting attack. MBA and Aziz don't need to take the shot, but if they at least get a look or two and are able to move the defense about our perimeter shooters will have an easier time of getting into open space. Also look for I.T. and Overton to drive the lane and create space that way.
Final Thoughts
UW has some vengeance to exact after the 2 point loss on the road. After crushing Cal so solidly it looks like UW has returned to its winning ways, but anything could happen. With the home crowd behind them the Dawgs are unstoppable. Sadly, we have to play places other than Hec Ed so the real question answerer will not be this game, it'll be on the road at Arizona. Win that and get respect and seeding. Lose and show weakness. This game is huge because a loss at home will kill all title hopes and makes us a bubble team, no doubt.
Final Score Prediction
UW-95 Stanford-70
Thursday, February 10, 2011
University of California-Berkeley Review 2
UW-109 Cal-77
In what is the highest point total scored against a Pac-10 opponent in school history, UW dominated and returned to playing true Husky Basketball. UW tied ts season high with 17-3 pointers and shot 54.8% on the night from range. Isaiah Thomas was lights out and led the team, shooting 6 of 8 behind the arc and finishing with 23 points. C.J. Wilcox rediscovered his soft touch and scored 14 points on 4-7 shooting from range.
A total of 6 players scored in the double digits for UW tonight. I.T. with 23, Matthew Bryan-Amaning with 18, Wilcox with 14, Holiday with 12, and Scott Suggs and Terrence Ross put up 11.
Both I.T. and MBA were one stat short of a double double. I.T. had 9 assists on top of 4 rebounds and 2 turnovers. MBA had 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 0 turnovers.
Defense was the name of the game tonight and UW did it extremely well. Cal was held to 2 of 7 shooting from range and 48.3% overall. UW forced 16 turnover, had 11 blocks, 4 steals, and countless charge calls against Cal.
The refs were terrible per usual with a foul differential of 29 to 15 in Cal's favor. UW was only allowed to attempt 7 free throws and made 6 while Cal attempted 37 and made 19. How about some home cooking refs? For once I would like to see the foul calls go our way.
UW did a great job of working the post early with MBA and Aziz each putting up 4 to score our first 8 points. Aziz finished with 3-4 shooting and picked up a technical foul, though for what I am uncertain.
30 assists tonight. 30. Hot damn that is nice. I.T. led with 9, followed closely by Venoy Overton with 7, and Terrence Ross with 6. Holiday dished out 4.
This was exactly the sort of game we needed to play to get our heads right, our game right, and our swagger back just a little bit. Brendan Sherrer even played 5 minutes today and Antoine Hosley grabbed 4 minutes.
Holiday threw down a monster jam from the baseline. He drove hard, jumped up, cocked his arm back and rammed it down over the Cal defenders. Beast Mode activated.
Lorenzo Romar showed some emotion, finally. He was stomping, high fiving, roaring, and fist pumping. I even saw a press for a play or two. I was also extremely pleased to see us return to our man to man defense.
Overton was back tonight. He played shut down d the whole night. He split his time between Jorge Guitierrez and Brandon Smith. Holiday also played crippling d on Allen Crabbe who took a nasty spill near the end of the first half and did not return to play. I'll update later on it, but to me it appears as though he might have suffered a mild concussion.
My favorite play of the game, besides Holiday's dunk, was Isaiah Thomas nailing a 3 pointer, getting fouled, and sinking the free throw. Brilliant effort.
UW rebounded with force, beating out Cal 36-27. MBA led with 9, followed by Darnell Gant with 5, and four players had 4 rebounds: Holiday, Ross, I.T., and Aziz N'Diaye.
Ross was playing just plain filthy out there tonight. He made not have made every shot, but boy did he impress with some very athletic and talented moves. He drove, he twisted, he did reverse lay-ins. He nearly had another tip in dunk, but the Cal defender managed to hold onto it in the air.
The poise and control on offense led to only 9 turnovers. Combined with vicious, tenacious defense made this game a blow out from the start ending in a 32 point beat down that at one time was a 38 point differential. The 2 3 pointers for Cal came late, in garbage time, from one player. Garbage time was the only time I was disappointed with our defense, but that always happens in garbage time.
I.T. played like the general we are used to. He controlled the ball, he controlled his shots, he controlled the game. Too bad he couldn't get just 1 more assist to pick up his 3rd double double.
Brendan Sherrer. SHOOT THE BALL! He played 5 minutes and had one great opportunity, but chose instead to pass the ball and ended up turning it over. Sad days.
MBA was looking fantastic tonight as well. Tough, tough play. Every block was decisive and impressive. Aziz was crushing Bears left and right. Literally crushing. I'm going to call him the Trash Compactor from now on because he just doesn't let garbage come into his domain. Even Holiday was humiliating people on the court. I think I saw Harper Kamp shed a tear after the last block Holiday had on him.
What Needed Work
Fouling
Sure the refs weren't helping us, but there comes a time when you have to realize the refs aren't going to help you out at all. We did a great job getting Cal to commit charges, but 29 fouls is getting ridiculous.
