Final Score: UW-88 HPU-65
The Huskies came in strong and blew the imposter Huskies back home with their tails between their legs. C.J. Wilcox showed up in force and dropped 19 on 5-9 shooting from range while adding 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He looked fantastic on the court and showed no ill effects from the mild concussion he suffered on Sunday.
Marcus Davis of Houston Baptist led all scorers with 20 points and picked up a game high 14 rebounds as well. He was absolutely unstoppable on the court despite our best efforts and kept the faux Huskies in the game far longer than they should have been. Joe Latas was held to 15 points and 8 rebounds, though his point margin was cushioned by his 14 free throw attempts as the UW defense held him to 3-11 shooting.
Terrence Ross came through strong in the second half and finished with a beautiful double-double scoring 13 points and nabbing 13 rebounds. He went 5-10 on the night and hit 3 of 5 outside the arc. He looked consistent throughout the night, not terribly impressive, but definitely not quiet. He still seems reserved at times, but when he finds his groove, man is he impressive.
Tony Wroten did exactly as I thought. He impressed and frustrated me as his stat line reveals. 14 points, excellent. 5 assists, very nice. 6 steals, outstanding. 6 turnover, terrible. He pulled off some really athletic moves and also threw some passes he should not have attempted. If he can get his turnovers under control, he'll take over the starting spot and be an extreme force on the court. His free throw shooting continued to struggle going 2-4 from the line.
Aziz N'Diaye did his part containing Latas and was fairly effective offensively. He grabbed 7 boards and dropped in 8 points. He shot 3-6 from the field and 2-6 from the charity stripe. He looked much better defensively and only picked up two fouls. To be fair, Latas was not a quick man, which immensely helped N'Diaye keep his position.
Darnell Gant didn't show up until the second half where he dropped in some fantastic flushes back to back. First was a tip-in after a missed lay-in followed immediately by a fast break jam over a Houston player. In 19 minutes he only managed 7 points and 2 rebounds. He did shoot 3-4 from the free throw line, which makes me very happy.
Desmond Simmons showed up out of no where. He managed 10 points on 3-6 shooting, including 2-2 from the 3-point line. He also had 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and zero turnovers. Loved his defensive efforts as he was all over the place diving for balls, picking up loose ones, and getting in everyone's face.
Abdul Gaddy returned to his better self. He only managed 6 points and 4 boards, but he did throw out a game high 7 assists and 1 turnovers with a steal to top it off. He was calm and composed, but his shot looked a tad off, only hitting 3-8 and 0-1 from the line.
Martin Breunig was solid on the night, as was Shawn Kemp. Both provided excellent backup for their respective starters and were effective on both ends of the court. They combined for 8 points and 6 boards (Breunig had 5 of the 6).
Brendan Sherrer saw 4 minutes of play, missed a fairly easy lay-in, but went 1-2 from the line. Alex Wegner also missed an easy lay-up sadly. Hikeem Stewart played 10 minutes and went 1-2 from the field.
What Needed Improvement:
First Half Ball Control:
UW gave up 12 turnovers in the first half and played fairly sloppily in the first 20 minutes. There seemed to be a sense of panic and hurry as Houston grabbed the early lead and I believe, subconsciously, the Huskies did not want another egg in the face and were working over the top to get points on the board leading to poor decision making. Once we got a comfortable lead, things seemed to calm down and our team got back to playing Husky Basketball.
What was Good:
Rebounding:
UW finally showed a little prowess on the glass, holding a 29-12 rebounding advantage at half and 51-40 at the end. 5 players had 5+ rebounds and only Wegner and Stewart did not record a board. Sherrer had 3. No trillion club for him. This was finally the type of rebounding performance I have been wanting to see. Only a 17-14 advantage on the offensive boards, something I would like to see improved a bit. Holding the opposition under 10 offensive boards would be fantastic, but tough to achieve. The only negative was giving up the 6 extra rebounds in the second half, though I blame this on garbage time play more than lax effort on the glass.
3-Point Shooting:
UW showed up strong tonight hitting 10-21 on the night from deep. Not only did they shoot well, but they took smart shots. Often UW can get frustrated and start jacking up 3s that have no business being shot. Tonight they played smart, something due largely in part to Romar's tough policy. If a player made bad decisions on offense or missed switches and the like on defense they were quickly substituted. Great decision in my mind as it really holds players responsible for their actions and quickly enforces solid, smart play no matter the tempo the game flowed at.
Final Thoughts:
This game was very smooth for the Dawgs and a nice pick-me-up after the debacle in Saint Louis (who, by the way, has been playing very solid and at least making the lost look respectable in some sense). UW now faces a tough road test hitting up Nevada first before heading to the Big Apple for match-ups against Marquette and Duke. All three upcoming games will be tough ones and I'm betting on a 2-1 outcome with a possibly dubbing with Duke. The Blue Devils look exceptional this year and I don't know how well our defense will be able to compete. Hopefully the Nevada game can give us a better measuring stick of where this team is at overall.
