NIT picking

[MDW79]

My wife said I'm getting forgetful -- She mentioned Deonta Vaughn - case closed

Don't forget Devan Downey, who just sneaks in under the "the last 20 years" at 18 seasons ago.

What he provided to that '05 team was pretty incredible for a true freshman. That team basically had 4 traditional high level scholarship players: Downey, Kirkland, White, and Hicks. And Kirkland went down early iin conference play and was lost for the rest of the season. You could maybe add in McGowen and/or Jihad Muhammad but I don't think either sees much time, if a scholarship at all, on a Cincinnati roster that wasn't blown up after Hugg's exit. The roster was filled with SIX walk-ons! Add in a football player seeing significant PT in Connor Barwin, and Ronald Allen, and I think you get my drift; that wasn't a very good roster at all.

The kid played 31 minutes a game, played in the Big East, and like most of our guys, didn't take breaks on the defensive side of the ball.

All this said, I'm not sure I'd rank him over Vaughn (tough call). But I thought I'd mention him and show him so love. He was great for a true frosh.

[ME80]

Did they sell the upper deck for yesterday? I didn't think they were going to but Inever saw a good crowd shot on TV

No they never had any intentions of selling upper level seats. Bottom arena was basically filled

[Lobot]

The energy during the conference schedule was great. Yesterday average at best but I understand it is the NIT

Did they sell the upper deck for yesterday? I didn't think they were going to but Inever saw a good crowd shot on TV

[ME80]

I've been to 7 or 8 games each of the last few years, and I feel like the energy in that building has gotten a little weird. No one stands up to cheer (and you may get yelled at to sit down if you do), and while it still gets really loud with big plays, it frequently also drops back down to a whisper. I don't know if everyone just waits for the big screen to tell them what to do or what, but there just doesn't seem to be that feeling of the whole gym standing and cheering together when we make a run or when we need a big stop. It's not dead in there by any means....but it's not sustained high energy either.

The energy during the conference schedule was great. Yesterday average at best but I understand it is the NIT

[bearcatbret]

An interesting read if you think that you know Coach Miller. https://fanrecap.com/inside-look-wes...ncaa-critique/

[bearcatbret]

I've been to 7 or 8 games each of the last few years, and I feel like the energy in that building has gotten a little weird. No one stands up to cheer (and you may get yelled at to sit down if you do), and while it still gets really loud with big plays, it frequently also drops back down to a whisper. I don't know if everyone just waits for the big screen to tell them what to do or what, but there just doesn't seem to be that feeling of the whole gym standing and cheering together when we make a run or when we need a big stop. It's not dead in there by any means....but it's not sustained high energy either.

I think that it is more likely that the fans are sitting on their hands just wondering when something wrong or bad will happen. That is what it appeared to me last night against SFU.

[Longtime Lurker]

I'd just like us to figure why we've been sub par on our own home court this seaosn. Very strange.

I've been to 7 or 8 games each of the last few years, and I feel like the energy in that building has gotten a little weird. No one stands up to cheer (and you may get yelled at to sit down if you do), and while it still gets really loud with big plays, it frequently also drops back down to a whisper. I don't know if everyone just waits for the big screen to tell them what to do or what, but there just doesn't seem to be that feeling of the whole gym standing and cheering together when we make a run or when we need a big stop. It's not dead in there by any means....but it's not sustained high energy either.

[Lobot]

Tickets are on sale for Bradley as of now.

[sedz]

I would have fouled Aziz there if I was USF. Kenpom's analysis shows fouling a 62% or worse free throw shooter is the right choice while up 2. Aziz shoots 56%.

[sedz]

I’d invite everyone to watch the replay of the last shot sequence. Lukosius gets that shot off because of a perfect pass by Bandaogo and a great screen by Skillings on the baseline.

I’d say they executed that play really well.

https://x.com/gobearcatsmbb/status/1...561196384?s=46

We took advantage of a miscommunication there. #13 switches the screen, but #1 stays with Skillings until Simas catches the ball. You can see 13's visible frustration as their last second heave goes up. That's a very simple down screen that was handled poorly by USF.