What was Good
Interior Defense
After a streak of 3 terrible games, UW rediscovered their ability to stuff the middle. You really have to watch the game to truly appreciate the turn around. They showed fire. I.T. was all over his man. Just what the doctor ordered.
Rebounding
36-27. Enough said. If there is one thing outside defense that will win games, it is rebounding. UW was boxing out and getting up high to clean the glass.
Outside Shooting
I was throwing up my hands more times than a Guido in a New Jersey Club. We were shooting long and we were hitting. It was sexy. I.T. was taking heat check shots and they kept going in. No one was stopping him tonight. He had a point to prove and he put an exclamation mark on it.
Passing/Ball Handling
This is another item that was killing us during our losing streak. 30 assists and only 9 turnovers. That is more like Husky Basketball.
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
A brilliant return to his Vennoying ways. Between him and I.T., Brandon Smith was about to have a conniption. 8 points, 7 assists, only 2 turnovers. Very nice. His form is coming back, his confidence is returning, and he is looking good. We'll have to wait until Saturday to see if it sticks or not.
Grade: A
Justin Holiday
12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, shutdown defense. He may not have been shooting his best, but his shot looked fine and his play was what we needed. I would rather have him score 12 points and play shut down d then score 20+ and let people through.
Grade: A
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist. He had 10 points at half and finished strong despite picking up a bogus 3rd foul followed soon after by his 4th. He returned with about 8 minutes to go and played until the 5 minute mark. His defense was solid, defending Harper Kamp most of the game, holding him to 8 points. Those blocks were just plain mean. At one point he yelled "GET OUT OF HERE!" while swatting the ball into the bleachers.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Brendan finally returned to play and threw away his one good opportunity at a shot. He picked up 2 fouls and a turnover. He is in the books, boys.
Grade: A for effort, F for not taking that shot!
Scott Suggs
Played 24 minutes on the night, hit some nice 3 pointers, and looked as confident as ever. He did have 2 turnovers and 0 assists, but he was not called on to run the show until there were 5 minutes to go and handed over the reigns to Antoine Hosley who entered with 4 to go.
Grade: A-
Darnell Gant
6 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. His 3-9 shooting wasn't great, but the rebounding and defense were awesome. He was still feeling a little sore pregame, but his play and 19 minutes say he was feeling pretty well in the end. If he can keep this kind of play up we will do well.
Grade: B+
Isaiah Thomas
MVP tonight. No doubt. 23 points and 9 rebounds. That is what we have come to expect from him. His outside shot was dirty, just plain dirty tonight. He didn't have to drive to score. I.T. only went inside a few sparse times. He was pulling up and raining pain down on the Cal bears. He pushed the ball inside to MBA and Aziz, he dished it outside to Holiday, Wilcox, Ross, and others.
Grade: A+
Aziz N'Diaye
Aziz did pick up 4 fouls tonight, including the technical. He did not return to play after the T, not sure why. He shot well from the field, rebounded pretty well, and looked confident against the zone. Most of his 20 minutes came in the first half. I would have liked to have seen 2 or 3 more boards and 1 or 2 less fouls, but Beggars can't be Choosers. He did well for what we needed him to do. His 3 blocks all resulted in players hitting the dirt. It was almost cruel.
Grade: B+
Antoine Hosley
4 minutes tonight with a lone assist to put him in the stat book.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
Is his shot back? Looks like it. 4-7 ain't a bad night by any means. His shot is so sweet, soft, and quick. I would like to see him take some 30 footers just to see his range and talent level. He had 1 assist and 2 offensive boards tonight, which is great to see. It's nice to have some support where you least expect it.
Grade: A-
Terrence Ross
5-8 shooting, 1-3 from outside, 4 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks. Nice work, TRoss. He is going to be an absolute monster in the coming years. Ross was playing like BRoy out there and boy was it pretty. I would not be surprised at all to see him replace Holiday at the 3 after this season. If he can bring this level of play to the court consistently, he will leave his mark on the program.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
Everyone played a great game tonight. Everyone. I can't think of one player I was disappointed in. Sure some silly mistakes were made, but no one is perfect. Got to carry this momentum into the weekend and over into next week to get ourselves back into title contention. A great way to start the short home stand and a great way to get the night going. All for now, I'm off to celebrate my 21st birthday. Go Dawgs.
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH7cKZiDmOg&feature=player_embedded
Holiday's dunk was number 3 on the top 10 last night.
In what is the highest point total scored against a Pac-10 opponent in school history, UW dominated and returned to playing true Husky Basketball. UW tied ts season high with 17-3 pointers and shot 54.8% on the night from range. Isaiah Thomas was lights out and led the team, shooting 6 of 8 behind the arc and finishing with 23 points. C.J. Wilcox rediscovered his soft touch and scored 14 points on 4-7 shooting from range.
A total of 6 players scored in the double digits for UW tonight. I.T. with 23, Matthew Bryan-Amaning with 18, Wilcox with 14, Holiday with 12, and Scott Suggs and Terrence Ross put up 11.