Go Dawgs!
Showing posts with label Houston Baptist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston Baptist. Show all posts
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Houston Baptist Game Preview
The Huskies return home for Thanksgiving and a little home-cooking tomorrow against Houston Baptist (2-3). After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Saint Louis, the Huskies have a lot of work to do to get back on track and the game could be a good moral booster before the trip to the Big Apple.
Houston Baptist are also the Huskies so to avoid confusion I'll refer to them by Houston or Houston Baptist.
Houston is an uptempo team averaging 73 points per game. Their season low has been 64 points in a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. Houston has four players in double digit scoring, three averaging 12 points and one with an 11 point average. Their leading scorer is also their leading rebounder with just under 8 boards a game. Joe Latas stands at 6-11 and 275lb and will be a tough match-up for the Dawgs. Aziz N'Diaye and Shawn Kemp will need to be at their best to slow him down.
Play time is pretty even for Houston. 10 players have played in all 5 games and only 3 players have not seen any game time action. The lowest minute average is 10 minutes while the game high is 25 minutes. 9 players are picking up 18 minutes or more. To me this indicates a well balanced team that will be consistent throughout the 40 minutes.
The one stat line that screams an easier game for the Dawgs is the assist-turnover lines. Houston is averaging only 11 assists, but giving up 16 turnovers per game. The turnovers come from just about everywhere with Joe Latas leading the way at 3 per game. 5-7 170lb Marcel Smith is averaging around 2 per game as is 6-5 190lb Marcus Davis. Houston is also a lower rebounding team with only 34 boards and average with only Latas picking up more than 5 a game.
6 players have attempted 10 or more 3-pointers this season and Smith leads the team with a 55% average on 6-11 shooting. Ronald March leads in makes with 9 on 27 attempts. This is a team that can extend the defense and find moderate success from just about any player on the court. The Dawgs could find themselves facing a team very similar to themselves and I'm interested to see how they cope with such a match-up. To me it seems favorable as anytime the Huskies can get up and run is a good day for us.
Jonathan Evans leads the team in assists with 2.4 per game, while also committing 2.2 turnovers per game. At 5-10 and 170lb he is a quick and mobile guard that is definitely a pass-first point guard rather than a shooting guard. At only 3 points per game he is not too high of an offensive threat, but cannot be allowed free reign while trying to prevent opportunities from other players.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups:
Houston Baptist:
Marcel Smith 5-7 170lb
Tyler Russell 6-0 175lb
Ronald March 6-4 195lb
Marcus Davis 6-5 190lb
Joe Latas 6-11 275lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 190lb (he suffered a mild concussion against SLU so he may not start or play depending on the severity, though it sounds like he has been cleared to play tomorrow)
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 230lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb
Keys to the Game:
Offensive Patience
UW showed little composure and patience in their last outing and it was a nightmare. 25 points in a half has to be one of the lowest totals in quite some time for the high scoring Huskies. The Dawgs need to help Gaddy regain his composure and develop their half-court offense. Even if our post doesn't take a lot of shots, it's important that the Dawgs work the ball into the middle to open up our perimeter shooters.
Backcourt Pressure:
The Houston center poses a big threat to the Huskies. He's a talented and strong center who will give N'Diaye a run for his money. The best way to go about this is preventing entry passes to the post by pressuring the Houston guards with tougher, in your face, man-to-man defense. Houston is a turnover prone team, which could lead to the kind of transition basketball that Romar and team love to run. If Tony Wroten gets matched up with their 5-7, I'll be interested in seeing if he can avoid the foul trouble he encountered against FAU's 5-6 guard.
Rebounding:
The Huskies need to control the glass, especially when shots aren't falling. I can't imagine the Dawgs having as poor of shooting night as last weekend, but it could happen and we need to crash the backboard all night. Rebounding and free throws are some of the easiest and quickest ways to keep a team in the game or blow a team out of the water. If Houston is able to gain an advantage on the glass, expect a closer game.
Final Thoughts:
This is an interesting match-up for the Huskies, especially in light of the beat down they suffered in Saint Louis. While the Huskies got their act together in the second half and finished 13 down rather than 25, the team still showed a lot of holes and anxiety that could come back to haunt them. Houston knows how to score and get their point from a variety of players, so don't expect the bench to be a big drop off in talent. I'd like to think that the Dawgs can win this one with ease, but after the let down I witnessed last week I'm not so sure. I fully expect a win, but not one without its bumps and stresses. Look for Terrence Ross to continue his rise and Tony Wroten to cause hair pulling and fist pumping as he develops a better feel for the college game. I suspect C.J. Wilcox will have another slow night as he tended to be a streaky shooter last season. One other promising stat is the Houston defense is allowing 79 points a game with a low score of 73 and a high of 82. If all goes well and the team fires up their cylinders again we could see UW drop 100 on the night. All this said I'll call it:
UW-90 HPU-75
Go Dawgs!
