Texas Tech 2/3 6:00 ESPN+

[Lobot]

These are good questions. Which leads to other questions, such as is this a recent development, or better when did these habits begin. I posted in another thread (WVU) that it seems like he resents Aziz and Jamille delegating him to the #4 and no longer being the five. I also stated that VL has not been the player he was previously which reinforced this suspicion but also begs why CWM would tolerated it. If the portal is his goal then develope JR to go the rest of the way.

First off, he's been sick for the last three games. Second, I think you're putting words in his mouth, so to speak. I have no idea why he would go into the portal to be honest. There's too much uncertainly in the front court roster for next year. There's also some pretty serious non-basketball reasons why Vik would stay.

I'm repeating myself here from a while back but Viktor Lakhin was recruited by Brannen as a Euro-style stretch 3. That's his preferred position. UC has been playing Vik out of position since he got here out of necessity. Now that we have a true 4/5 combo with Aziz / Jamille, there's nowhere for him to go because we have a ton of depth at the 3, plus Rayvon in redshirt land.

Vik's still the best offensively talented post player we have but banging in the post was never his thing. European players don't grow up playing that way. He's not really a physical guy despite his height and size. He gets flustered in the post when he's up against someone who's more athletic than he is. I was at the game in Ft. Worth against Houston in the AAC tourney last year . The Houston post players just destroyed him. He was hurt in that game but even if he hadn't been, that type of athletic post rebounder and defensive presence gives him all kinds of problems. Part of it is probably mental at this point and that's why you see him travel a lot. He gets bodied up on the catch and tries to think and gather himself rather than flowing to the hoop like he can on pick and roll action.

I would compare the situation to our expectation of Yancy Gates way back. Huge human. Would rather shoot from 10ft. We spent a lot of energy trying to get Yancy to be something he wasn't. Same with Vik. Stop trying to force him to be Shaq and settle for Dirk. Both guys were pretty good in different ways. Dirk is something he can handle.

[leeraymond]

I know that this is going to sound crazy, but after looking at Texas Tech"s conference stats, UC may truly have a chance to steal this one. What I am about to write is all based on conference stats. Texas Tech scores about 75 points a game but they give up about 74 points a game. They shoot about 41% from 3 but their opponents are shooting 40% from3. TT hits about 9 threes a game but their opponents are hitting 9.7 threes a game. TT is being outrebounded by about 5 or 6 a game. They play with a core group of about 6 guys and another two play about 7 minutes a game.

If UC can play some MONSTER DEFENSE against this team, beat them up on the boards, keep them off of the free-throw line, and play good smart basketball (few turnovers), UC may have a chance to "steal one on the road". Miller SHOULD NOT go with the two big man line-up in this game. If Miller goes with the two bigs tonight for extended minutes, UC will probably lose this game. This is also a game where Miller should let Oguama play extended minutes. I like UC's chances tonight, but ultimately it comes back to the decisions that Miller makes. Hopefully Miller does a go job at playing the match-ups.

[Rufus]

You have the more recent experience. Whose fault is it? What, if anything, can be done to change it. Do you see him in the portal if he doesn't change?

These are good questions. Which leads to other questions, such as is this a recent development, or better when did these habits begin. I posted in another thread (WVU) that it seems like he resents Aziz and Jamille delegating him to the #4 and no longer being the five. I also stated that VL has not been the player he was previously which reinforced this suspicion but also begs why CWM would tolerated it. If the portal is his goal then develope JR to go the rest of the way.

[GoBearcats31]

Looks good here https://x.com/gobearcatsmbb/status/1...A2NHZ_hNyS2mFg

[Lobot]

Newman is a game time decision tonight per Rothstein

[leo from jersey]

His practice habits are awful.

You have the more recent experience. Whose fault is it? What, if anything, can be done to change it. Do you see him in the portal if he doesn't change?

[GoBearcats31]

4.5 point underdogs…let’s get the W

[Rufus]

" His practice habits are awful.". Whatever it is he's not earned a starting spot. I'd take my chances with Jamille. At least He would bang with the bigs the rest of the way.

[sedz]

I rewatched the first half of the TTU-TCU game from Tuesday night. Both Isaacs and Toussaint try to attack downhill a lot. Isaacs doesn't necessarily start the offense, but he touches the ball on virtually every possession. He's very crafty, being able to drive and pitch or keep it and use the rim as a shield off the baseline. Toussaint took only three shots but dished out nine assists. McMillian came off the bench, scoring 19 points in 30 minutes (5/9 treys).

The Red Raiders played exclusively man-to-man in the half; no zone possessions. For the game, TCU outrebounded TTU 34-27 (12-4 offensive). The Raiders aren't very big, especially when employing four guards, which they did extensively. Six players saw at least 25 minutes of action. Two others, who failed to score (two rebounds), played a combined 12 minutes. The team plays at a slower than average pace.

It would really help if John Newman can play and do so effectively. Also, Vik needs to be healthy and snap out of the funk he was in in Morgantown.

Thanks for the report. I'm guessing their man defense is a pack line style on the perimeter with a lot of doubling in the paint, similar to what we used to run under Cronin. That can be zone-like in many ways. If that's the case, floor spacing and passing out of double teams will be important. Guards need to be looking to dish before they get into trouble, and wings should overload one side and then rotate once the ball gets inside.