Both I.T. and MBA were one stat short of a double double. I.T. had 9 assists on top of 4 rebounds and 2 turnovers. MBA had 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 0 turnovers.
Defense was the name of the game tonight and UW did it extremely well. Cal was held to 2 of 7 shooting from range and 48.3% overall. UW forced 16 turnover, had 11 blocks, 4 steals, and countless charge calls against Cal.
The refs were terrible per usual with a foul differential of 29 to 15 in Cal's favor. UW was only allowed to attempt 7 free throws and made 6 while Cal attempted 37 and made 19. How about some home cooking refs? For once I would like to see the foul calls go our way.
UW did a great job of working the post early with MBA and Aziz each putting up 4 to score our first 8 points. Aziz finished with 3-4 shooting and picked up a technical foul, though for what I am uncertain.
30 assists tonight. 30. Hot damn that is nice. I.T. led with 9, followed closely by Venoy Overton with 7, and Terrence Ross with 6. Holiday dished out 4.
This was exactly the sort of game we needed to play to get our heads right, our game right, and our swagger back just a little bit. Brendan Sherrer even played 5 minutes today and Antoine Hosley grabbed 4 minutes.
Holiday threw down a monster jam from the baseline. He drove hard, jumped up, cocked his arm back and rammed it down over the Cal defenders. Beast Mode activated.
Lorenzo Romar showed some emotion, finally. He was stomping, high fiving, roaring, and fist pumping. I even saw a press for a play or two. I was also extremely pleased to see us return to our man to man defense.
Overton was back tonight. He played shut down d the whole night. He split his time between Jorge Guitierrez and Brandon Smith. Holiday also played crippling d on Allen Crabbe who took a nasty spill near the end of the first half and did not return to play. I'll update later on it, but to me it appears as though he might have suffered a mild concussion.
My favorite play of the game, besides Holiday's dunk, was Isaiah Thomas nailing a 3 pointer, getting fouled, and sinking the free throw. Brilliant effort.
UW rebounded with force, beating out Cal 36-27. MBA led with 9, followed by Darnell Gant with 5, and four players had 4 rebounds: Holiday, Ross, I.T., and Aziz N'Diaye.
Ross was playing just plain filthy out there tonight. He made not have made every shot, but boy did he impress with some very athletic and talented moves. He drove, he twisted, he did reverse lay-ins. He nearly had another tip in dunk, but the Cal defender managed to hold onto it in the air.
The poise and control on offense led to only 9 turnovers. Combined with vicious, tenacious defense made this game a blow out from the start ending in a 32 point beat down that at one time was a 38 point differential. The 2 3 pointers for Cal came late, in garbage time, from one player. Garbage time was the only time I was disappointed with our defense, but that always happens in garbage time.
I.T. played like the general we are used to. He controlled the ball, he controlled his shots, he controlled the game. Too bad he couldn't get just 1 more assist to pick up his 3rd double double.
Brendan Sherrer. SHOOT THE BALL! He played 5 minutes and had one great opportunity, but chose instead to pass the ball and ended up turning it over. Sad days.
MBA was looking fantastic tonight as well. Tough, tough play. Every block was decisive and impressive. Aziz was crushing Bears left and right. Literally crushing. I'm going to call him the Trash Compactor from now on because he just doesn't let garbage come into his domain. Even Holiday was humiliating people on the court. I think I saw Harper Kamp shed a tear after the last block Holiday had on him.
What Needed Work
Fouling
Sure the refs weren't helping us, but there comes a time when you have to realize the refs aren't going to help you out at all. We did a great job getting Cal to commit charges, but 29 fouls is getting ridiculous.
What was Good
Interior Defense
After a streak of 3 terrible games, UW rediscovered their ability to stuff the middle. You really have to watch the game to truly appreciate the turn around. They showed fire. I.T. was all over his man. Just what the doctor ordered.
Rebounding
36-27. Enough said. If there is one thing outside defense that will win games, it is rebounding. UW was boxing out and getting up high to clean the glass.
Outside Shooting
I was throwing up my hands more times than a Guido in a New Jersey Club. We were shooting long and we were hitting. It was sexy. I.T. was taking heat check shots and they kept going in. No one was stopping him tonight. He had a point to prove and he put an exclamation mark on it.
Passing/Ball Handling
This is another item that was killing us during our losing streak. 30 assists and only 9 turnovers. That is more like Husky Basketball.
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
A brilliant return to his Vennoying ways. Between him and I.T., Brandon Smith was about to have a conniption. 8 points, 7 assists, only 2 turnovers. Very nice. His form is coming back, his confidence is returning, and he is looking good. We'll have to wait until Saturday to see if it sticks or not.
Grade: A
Justin Holiday
12 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, shutdown defense. He may not have been shooting his best, but his shot looked fine and his play was what we needed. I would rather have him score 12 points and play shut down d then score 20+ and let people through.