Houston Baptist are also the Huskies so to avoid confusion I'll refer to them by Houston or Houston Baptist.
Houston is an uptempo team averaging 73 points per game. Their season low has been 64 points in a loss to Louisiana-Lafayette. Houston has four players in double digit scoring, three averaging 12 points and one with an 11 point average. Their leading scorer is also their leading rebounder with just under 8 boards a game. Joe Latas stands at 6-11 and 275lb and will be a tough match-up for the Dawgs. Aziz N'Diaye and Shawn Kemp will need to be at their best to slow him down.
Play time is pretty even for Houston. 10 players have played in all 5 games and only 3 players have not seen any game time action. The lowest minute average is 10 minutes while the game high is 25 minutes. 9 players are picking up 18 minutes or more. To me this indicates a well balanced team that will be consistent throughout the 40 minutes.
The one stat line that screams an easier game for the Dawgs is the assist-turnover lines. Houston is averaging only 11 assists, but giving up 16 turnovers per game. The turnovers come from just about everywhere with Joe Latas leading the way at 3 per game. 5-7 170lb Marcel Smith is averaging around 2 per game as is 6-5 190lb Marcus Davis. Houston is also a lower rebounding team with only 34 boards and average with only Latas picking up more than 5 a game.
6 players have attempted 10 or more 3-pointers this season and Smith leads the team with a 55% average on 6-11 shooting. Ronald March leads in makes with 9 on 27 attempts. This is a team that can extend the defense and find moderate success from just about any player on the court. The Dawgs could find themselves facing a team very similar to themselves and I'm interested to see how they cope with such a match-up. To me it seems favorable as anytime the Huskies can get up and run is a good day for us.
Jonathan Evans leads the team in assists with 2.4 per game, while also committing 2.2 turnovers per game. At 5-10 and 170lb he is a quick and mobile guard that is definitely a pass-first point guard rather than a shooting guard. At only 3 points per game he is not too high of an offensive threat, but cannot be allowed free reign while trying to prevent opportunities from other players.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups:
Houston Baptist:
Marcel Smith 5-7 170lb
Tyler Russell 6-0 175lb
Ronald March 6-4 195lb
Marcus Davis 6-5 190lb
Joe Latas 6-11 275lb
Washington:
Abdul Gaddy 6-3 185lb
C.J. Wilcox 6-5 190lb (he suffered a mild concussion against SLU so he may not start or play depending on the severity, though it sounds like he has been cleared to play tomorrow)
Terrence Ross 6-6 195lb
Darnell Gant 6-8 230lb
Aziz N'Diaye 7-0 260lb
Keys to the Game:
Offensive Patience
UW showed little composure and patience in their last outing and it was a nightmare. 25 points in a half has to be one of the lowest totals in quite some time for the high scoring Huskies. The Dawgs need to help Gaddy regain his composure and develop their half-court offense. Even if our post doesn't take a lot of shots, it's important that the Dawgs work the ball into the middle to open up our perimeter shooters.
Backcourt Pressure:
The Houston center poses a big threat to the Huskies. He's a talented and strong center who will give N'Diaye a run for his money. The best way to go about this is preventing entry passes to the post by pressuring the Houston guards with tougher, in your face, man-to-man defense. Houston is a turnover prone team, which could lead to the kind of transition basketball that Romar and team love to run. If Tony Wroten gets matched up with their 5-7, I'll be interested in seeing if he can avoid the foul trouble he encountered against FAU's 5-6 guard.
Rebounding:
The Huskies need to control the glass, especially when shots aren't falling. I can't imagine the Dawgs having as poor of shooting night as last weekend, but it could happen and we need to crash the backboard all night. Rebounding and free throws are some of the easiest and quickest ways to keep a team in the game or blow a team out of the water. If Houston is able to gain an advantage on the glass, expect a closer game.
Final Thoughts:
This is an interesting match-up for the Huskies, especially in light of the beat down they suffered in Saint Louis. While the Huskies got their act together in the second half and finished 13 down rather than 25, the team still showed a lot of holes and anxiety that could come back to haunt them. Houston knows how to score and get their point from a variety of players, so don't expect the bench to be a big drop off in talent. I'd like to think that the Dawgs can win this one with ease, but after the let down I witnessed last week I'm not so sure. I fully expect a win, but not one without its bumps and stresses. Look for Terrence Ross to continue his rise and Tony Wroten to cause hair pulling and fist pumping as he develops a better feel for the college game. I suspect C.J. Wilcox will have another slow night as he tended to be a streaky shooter last season. One other promising stat is the Houston defense is allowing 79 points a game with a low score of 73 and a high of 82. If all goes well and the team fires up their cylinders again we could see UW drop 100 on the night. All this said I'll call it:
UW-90 HPU-75
Go Dawgs!
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