[Corporateballa]

I don't think Lahkin has it in him to snap out of the funk he is in. He either can't or refuses to get in sync with the other bigs. He's not the player he was these last two years. In the last four of games he has scored 5, 8, dnp, and 0 points. The last game he was 0 for nine with 4 of those being trey attempts. He's wishing to play like a 6'4" guard but in a 6'11" body. I think he's intimidated by the physicality of the bigs he has to go up against in the big12. He needs to put on the big boy pants but hasn't got any. I know that's harsh but I can't believe he hasn't been benched yet.

His practice habits are awful.

[Rufus]

I don't think Lahkin has it in him to snap out of the funk he is in. He either can't or refuses to get in sync with the other bigs. He's not the player he was these last two years. In the last four of games he has scored 5, 8, dnp, and 0 points. The last game he was 0 for nine with 4 of those being trey attempts. He's wishing to play like a 6'4" guard but in a 6'11" body. I think he's intimidated by the physicality of the bigs he has to go up against in the big12. He needs to put on the big boy pants but hasn't got any. I know that's harsh but I can't believe he hasn't been benched yet.

[swilsonsp4]

I rewatched the first half of the TTU-TCU game from Tuesday night. Both Isaacs and Toussaint try to attack downhill a lot. Isaacs doesn't necessarily start the offense, but he touches the ball on virtually every possession. He's very crafty, being able to drive and pitch or keep it and use the rim as a shield off the baseline. Toussaint took only three shots but dished out nine assists. McMillian came off the bench, scoring 19 points in 30 minutes (5/9 treys).

The Red Raiders played exclusively man-to-man in the half; no zone possessions. For the game, TCU outrebounded TTU 34-27 (12-4 offensive). The Raiders aren't very big, especially when employing four guards, which they did extensively. Six players saw at least 25 minutes of action. Two others, who failed to score (two rebounds), played a combined 12 minutes. The team plays at a slower than average pace.

It would really help if John Newman can play and do so effectively. Also, Vik needs to be healthy and snap out of the funk he was in in Morgantown.

[sedz]

Texas Tech is elite on the offensive end, putting up over 1.2 points per possession against an average opponent, good for 11th best in the country. They don't dominate any one area, with their 40th ranked effective field goal percentage being the only top 50 of the "four factors". They are above average across the board though. They shoot a lot of threes - 41.5% of their shots come from beyond the arc and they make them at a top 30 rate. Guards Isaacs and Toussiant run the show, but neither are very efficient, each sporting effective field goal percentages below 50. Isaacs has been better in conference at 53% (41% from three), still just ok efficiency. Instead it's the three point shooting wings McMillian and Walton and big man Washington who are converting at a high rate. Darrion Williams is a decent all around 6'6 forward who can score inside and out, rebound, and create at low usage.

Offensively, this team profiles very similar to what we just faced at West Virginia, with a poor shooting creator (two of them actually), good three point shooting wings, and a rim running big. So right away we'll get to see if we made any adjustments. Isaacs and Toussiant will gladly take midrange jumpers, and we should invite them to do that. They both shoot under 38% from there, so it's a terrible shot. We've got to be aware of Walton and McMillian at all times on the perimeter. They are one dimensional set shooters who have taken 164 threes at a 48% clip, of which over 90% were assisted. McMillian is also effective on backdoor cuts, as 70% of his rim looks are assisted. He's been especially deadly over his last three games, going 12 of 19 from three and 8 of 10 at the rim. Washington is not an outside scoring threat and is exclusively looking to score at the rim. I think we need to play Isaacs and Toussiant straight up with no help outside the lane. On ball screens, the big should stay with Washington and invite the guards to shoot. We'll have a better chance of slowing them down if we force the guards to take contested shots rather than letting their receiving high efficiency guys get open looks.

On the defensive end, TTU barely cracks the top 100 in overall efficiency, giving up just over a point per possession to an average opponent. Keeping opponents off the free throw line is the only area they are top 100. They are a poor defensive rebounding team, allowing opponents to grab over 30% of their misses. Washington is the 7th best rim protector in the Big 12, blocking 6.8% of shots, higher than anyone on our team. He's the only rim protector though, as the PF Williams only blocks 1.7%, less than Skillings. Washington is the only starter with a defensive box plus minus above 2. Isaacs is a poor defender with a negative DBPM.

Outside of Washington, this is a small team. They run two small guards out there with an undersized PF. We should be able to rebound from all positions. And it's a 6 man rotation so they are not defending aggressively. In fact, I wonder if they play a lot of zone. Over 40% of opponent shots are threes, only 30% of looks are at the rim, they play a slow pace, don't foul, and don't clean up the defensive glass well. Those are statistical hallmarks of a zone defense, and their one true big lineup with two small guards would fit a 2-3 zone well. If that's the case, quick passing and offensive rebounding will be the things to focus on. Of course it would be great if we can hit threes, but we should still be able to score a point per possession with some interior passing and hitting the boards.

[GoBearcats31]

UC topped TTU en route to the 1961 title

https://twitter.com/GoBearcatsMBB/status/1753463360631304214

[Lobot]

Chuckie Kempf / Tom Crean (!) on ESPN+

Broadcast expectations......

https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015/3/12/8183699/tom-crean-face-creanface-photos-guide