Grade: A
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist. He had 10 points at half and finished strong despite picking up a bogus 3rd foul followed soon after by his 4th. He returned with about 8 minutes to go and played until the 5 minute mark. His defense was solid, defending Harper Kamp most of the game, holding him to 8 points. Those blocks were just plain mean. At one point he yelled "GET OUT OF HERE!" while swatting the ball into the bleachers.
Grade: A
Brendan Sherrer
Brendan finally returned to play and threw away his one good opportunity at a shot. He picked up 2 fouls and a turnover. He is in the books, boys.
Grade: A for effort, F for not taking that shot!
Scott Suggs
Played 24 minutes on the night, hit some nice 3 pointers, and looked as confident as ever. He did have 2 turnovers and 0 assists, but he was not called on to run the show until there were 5 minutes to go and handed over the reigns to Antoine Hosley who entered with 4 to go.
Grade: A-
Darnell Gant
6 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. His 3-9 shooting wasn't great, but the rebounding and defense were awesome. He was still feeling a little sore pregame, but his play and 19 minutes say he was feeling pretty well in the end. If he can keep this kind of play up we will do well.
Grade: B+
Isaiah Thomas
MVP tonight. No doubt. 23 points and 9 rebounds. That is what we have come to expect from him. His outside shot was dirty, just plain dirty tonight. He didn't have to drive to score. I.T. only went inside a few sparse times. He was pulling up and raining pain down on the Cal bears. He pushed the ball inside to MBA and Aziz, he dished it outside to Holiday, Wilcox, Ross, and others.
Grade: A+
Aziz N'Diaye
Aziz did pick up 4 fouls tonight, including the technical. He did not return to play after the T, not sure why. He shot well from the field, rebounded pretty well, and looked confident against the zone. Most of his 20 minutes came in the first half. I would have liked to have seen 2 or 3 more boards and 1 or 2 less fouls, but Beggars can't be Choosers. He did well for what we needed him to do. His 3 blocks all resulted in players hitting the dirt. It was almost cruel.
Grade: B+
Antoine Hosley
4 minutes tonight with a lone assist to put him in the stat book.
Grade: A for effort
C.J. Wilcox
Is his shot back? Looks like it. 4-7 ain't a bad night by any means. His shot is so sweet, soft, and quick. I would like to see him take some 30 footers just to see his range and talent level. He had 1 assist and 2 offensive boards tonight, which is great to see. It's nice to have some support where you least expect it.
Grade: A-
Terrence Ross
5-8 shooting, 1-3 from outside, 4 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks. Nice work, TRoss. He is going to be an absolute monster in the coming years. Ross was playing like BRoy out there and boy was it pretty. I would not be surprised at all to see him replace Holiday at the 3 after this season. If he can bring this level of play to the court consistently, he will leave his mark on the program.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts
Everyone played a great game tonight. Everyone. I can't think of one player I was disappointed in. Sure some silly mistakes were made, but no one is perfect. Got to carry this momentum into the weekend and over into next week to get ourselves back into title contention. A great way to start the short home stand and a great way to get the night going. All for now, I'm off to celebrate my 21st birthday. Go Dawgs.
Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH7cKZiDmOg&feature=player_embedded
Holiday's dunk was number 3 on the top 10 last night.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
University of California-Berkeley Preview 2
Live now over at Montlake Madness: http://www.montlakemadness.com/game-preview-california/
Dirt is here: http://tinyurl.com/DPD-CAL
Dirt is here: http://tinyurl.com/DPD-CAL
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
University of California-Berkeley Preview Coming
I'm writing the preview and post game of the Cal game for Montlake Madness so I will post the preview link here when it is up on Wednesday.
I.T. is quitting twitter until after the Pac-10 Championship game. Looks like he knows it is time to buckle down. Can't afford any more screw ups.
UW dropped to 28th and 33rd in the polls after the 3 game losing streak and Arizona moved up to 15/16 in the polls. Arizona could feasibly move up further if they win against ASU this week, meaning UW has a chance to finally get a win against a ranked team on the road. I am slightly doubtful of UA losing to ASU, but it is a rivalry game on the road and we all know how that can go.
No more news yet on whether the unnamed player will be charged with a misdemeanor for supplying a minor with alcohol. More info when I have heard more.
Time to right this ship and get back on track. We are going to need some help to do it, but Arizona has the toughest part of its schedule coming up. ASU on the road. WSU and UW at home. USC and UCLA on the road. OSU at home (who is currently 3-0 against them) and UO at home. I see no reason why ASU, WSU, UW, USC, UCLA, or OSU couldn't result in 3 losses. With how UO has been playing they could also come in and surprise the Wildcats. First and foremost we need to get our job down and not allow any more slip ups. After that we can worry about other teams helping us out and getting back into first place. Arizona controls its own destiny right now and if they can do what we could not, well congrats to them. This is the last Pac-10 Championship. I want it bad. I think our boys want it bad. They are going to have to finish this season with all cylinders firing. You can always rest when you are dead. Right now, its hustle time.
