Villanova 12/3 6:30 FS1

[longtimefan]

Maximus, Maximus, Maximus!
SOS over, and over, and over again.

He may not be NVE, but JJ had 32% of the team’s points (19), shot 44.4% while the rest of the team shot 36%, had 50% of the team’s assists (5), turned the ball over once, had zero fouls, and chipped in 4 rebounds, one less than Aziz and Simas, and as many as Mitchell. Not too bad for such a pathetic floor leader.

But for some, the constant drum beat sounds over, and over, and over again.

Thank you. JJ needs to be on the floor 36-38 minutes.

[condo52]

I will keep repeating the real cause and not the guessing. It has to change. Most folks would rather have spit hitting them in the face instead of the truth. Look at Thomas last night, trapped time and time again in the side
JJ couldn't pass or drive so he jacked them up. The coach at Villanova scouted the Cats and saw that. Something has to change quickly - love you all too.

Maximus, Maximus, Maximus!
SOS over, and over, and over again.

He may not be NVE, but JJ had 32% of the team’s points (19), shot 44.4% while the rest of the team shot 36%, had 50% of the team’s assists (5), turned the ball over once, had zero fouls, and chipped in 4 rebounds, one less than Aziz and Simas, and as many as Mitchell. Not too bad for such a pathetic floor leader.

But for some, the constant drum beat sounds over, and over, and over again.

[Rufus]

FT's have been our achilles heel the last couple of years! You would think at some point, Wes would stress the importance of FT Shooting. The game was lost last night in the 2nd half becuase of Dixon. If we could have held him in check like we did in the first half, it's a totally different game IMO.

Dixon had 21 pts in the first half.

[Rufus]

Yet somehow 4 other unranked no/low kenpom teams beat Villanova. That’s coaching.

And apparently they had kids that want to play defense on the other four. But they didn't stop Dixon. Dixon reminded of Fortson underneath but more agile and just as strong. On two occasions he took Aziz, Mitchel, and Simas underneath got off a shot, missed, got the rebound and the put back with a foul. But this kid is more than a bull underneath he has range and the agility of a slashing forward. None of our bigs can match his strength and his agility.

[leo from jersey]

The
Leo's Floor Leader sponsored by.. McSwain Carpeting.

I will keep repeating the real cause and not the guessing. It has to change. Most folks would rather have spit hitting them in the face instead of the truth. Look at Thomas last night, trapped time and time again in the side
JJ couldn't pass or drive so he jacked them up. The coach at Villanova scouted the Cats and saw that. Something has to change quickly - love you all too.

[Lobot]

Telling Leo you're tired of hearing about a floor leader is like spitting in the wind. lol But, we love him anyway.

Leo's Floor Leader sponsored by.. McSwain Carpeting.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

I'm tired of hearing about a floor leader. Of course every team aspires to that. We just need a team to play as coached to their potential.

Telling Leo you're tired of hearing about a floor leader is like spitting in the wind. lol But, we love him anyway.

[BearKatz]

It wasn't even the bad FT shooting last night, although it was bad again. We just didn't get to the line. They made more FT than UC even attempted. The fouls themselves were basically even (15-14). It's not like we got homered by the refs. They just weren't shooting fouls on our side.

I was thinking about Dixon. You had the choice to double team him but if you do that you leave wide open threes. I guess Wes figured out two pointers were a better option. Seems like if he's scoring that much and at a high FG%, change it up. it's not going to affect the outcome if they start hitting threes. They were ahead the whole game.

Reminder me of an X Game! They came out on fire, punched UC in the mouth and were never able to recover.

[Lobot]

FT's have been our achilles heel the last couple of years! You would think at some point, Wes would stress the importance of FT Shooting. The game was lost last night in the 2nd half becuase of Dixon. If we could have held him in check like we did in the first half, it's a totally different game IMO.

It wasn't even the bad FT shooting last night, although it was bad again. We just didn't get to the line. They made more FT than UC even attempted. The fouls themselves were basically even (15-14). It's not like we got homered by the refs. They just weren't shooting fouls on our side.

I was thinking about Dixon. You had the choice to double team him but if you do that you leave wide open threes. I guess Wes figured out two pointers were a better option. Seems like if he's scoring that much and at a high FG%, change it up. it's not going to affect the outcome if they start hitting threes. They were ahead the whole game.

