Georgia State 11/7 7:00 pm ESPN+

[bearcatbret]

Just not consistent enough. Too many stretches of bad play. They are just not dedicated to play smart ball.

[longtimefan]

We’re not a team yet, it still looks like one of those post season all star games where guys are put together without knowing each other. It will take time to gel, things aren’t as bad as they looked at times tonight.

[zykarious]

It felt like a comfortable win, despite us not being able to stretch the lead. A lot to clean up before the Dayton game.

Baba is going to be a problem for a lot of teams. Looks like our best player.

Thiam, Day Day and Harris are probably the three next best. They each had a solid game, defend well and bring some offense.

Then it gets iffy. Kriisa isn't the quickest, though his defense was solid tonight. Abaev gets out of position, gets caught ball watching and doesn't always box out, he has a lot to clean up if he's going to be a one-and-done player. Jordi is solid on defense, but didn't hustle on a few plays and had some freshman mistakes on offense, though he had some nice passes too. Wes was clearly frustrated with the play of both Abaev and Jordi tonight (which isn't great as they are our two main options at the wing). We really need Abaev and Jordi to figure it out to be a good team.

Celestine barely played, looked like he has some lower back tightness. His defense/hustle is also not great.

McKinley works hard and was rewarded with minutes at the 3 late in the game, though I'm not sure how practical that lineup is.

Tillery didn't get a ton of minutes either.

[Gmann]

Miller was right in saying "we stunk" because they did. It appears they have a lot of good pieces but do not at all function as a team. Still can't make free throws and continue to fire up 3's even when they are missing them at a high rate. I don't see how they beat Dayton without some significant improvement and better focus

[bearcatbret]

Speaking of free throws, their Hamilton went 12 for 12 and as a team, they went 16 of 18. Those kinds of numbers would win a lot of games for UC in the Big 12.

Cincinnati Earns Scrappy Home Win Over Georgia State - University of Cincinnati Athletics - Official Athletics Website
2736461 (dragged).pdf - University of Cincinnati Athletics - Official Athletics Website

[longtimefan]

Thiam was 2-7 from the line. The rest of the team a respectable 15-19, 79%.

[sedz]

We scored under a point per possession. More turnovers than offensive rebounds or assists. We better clean that up quick.

Baba Miller was our best player by far. He posted an insane 13.2 net points (the second best performance of his career), accounting for more than the final scoring margin by himself. 24 points on 8 of 9 from the field with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Miller and Harris each posted a defensive BPM above 10. Day Day also had a great game with 7.6 net points, going 4 of 7 from deep with 4 assists to zero turnovers.

Everyone else had a negative impact. Rodriguez posted a game worst negative 5.0 net points. He went 0 for 4 from deep and turned it over 3 times with a team worst negative 2.9 DBPM. Kriisa and Thiam also had 3 turnovers. Abaev was our second worst player, going 0 for 5 from deep with 2 turnovers and the second worst DBPM.

Our wing defense was awful between Rodriguez and Abaev, but as a team we held Georgia St to 0.85 points per possession. We forced them into 24 midrange shots where they converted under 40%, and held them to just 8 offensive rebounds.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

This was my first time watching an entire UC basketball game this season. From what I saw last night, UC may be in trouble. I have seen Louisville, TCU, and Kansas (twice) and I am doubtful if UC can beat either Louisville or TCU (good paint defense). After the Kansas lost last night (blown out in the 2nd half by UNC), I am still not sure if UC can beat them.

UC's defense appears to be disorganized in far too many situations. Georgia State, in many cases, had wide open shots. Harris would provide greater defense, but Harris fouls a lot. Maybe Harris should start instead of either Abaev or Kriisa.

Turnovers are also a major problem. So far (this goes back to the Arkansas game), UC has turned the ball over about 15 times a game. Guard play.

Thiam (another African big man) appears to be kind of soft in the paint. He is a turnover machine. He has turned the ball over 8 (eight) times in two games. He does not have that sense of toughness that is needed to be an effective big man in big time basketball. I do not see how he is a pro prospect at this point. However, I do see a lot of potential. He is not there yet. However, Thiam is a major improvement compared to Aziz from last year.

So far, almost half of UC's shots (48.7%) have been taken from 3 (this goes back to the Arkansas game). However, UC is only shooting 28.8% from 3. Why so many threes when there are so many misses? If we look at all the games played this season (pre-season included), almost half of UC's shots are 3s. Last night against Georgia State, UC took 31 threes out of 62 total shots. That is 50%. By shooting so many threes and only making 29% of them, UC is wasting offensive possessions. It appears that shooting so many threes is a part of UC's offensive strategy. That is too bad because the strength of the team is in the paint.

Baba Miller may be a star player. If that is the case, why is Thiam getting all of the professional (NBA) attention? I am not sold on this UC team. I am somewhat afraid for them and Miller. From what I saw last night, this UC team is going to struggle for wins all season. Usually, good teams beat up on mid-majors and cupcakes by 20 points or more. UC struggled last night to beat a team (at home) that was previously beaten by another mid-major (Eastern Michigan) by 22 points. UC beat GSU by just 10 points. That makes me wonder how good this UC team is.