I.T. is quitting twitter until after the Pac-10 Championship game. Looks like he knows it is time to buckle down. Can't afford any more screw ups.
UW dropped to 28th and 33rd in the polls after the 3 game losing streak and Arizona moved up to 15/16 in the polls. Arizona could feasibly move up further if they win against ASU this week, meaning UW has a chance to finally get a win against a ranked team on the road. I am slightly doubtful of UA losing to ASU, but it is a rivalry game on the road and we all know how that can go.
No more news yet on whether the unnamed player will be charged with a misdemeanor for supplying a minor with alcohol. More info when I have heard more.
Time to right this ship and get back on track. We are going to need some help to do it, but Arizona has the toughest part of its schedule coming up. ASU on the road. WSU and UW at home. USC and UCLA on the road. OSU at home (who is currently 3-0 against them) and UO at home. I see no reason why ASU, WSU, UW, USC, UCLA, or OSU couldn't result in 3 losses. With how UO has been playing they could also come in and surprise the Wildcats. First and foremost we need to get our job down and not allow any more slip ups. After that we can worry about other teams helping us out and getting back into first place. Arizona controls its own destiny right now and if they can do what we could not, well congrats to them. This is the last Pac-10 Championship. I want it bad. I think our boys want it bad. They are going to have to finish this season with all cylinders firing. You can always rest when you are dead. Right now, its hustle time.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
University of Oregon Review 2
Final Score: UW-76 UO-81
I don't even know what to write any more. Days like today are when I wish I didn't care. I wish I could come home and be like the other thousands of students who don't follow the team religious, but I do care. I care a lot. This sucks. I don't know what is wrong with our team. They are not playing smart basketball. They are playing horrid interior defense. They can't handle the ball. They aren't hitting their free throws. To top it off, the refs love letting our players get mauled and not calling the fouls.
I'd like to say we can salvage this and still go on to win the title. I just don't believe it'll happen. I don't see Arizona getting upset anytime soon. Their closest contests should be UW and WSU, but the way we have been playing, UA will blow us out. At this point the best we can do is 14-4. I bet we will be 13-5 or 12-6 by seasons end, in second or third place. We will get a 10 seed in the tournament and likely lose once more in the 2nd round or the Sweet Sixteen. We simply are not executing our offense with enough efficiency to win games away from home. We don't have that fire that drove us to win in L.A.
Our players had decent enough games. They were slightly better on defense, but their interior defense was atrocious for the 3rd straight game. Our free throw shooting was just as bad. The ball handling was what did us in.
One critical play stands out. UW was down 2 points when the poked the ball loose to Scott Suggs. He took about 2 dribbles and looked to pass to I.T. next to him. He threw it right into the hands of an Oregon defender who took it in to score. Instead of a tie ball game. We are down 4 again. That play right there sealed it off with 3 minute left.
UW was forced into 15 turnover. Overton committed 4. Isaiah had 2. Holiday had 3. UW only forced 8 errors for Oregon and allowed them to complete 21 assists to our 19. Bad zone play and rotation led to easy feeds down low to waiting post players and backdoor cuts.
Why does Romar refuse to press the ball on defense? Down 4 points with 3 minutes left. PRESS, DAMMIT! You don't have the time to sit back and let them run out the clock. Make them work to get it up the court. Get a 10 second violation. We have the speed and players to do it, so why not? And why does he refuse to run a press breaker? It is not that hard. Oregon forced us into way to many turnovers by PRESSING! Amazing how something so simple can get a team out of rhythm enough to force them into terrible play.
Our shots were much better tonight with Justin Holiday and Terrence Ross leading the way from outside and MBA from the interior. Isaiah continued his struggles from range on 1-5 shooting outside and continued his struggle to get to the free throw line.
Speaking of fouls. I hate the Pac-10 refs. They have absolutely killed us. They are not the reason we have lost games, but they sure do like to keep them out of reach. MBA got his nose busted up pretty good today and was getting scratched on his, yet no foul was called. That is unacceptable to miss. If a player starts bleeding profusely from the nose...HE WAS FOULED! I.T. was getting hammered on the arms while he drove the lane and was getting no help. They barely called the foul when Aziz took an elbow to the head as well. On the other end, Oregon was getting weak calls left and right. Blocks that were clearly charges, etc. I expect some home biasing, it always happens, but the refs need to call a better game. UO attempted 23 free throws to UW's 11. Absurd, especially considering we had only 3 fouls more than UO. The refs just won't give it to us on the shot.
Turnovers did us in once more. UO had something like 30 points off turnovers. Cut the turnovers in half or even take 4 to 5 turnovers away and suddenly UW is up 4 or 5 points. If Scott Suggs makes that pass or hold onto it, tie ball game. No need to foul. Too many mental lapses at critical moments in the game.
The starting 5 rebounded well. Aziz led the team with 9 followed by MBA, I.T., and Holiday with 5 a piece and Suggs with 4. Darnell Gant played only 5 minutes as he suffered some sort of injury in practice on Friday, but did grab 2 rebounds in his limited play.