[BearKatz]

Just in looking at the box score, everything in this game was about even except for our FG shooting percentage and the foul differential. We also made the exact same of amount of FGs but UC took 13 more shots to get there.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401715619

FT's have been our achilles heel the last couple of years! You would think at some point, Wes would stress the importance of FT Shooting. The game was lost last night in the 2nd half becuase of Dixon. If we could have held him in check like we did in the first half, it's a totally different game IMO.

[Gmann]

I like what Miller is doing to build the program from a recruiting standpoint but I always have the same sinking feeling when we face better teams. BTW Villanova is not a good team. In these games the guys mostly seem rattled, miss shots (FT's & 3's mosthly), and don't adjust to what the other team is doing. I did think James and Reed were the only ones that played physical enough to compete in that game. The rest, especially Bigs, just got shoved around.

I remain hopeful and I agree with many in the thread that the Xavier and Dayton will tell us a lot about how the season will go even with all this talent.

[Greg7173]

Wondering how long our less than stellar free throw shooting will continue to cost us games before the coaching staff spends more time on fixing it. Assuming the mechanics of the shot are OK, the cure would be repetition in practice - IMHO.

[Lobot]

Just in looking at the box score, everything in this game was about even except for our FG shooting percentage and the foul differential. We also made the exact same of amount of FGs but UC took 13 more shots to get there.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...meId/401715619

[BearKatz]

Bottom line, the TEAM needs to figure how to stop more imposing low post players within 5ft of the basket! Right now, with injuries UC does not have anyone. Page was our best option last night, but he's young and still learning.

Had Skillings been healthy I guarantee he would have been all over Dixon. McKinley would be our next option of someone similar in build who could have muscled Dixon away from the basket. Forcing him to take shots he didn't want! Aziz is NOT going to be a factor against that type of player this year, or probably any year! He's basically a tall (4) who can block shots! Against lesser opossition, he fairs well!

This TEAM is going to deal with a similar player in Freemantle, who is going to impose his will around the basket! Wes has till Dec14th to figure it out. If Skillings is not available, it's going to be a long night!

[leo from jersey]

Last night, Bill Raftery mentioned something he observed about UC basketball that I hope gets Miller's ear. He said that the tempo that VU played at bothered UC. He also said that UC will have to learn how to play basketball more than one way. "Nobody is going to let you run up and down the floor". That is exactly what Miller wants to do. When a team plays another high-level team, the game usually takes form as a half-court game. I hardly ever see shoot-outs with two high-level teams. Raft also mentioned that this loss was NOT about what the coach will learn, but about what the players will learn. The team saw something last night and it had problems adjusting to it.

Dixon scored 20 of his 31 points in the 2nd half. Villanova, as a team, scored only 31 points in the 2nd half. Dixon scored 64.5% of VU's points in the 2nd half ALONE. Someone asked this earlier, why did Miller choose to guard Dixon with one man? Miller could have trapped and double-teamed Dixon. Miller could have played Dixon in the Box-and-One (not let Dixon catch or touch the ball). In other words, Miller could have turned the game into a 4-on-4 game and let someone other than Dixon beat you. None of that happened.

In Miller's very first season, UC played Illinois who had a monster big man at that time; Cockburn or something like that. Cockburn hit some shots early under the rim. Miller trapped and double-teamed him the rest of the game for what perhaps has been UC's biggest win under Miller. After that Illinois game, every other big man that has given UC problems, no trapping or double-teams. That same year, Jack Nunge, big man for Xavier, hit for 30 something points. No trapping or double-teams. Sounds familiar?

Lobat mentioned in an early post that the key to the game was to stop Dixon. Miller CHOSE not to. If a player is killing your team, DO SOMETHING TO STOP IT. Nothing was done to stop it and UC lost the game. Cincinnati has now lost so many of these national or high-profile games under Miller that it is hard to keep count. My question now is this, how many ways can Cincinnati lose these types of game before it learns how to win some?

Darn good question. Who do you suppose we use - Aziz froze-- Page tried some -- do you think Dan S. is up for it. Mitchell likes offense.