Two games do not a season make (fancy language). On the other hand, I do not like what I see with this UC team. I am hoping that it gets better.

[leo from jersey]

It felt like a comfortable win, despite us not being able to stretch the lead. A lot to clean up before the Dayton game.

Baba is going to be a problem for a lot of teams. Looks like our best player.

Thiam, Day Day and Harris are probably the three next best. They each had a solid game, defend well and bring some offense.

Then it gets iffy. Kriisa isn't the quickest, though his defense was solid tonight. Abaev gets out of position, gets caught ball watching and doesn't always box out, he has a lot to clean up if he's going to be a one-and-done player. Jordi is solid on defense, but didn't hustle on a few plays and had some freshman mistakes on offense, though he had some nice passes too. Wes was clearly frustrated with the play of both Abaev and Jordi tonight (which isn't great as they are our two main options at the wing). We really need Abaev and Jordi to figure it out to be a good team.

Celestine barely played, looked like he has some lower back tightness. His defense/hustle is also not great.

McKinley works hard and was rewarded with minutes at the 3 late in the game, though I'm not sure how practical that lineup is.

Tillery didn't get a ton of minutes either.

Tillery has the frosh lost to him. He has never recovered from the beating Arkansas' Acuff gave him. I would have expected someone as highly ranked as him to have had better games against inferior competition so far. CWM needs to get into his head and do it quickly. His frantic body language in his on court movements shows a lack of confidence now. The Cats can't afford him not to develop. It is a long season and there is pretty of time for his development, but I would have liked to have seen something last night.

[leo from jersey]

This helps in giving some understanding:

Miller noted postgame that Abaev received an IV due to illness. Jordi Rodriguez was also reportedly under the weather, which may help explain the 7-for-31 team performance from deep.(( Keegan Knickoson)

[London 'Cat]

It's early in the season, but it does appear the team has fallen into the same cycle as last year. Selfish hero ball as opposed to playing as a team. I agree on the percentage of 3-point shots, especially when you have Miller and Thiam in the frontcourt. You live and die by the three, which I guess is the team's philosophy. CWM had better get the team to play together or it will be a long season and CWM's last as UC's coach.

[zykarious]

We scored under a point per possession. More turnovers than offensive rebounds or assists. We better clean that up quick.

Baba Miller was our best player by far. He posted an insane 13.2 net points (the second best performance of his career), accounting for more than the final scoring margin by himself. 24 points on 8 of 9 from the field with 11 rebounds and 3 blocks. Miller and Harris each posted a defensive BPM above 10. Day Day also had a great game with 7.6 net points, going 4 of 7 from deep with 4 assists to zero turnovers.

Everyone else had a negative impact. Rodriguez posted a game worst negative 5.0 net points. He went 0 for 4 from deep and turned it over 3 times with a team worst negative 2.9 DBPM. Kriisa and Thiam also had 3 turnovers. Abaev was our second worst player, going 0 for 5 from deep with 2 turnovers and the second worst DBPM.

Our wing defense was awful between Rodriguez and Abaev, but as a team we held Georgia St to 0.85 points per possession. We forced them into 24 midrange shots where they converted under 40%, and held them to just 8 offensive rebounds.

DBPM may be the most worthless of all worthless stats. Rodriguez was solid on defense for the most part, not perfect, but plenty good. His bit issue was dumb TO's and trying to do too much in the second half, doubt Wes minds the missed threes (they were mostly good shots and he's a good shooter, sometimes shots just don't fall) Abaev on the other hand was terrible, got lost and just ball watching.

Hopefully them both being sick explains away some of the issues, though Abaev has struggled on defense in all the other games (exhibitions included) but tonight might have been his worst game defensively.

In plus/minus, Jordi was +8 (best of the backups) despite his offensive struggles, Abaev was -7 (only starter with a negative +/- an 2nd worst on the team behind Celestine).

Wing definitely has the most reason for concern on the team, I'm not convinced Abaev is going to be ready defensively when conference play starts, Celestine is also not good on defense (plus a bad back), Jordi has looked the best but is only a freshman.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

DBPM may be the most worthless of all worthless stats. Rodriguez was solid on defense for the most part, not perfect, but plenty good. His bit issue was dumb TO's and trying to do too much in the second half, doubt Wes minds the missed threes (they were mostly good shots and he's a good shooter, sometimes shots just don't fall) Abaev on the other hand was terrible, got lost and just ball watching.

Hopefully them both being sick explains away some of the issues, though Abaev has struggled on defense in all the other games (exhibitions included) but tonight might have been his worst game defensively.

In plus/minus, Jordi was +8 (best of the backups) despite his offensive struggles, Abaev was -7 (only starter with a negative +/- an 2nd worst on the team behind Celestine).

Wing definitely has the most reason for concern on the team, I'm not convinced Abaev is going to be ready defensively when conference play starts, Celestine is also not good on defense (plus a bad back), Jordi has looked the best but is only a freshman.