UW passed better as a team. I.T. led with 6. Holiday had 5 assists and Suggs had 4.
Why can't we hit our free throws? Overton was 1-4, Aziz was 1-2, MBA was 1-3. I.T. made both of his going 2-2. 6 missed free throws. Even if we had hit just 3 more for a respectable percentage this game would have turned out entirely different. While the score shows a 5 point win, it was a 2 point game in the final 2 minutes. UW had to foul to get the ball. 3 isn't unreasonable to ask either. Overton needs to made 2 more to shoot how he normally does and MBA just needs to go 67% from the line by hitting 1 more.
I am wondering what it is going to take to get this team rolling again. Sure we play 5 of 7 at home to finish conference play, but WSU or USC could come in here and steal one. Stanford could do the same. After all they already have beaten us once. Hell even UCLA is playing strong enough to do it. The ASU game shouldn't be a problem, but with as terrible as we have been, we could get swept in Arizona. We got swept in Oregon, why not there?
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
While his late game scores where fast and important, his turnovers and horrendous free throw shooting killed us. He played 14 minutes and finished with 4 points, 4 turnovers, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Where is his fire? Where is Venoyance? We need him back.
Grade: D+ for the late game baskets, otherwise it'd be a D
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
He started extremely hot and did not miss a shot until the play he was whacked in the face and did not get a foul call. He then missed 6 of the next 9 shots he took. Kind of hard to run and breathe well when you have to have cotton shoved up your nose to stop the bleeding. He went 10-16 from the field, had 21 points, and 5 rebounds. he also had a steal and a block. We did a good job feeding him. His defense was decent enough. I didn't notice him being at fault for too many of the backdoor cuts, but as the center for most of the 2-3 zone he has a big responsibility to plug that up from happening.
Grade: B+, without him we would have been toast
Justin Holiday
MVP of the game without a doubt. He played a quieter game. Doing everything pretty well. I thought he was pretty bad in the zone defense. Then again it could just be a coaching thing. E.J. Singler and the other Ducks were wide open way to often in the corners where the outside players in the "3" part of the 2-3 zone are supposed to cover. Holiday really didn't have much choice as the top 2 were rotating poorly to cover the open man at the top of the key who would dish to the corner or cutting player. Holiday had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers. A pretty decent night over all. The assists were great as were the blocks. The turnovers...not so much.
Grade: B+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
It is hard to give a grade to a player who was out there for only 5 minutes, but I'll give it a shot. Gant evidently suffered a quad bruise in practice and it can be assumed that is why he was limited in play. In just 5 minutes he snagged 2 rebounds, had 1 assist, and 1 turnover. He missed his only shot attempt. He was no better or worse in the zone than MBA or Aziz.
Grade: B
Scott Suggs
After a pretty hot night against OSU, Suggs was stone cold. He finished with 3 points on 1-5 shooting, including 1-4 from range. While I don't want to blame the loss on one player, his turnover effectively cost us our last shot at winning. 4 rebounds in 21 minutes along with 4 assist is pretty good. He had 2 turnovers. UW should not have been in a position for that 1 turnover to be so critical, but they were and it was.
Grade: C
Isaiah Thomas
I.T. controlled the ball a little better tonight, only committing 2 turnovers and handing out 6 assist. He had only 3 points until he became aggressive the second half when our shooters started to heat up from range and the lane opened up for him. I counted 2 made baskets and 3 missed shots where there should have been a foul call. Maybe I am too biased. I don't know, but the fouls that weren't being called for us were being called for Oregon on the other end. If you are going to be terrible refs, at least be terrible for both teams.
I understand shooters need to shoot to get out of slumps, but 1-5 range shooting hurts. His looks were pretty good and fairly open, but they wouldn't fall. Have to make the open shots. Have to. If it isn't falling that night, keep passing. Find whoever is hot handed. I.T. ended up with 13 points and would have had more if the refs would throw him a bone.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
He rebounded really well tonight, finishing with 9 (4 offensive). He also made two very nice slam dunks, including a trailing tip dunk off of a miss. He looked better against the UO zone than he has in the past. Maybe he is starting to find himself a bit. That blow to the head took him out a bit. He needed help off the court after attempting the free throws. The big man did what we needed him to do tonight. He did well enough on defense and scored on occasion. He was decent at free throws and rebounded very well.
Grade: A-
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
C.J. Wilcox
His shot looked a little better tonight, but he still went 1-3 from range and 1-4 overall. 1 rebound and 1 assist. No turnovers. Only 12 minutes.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
He played another pretty big game against Oregon. All 12 of his points were from range (4-9 beyond the arc, 4-10 overall). He grabbed 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers. His defense was decent, but like Holiday there was often an open man in the corner where he was responsible for the player. To me that screams coaching versus player fault. Have to improve the zone play. Have to.