It is a great pass by Aziz because of the timing. He releases the ball as soon as Simas comes off the screen, when he's still on the baseline.

The creative part of the play design was the fake handoff to Jizzle, which drew Aziz's defender to help so he had a much longer closeout to Simas. All three defenders who weren't involved in the screen action were cleared out to the opposite side of the court.

[Rufus]

I mentioned early on that it would take at least four of the five players who start to score points or we would struggle. We are a team without a true three point ace so points would have to be created. Which brings me to Newman I love what Newman brings as a bearcat but when he is off he is off offensively and last night he was off on both sides of the ball. And Day Day reverted to the Day Day of the beginning of conference play. SL, JJ, and DS were the primary scorers and at times the out of control DS tried hard to make his presence known just enough to make some boneheaded decisions. I would hope that being in a tournament everyone would be pumped to play. I hope they all do against Bradley.

[leo from jersey]

I'm excited to see what JJ can do with bigger minutes. Maybe it is ugly but the kid is still a true freshman, has been playing off the bench and doesn't probably practice with the 1st team players all of the time. Maybe we could give him a chance to grow you think? I mean name a freshman pg who has played better in the last 20 years?

I think during the offseason situational awareness should be a big focal point for this team. Think of it as an extra summer class. Heck talk to the deans and make it a class for them. Maybe call it "Basketball Situational Awareness and why Hero Ball does not work!" I won't point fingers at any certain players anymore because these are just kids all trying to do their best. It is a tough sport but as a team we have 14 assists a game with 12 turnovers. We sit at 123rd in assist to turnover margin. We rank 84 for assist per game. For a team that is close in every game this is the difference between being a #1 or #2 seed in the NCAA tournament to being the #1 or #2 team in the NIT. Let's go cats and let's bring home the title.

My wife said I'm getting forgetful -- She mentioned Deonta Vaughn - case closed

[leo from jersey]

I’d invite everyone to watch the replay of the last shot sequence. Lukosius gets that shot off because of a perfect pass by Bandaogo and a great screen by Skillings on the baseline.

I’d say they executed that play really well.

https://x.com/gobearcatsmbb/status/1...561196384?s=46

Yes they did - My wife screamed "what a pass". We are a family that appreciates great passing.

[Lobot]

I’d invite everyone to watch the replay of the last shot sequence. Lukosius gets that shot off because of a perfect pass by Bandaogo and a great screen by Skillings on the baseline.

I’d say they executed that play really well.

https://x.com/gobearcatsmbb/status/1...561196384?s=46

[Gmann]

This game was incredibly even. The rebounding and turnover battles both ended up exactly tied, so each team ended up putting up the same number of shots. San Francisco outscored us from the field by 2 but we made 3 more free throws.

We scored 0.97 points per possession, which is poor even against a good defense. We put up as many midrange shots as rim looks, and only converted 44% inside the arc. Players not named Simas were 15% from three. USF did a good job keeping us off the offensive glass, where we rebounded only 26% of our misses. Our 17% turnover rate was right at our season average and the national average.

Defensively we held them to 0.96 points per possession. We did a good job on Mogbo, who finished with an inefficient 10 points on 13 shots, though he added 10 boards and 7 assists. USF got the rim 29 times but converted less than half of those thanks to Aziz's strong interior presence. They shot it well from three, hitting over 40%, but we limited them to just 22 attempts in a 45 minute game. Solid defense overall.

The best player was obviously Simas, putting up 12.3 net points and a 22.7 box plus minus. He scored 26 points from the field on only 15 shots. Aziz and Vik were the only other players with positive net points. Newman had an awful game, going 0 for 10 from the field, and was uncharacteristically our worst defender with a negative defensive box plus minus. He led the team with 9 rebounds though. Jamille also had a poor game, scoring just 1 point with no assists or offensive rebounds. Day Day was all over the place with 8 assists and 7 turnovers.

You can ususally tell very early what version of Reynolds you're going to get. Last night was the uninspired version. What a shame.

Also I appreciate Aziz on defense and rebounding the ball but man is he a zero on offense. If it's not an alley oop (which they really struggle to execute) you get almost nothing. Also his foul shooting is an adventure.