What about starting Harris as opposed to Abaev or Rodriguez? Harris brings more toughness and aggressiveness on defense. He is more attack oriented. He attacks the rim. Good defense comes in handy at the start of halves when teams are trying to strike first and hard (think Houston). Harris may be able to protect against that happening. However, Harris is foul prone and struggles to score. I like Rodriguez too. However, he is somewhat wild on the offensive side of the ball. He takes wild questionable shots. His defense is not bad. Big game experience is a problem for Rodriguez as well.

The problem with the wings is that not one is a complete player. Abaev and Celestine can score in spots when they are hot, but their defense is questionable. Rodriguez is not bad defensively, but his shot selection is iffy. Harris is good defensively but commits too many fouls. Strangely though, so far Harris has scored 6 and 9 points in two games. Is that enough? Most of those points came from the foul line. He has only taken one 3-point shot in two games. He has gone 7-9 from the free-throw line. He appears to have a knack for getting to the foul line. Harris also has experience playing in big time games and appears to have some leadership qualities about himself.

The biggest problem that I have with the wings is that neither one puts up decent rebounding numbers. I believe that is a coaching issue. I believe that players will do what you demand and expect of them.

I agree with you. UC has a major problem at the wing. Hopefully Miller does not let the problem fester before he attempts to try something else.

Starting Harris as an option: why not?

[sedz]

DBPM may be the most worthless of all worthless stats. Rodriguez was solid on defense for the most part, not perfect, but plenty good. His bit issue was dumb TO's and trying to do too much in the second half, doubt Wes minds the missed threes (they were mostly good shots and he's a good shooter, sometimes shots just don't fall) Abaev on the other hand was terrible, got lost and just ball watching.

Hopefully them both being sick explains away some of the issues, though Abaev has struggled on defense in all the other games (exhibitions included) but tonight might have been his worst game defensively.

In plus/minus, Jordi was +8 (best of the backups) despite his offensive struggles, Abaev was -7 (only starter with a negative +/- an 2nd worst on the team behind Celestine).

Wing definitely has the most reason for concern on the team, I'm not convinced Abaev is going to be ready defensively when conference play starts, Celestine is also not good on defense (plus a bad back), Jordi has looked the best but is only a freshman.

I agree that DBPM is the most speculative of the stats I commonly use. It can still be insightful and I wouldn't be so quick to discount it. Jordi's on ball defense might look ok, but he wasn't getting many defensive touches. No steals, no blocks, and only 2 rebounds at the 3 spot. And then it blends in how many points per possession we gave up when he was on the floor (you can still have a good raw plus minus if the offense is scoring). Maybe none of that was his fault in this game, but over the course of a season luck becomes less of a factor and DBPM is usually a good gauge of a player's defensive impact. Like any statistic, I use it to complement and not replace what I see on TV. Jordi's wasn't that bad in this game, negative 3 isn't terrible.

[zykarious]

What about starting Harris as opposed to Abaev or Rodriguez? Harris brings more toughness and aggressiveness on defense. He is more attack oriented. He attacks the rim. Good defense comes in handy at the start of halves when teams are trying to strike first and hard (think Houston). Harris may be able to protect against that happening. However, Harris is foul prone and struggles to score. I like Rodriguez too. However, he is somewhat wild on the offensive side of the ball. He takes wild questionable shots. His defense is not bad. Big game experience is a problem for Rodriguez as well.

The problem with the wings is that not one is a complete player. Abaev and Celestine can score in spots when they are hot, but their defense is questionable. Rodriguez is not bad defensively, but his shot selection is iffy. Harris is good defensively but commits too many fouls. Strangely though, so far Harris has scored 6 and 9 points in two games. Is that enough? Most of those points came from the foul line. He has only taken one 3-point shot in two games. He has gone 7-9 from the free-throw line. He appears to have a knack for getting to the foul line. Harris also has experience playing in big time games and appears to have some leadership qualities about himself.

The biggest problem that I have with the wings is that neither one puts up decent rebounding numbers. I believe that is a coaching issue. I believe that players will do what you demand and expect of them.

I agree with you. UC has a major problem at the wing. Hopefully Miller does not let the problem fester before he attempts to try something else.

Starting Harris as an option: why not?

I suspect Harris was originally considered as an option to start at wing, but Jizzle's departure made it tough.

Tillery played 29 seconds in the second half, this indicates that Wes doesn't trust him to play important minutes. That leaves us with just 3 guards Wes trust, it's hard to start Harris at wing when he's the only backup to Kriisa and Day Day. If all three of them start together and one picks up two quick fouls, it leaves the team in a real bind for the rest of the half.

I thought 3 of Rodriguez's 4 3-pointers were good shots and I don't think Wes minds him taking them (Jordi shot like 42% from three in Spain). Wes pulled Jordi after the two consecutive TO's and I'm guessing more specifically because Jordi started to try to do too much and play outside his role (which is mainly to be a spot-up shooting threat).

Playing two big men means that are going to eat up most of the easy rebounds. I don't mind poor rebounding numbers, as long as a guy is fighting and boxing out. Jordi pretty consistently gives good effort. Celestine and Abaev are less consistent in the effort department. McKinley also gives great effort, perhaps why he and Jordi led us in bench minutes.