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
I am going into disconnect mode. Try to separate myself emotionally from this team so this losses stop taking me out of it. Sure UW could go on to win the next 7, go 14-4 and win the title, but I don't see it happening. Not when play like this continues on the road. This is just looking like another making of the '08-'09 or '09-'10 teams that show so much promise and all the pieces to win big game, only to drop them on their own toes. Don't know the reason, but it needs to change. The difference between a team like us and a team like Duke or Ohio State is not the players, it is the drive and consistency. They need to fix their problems and fix them now. Luckily we have 2 games coming at home this week against California and Stanford that will hopefully allow us to get our heads out of the dirt, brush off the shoulders, and get back to playing hard, tough, Husky defense and basketball.
I don't even know what to write any more. Days like today are when I wish I didn't care. I wish I could come home and be like the other thousands of students who don't follow the team religious, but I do care. I care a lot. This sucks. I don't know what is wrong with our team. They are not playing smart basketball. They are playing horrid interior defense. They can't handle the ball. They aren't hitting their free throws. To top it off, the refs love letting our players get mauled and not calling the fouls.
I'd like to say we can salvage this and still go on to win the title. I just don't believe it'll happen. I don't see Arizona getting upset anytime soon. Their closest contests should be UW and WSU, but the way we have been playing, UA will blow us out. At this point the best we can do is 14-4. I bet we will be 13-5 or 12-6 by seasons end, in second or third place. We will get a 10 seed in the tournament and likely lose once more in the 2nd round or the Sweet Sixteen. We simply are not executing our offense with enough efficiency to win games away from home. We don't have that fire that drove us to win in L.A.
Our players had decent enough games. They were slightly better on defense, but their interior defense was atrocious for the 3rd straight game. Our free throw shooting was just as bad. The ball handling was what did us in.
One critical play stands out. UW was down 2 points when the poked the ball loose to Scott Suggs. He took about 2 dribbles and looked to pass to I.T. next to him. He threw it right into the hands of an Oregon defender who took it in to score. Instead of a tie ball game. We are down 4 again. That play right there sealed it off with 3 minute left.
UW was forced into 15 turnover. Overton committed 4. Isaiah had 2. Holiday had 3. UW only forced 8 errors for Oregon and allowed them to complete 21 assists to our 19. Bad zone play and rotation led to easy feeds down low to waiting post players and backdoor cuts.
Why does Romar refuse to press the ball on defense? Down 4 points with 3 minutes left. PRESS, DAMMIT! You don't have the time to sit back and let them run out the clock. Make them work to get it up the court. Get a 10 second violation. We have the speed and players to do it, so why not? And why does he refuse to run a press breaker? It is not that hard. Oregon forced us into way to many turnovers by PRESSING! Amazing how something so simple can get a team out of rhythm enough to force them into terrible play.
Our shots were much better tonight with Justin Holiday and Terrence Ross leading the way from outside and MBA from the interior. Isaiah continued his struggles from range on 1-5 shooting outside and continued his struggle to get to the free throw line.
Speaking of fouls. I hate the Pac-10 refs. They have absolutely killed us. They are not the reason we have lost games, but they sure do like to keep them out of reach. MBA got his nose busted up pretty good today and was getting scratched on his, yet no foul was called. That is unacceptable to miss. If a player starts bleeding profusely from the nose...HE WAS FOULED! I.T. was getting hammered on the arms while he drove the lane and was getting no help. They barely called the foul when Aziz took an elbow to the head as well. On the other end, Oregon was getting weak calls left and right. Blocks that were clearly charges, etc. I expect some home biasing, it always happens, but the refs need to call a better game. UO attempted 23 free throws to UW's 11. Absurd, especially considering we had only 3 fouls more than UO. The refs just won't give it to us on the shot.
Turnovers did us in once more. UO had something like 30 points off turnovers. Cut the turnovers in half or even take 4 to 5 turnovers away and suddenly UW is up 4 or 5 points. If Scott Suggs makes that pass or hold onto it, tie ball game. No need to foul. Too many mental lapses at critical moments in the game.
The starting 5 rebounded well. Aziz led the team with 9 followed by MBA, I.T., and Holiday with 5 a piece and Suggs with 4. Darnell Gant played only 5 minutes as he suffered some sort of injury in practice on Friday, but did grab 2 rebounds in his limited play.
UW passed better as a team. I.T. led with 6. Holiday had 5 assists and Suggs had 4.
Why can't we hit our free throws? Overton was 1-4, Aziz was 1-2, MBA was 1-3. I.T. made both of his going 2-2. 6 missed free throws. Even if we had hit just 3 more for a respectable percentage this game would have turned out entirely different. While the score shows a 5 point win, it was a 2 point game in the final 2 minutes. UW had to foul to get the ball. 3 isn't unreasonable to ask either. Overton needs to made 2 more to shoot how he normally does and MBA just needs to go 67% from the line by hitting 1 more.
I am wondering what it is going to take to get this team rolling again. Sure we play 5 of 7 at home to finish conference play, but WSU or USC could come in here and steal one. Stanford could do the same. After all they already have beaten us once. Hell even UCLA is playing strong enough to do it. The ASU game shouldn't be a problem, but with as terrible as we have been, we could get swept in Arizona. We got swept in Oregon, why not there?
