The loss to UT last night was a lot more frustrating than the K-State game b/c unlike the 'cats, UT was very beatable in this game. A couple of their guys had standout efforts, including Connor "Lee Harvey" Atchley and Damion James, but overall they really didn't play that great. So how did we lose?
Mainly because of the one Achilles heel that plagued us against K-State and in a few other games: rebounding. We did a great job in the first half, then for some reason just went to sleep on boxout responsibilities down the stretch. How the hell could Damion James get more rebounds in the the 2nd half (13) than DJ and Shady COMBINED (10) for the whole game?? This seems to be the one area where we've really missed Julian... You can play brilliant defense all night (and I think our D overall was fine), but if you don't rebound the misses it's all for naught.
The other puzzler is our offensive drought in the 2nd half. UT's defense was good, but it wasn't suffocating; no way a team with this many weapons should be held in check like that for so long. Where was the creativity? Why did we stop pounding it inside? (DJ and Shady dominated offensively in the 1st.)
Another depressing note from the LJW:
This win for Texas marked the Longhorns’ third win of the season over a Top-10 team (they also beat Tennessee and UCLA). KU on the other hand hasn’t defeated a team currently in the Top-25 and is 1-2 against ranked foes this year (the win being at Southern Cal). Texas, at 20-4, may have a better case at this moment for a No. 1 seed than 23-2 Kansas based on strength of schedule. Two of Texas’ losses were to Top-25 teams - Michigan State and Wisconsin.
Sorry, Deron, I missed the new post.
ReplyDeletehere's my comment.
I guess I don't feel as upset as one (Deron) could, though I agree that the loss was frustrating. Note that "two of" their losses are to top-25 teams, while our *only two* losses are to top-25 teams . . .
Your more positive points are well taken, Yancy; at least we haven't had any Oral Roberts debacles this season.
ReplyDeleteStill, it's depressing that our team, in general, tends to play better in the first half than the second.
That's fine in the blowouts, but in close games it's disastrous. We folded down the stretch against UT and K-State, and almost blew it against 'Zona, USC and G-Tech.
This doesn't bode well for tournament time.
What's up with Sheron?
ReplyDeleteAt least Mario played great down the stretch.
It seemed like we played well from the 15 to 10 minute mark, and the last five minutes.
But playing poorly in half of the second half on the road to a highly ranked team . . .
And Self called too many time outs. And we fouled like crazy.
This doesn't deserve a post of its own (if you ask me), but I just want to ask
ReplyDeleteWhat's up with Kelvin Sampson? He is in trouble again for recruiting calls? Seriously?
Someone needs to just take his damn phone away from him.
On Deron's point about folding, it is more weird than worrisome to me (at least now, in mid-February). We are deeper than nearly everyone in the country, and yet we struggle finishing. I just don't understand it . . .