Player by Player Reviews
Venoy Overton
While his late game scores where fast and important, his turnovers and horrendous free throw shooting killed us. He played 14 minutes and finished with 4 points, 4 turnovers, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds. Where is his fire? Where is Venoyance? We need him back.
Grade: D+ for the late game baskets, otherwise it'd be a D
Matthew Bryan-Amaning
He started extremely hot and did not miss a shot until the play he was whacked in the face and did not get a foul call. He then missed 6 of the next 9 shots he took. Kind of hard to run and breathe well when you have to have cotton shoved up your nose to stop the bleeding. He went 10-16 from the field, had 21 points, and 5 rebounds. he also had a steal and a block. We did a good job feeding him. His defense was decent enough. I didn't notice him being at fault for too many of the backdoor cuts, but as the center for most of the 2-3 zone he has a big responsibility to plug that up from happening.
Grade: B+, without him we would have been toast
Justin Holiday
MVP of the game without a doubt. He played a quieter game. Doing everything pretty well. I thought he was pretty bad in the zone defense. Then again it could just be a coaching thing. E.J. Singler and the other Ducks were wide open way to often in the corners where the outside players in the "3" part of the 2-3 zone are supposed to cover. Holiday really didn't have much choice as the top 2 were rotating poorly to cover the open man at the top of the key who would dish to the corner or cutting player. Holiday had 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 3 turnovers. A pretty decent night over all. The assists were great as were the blocks. The turnovers...not so much.
Grade: B+
Brendan Sherrer
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
Darnell Gant
It is hard to give a grade to a player who was out there for only 5 minutes, but I'll give it a shot. Gant evidently suffered a quad bruise in practice and it can be assumed that is why he was limited in play. In just 5 minutes he snagged 2 rebounds, had 1 assist, and 1 turnover. He missed his only shot attempt. He was no better or worse in the zone than MBA or Aziz.
Grade: B
Scott Suggs
After a pretty hot night against OSU, Suggs was stone cold. He finished with 3 points on 1-5 shooting, including 1-4 from range. While I don't want to blame the loss on one player, his turnover effectively cost us our last shot at winning. 4 rebounds in 21 minutes along with 4 assist is pretty good. He had 2 turnovers. UW should not have been in a position for that 1 turnover to be so critical, but they were and it was.
Grade: C
Isaiah Thomas
I.T. controlled the ball a little better tonight, only committing 2 turnovers and handing out 6 assist. He had only 3 points until he became aggressive the second half when our shooters started to heat up from range and the lane opened up for him. I counted 2 made baskets and 3 missed shots where there should have been a foul call. Maybe I am too biased. I don't know, but the fouls that weren't being called for us were being called for Oregon on the other end. If you are going to be terrible refs, at least be terrible for both teams.
I understand shooters need to shoot to get out of slumps, but 1-5 range shooting hurts. His looks were pretty good and fairly open, but they wouldn't fall. Have to make the open shots. Have to. If it isn't falling that night, keep passing. Find whoever is hot handed. I.T. ended up with 13 points and would have had more if the refs would throw him a bone.
Grade: B+
Aziz N'Diaye
He rebounded really well tonight, finishing with 9 (4 offensive). He also made two very nice slam dunks, including a trailing tip dunk off of a miss. He looked better against the UO zone than he has in the past. Maybe he is starting to find himself a bit. That blow to the head took him out a bit. He needed help off the court after attempting the free throws. The big man did what we needed him to do tonight. He did well enough on defense and scored on occasion. He was decent at free throws and rebounded very well.
Grade: A-
Antoine Hosley
Did not play.
Grade: N/A
C.J. Wilcox
His shot looked a little better tonight, but he still went 1-3 from range and 1-4 overall. 1 rebound and 1 assist. No turnovers. Only 12 minutes.
Grade: B-
Terrence Ross
He played another pretty big game against Oregon. All 12 of his points were from range (4-9 beyond the arc, 4-10 overall). He grabbed 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 0 turnovers. His defense was decent, but like Holiday there was often an open man in the corner where he was responsible for the player. To me that screams coaching versus player fault. Have to improve the zone play. Have to.
Grade: B
Final Thoughts
I am going into disconnect mode. Try to separate myself emotionally from this team so this losses stop taking me out of it. Sure UW could go on to win the next 7, go 14-4 and win the title, but I don't see it happening. Not when play like this continues on the road. This is just looking like another making of the '08-'09 or '09-'10 teams that show so much promise and all the pieces to win big game, only to drop them on their own toes. Don't know the reason, but it needs to change. The difference between a team like us and a team like Duke or Ohio State is not the players, it is the drive and consistency. They need to fix their problems and fix them now. Luckily we have 2 games coming at home this week against California and Stanford that will hopefully allow us to get our heads out of the dirt, brush off the shoulders, and get back to playing hard, tough, Husky defense and basketball.
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