Providence game thread: 2/23/22

[X-lucidity]

What's left to say really. We are now down to a do or die home gm versus The Hall. (unless we reverse longstanding history and make a run in Madison Square Gardens.) The team fought hard last night and you just wish that effort could have been more consistent this year. Many prior posts have nailed some of my minor gripes about last evening. Especially why wasn't Edwards used more instead of Hunter in the OT's. Paul had heroic moments but honestly he had way more brain farts and horrific defensive lapses that out-weighed the good. My biggest gripe, and one that there really is no excuse, is that twice -(end of regulation and end of 1st OT), we had the ball tied with 20seconds to work for a last winning shot. And twice we seemed to run no executed set and wound up with two horrific low % shots. Free was playing well and did not have Watson guarding him, the play should have been to run some motion & rotate the ball so that Free could work the lane and pin his defender for an entry pass. Free had good touch last night on his soft baby hooks. Is that so Fu@&ing complicated Travis..........?
But as Bobby Plant so eloquently surmised ' but what is and what should never be....? '

[longliveskip]

What's left to say really. We are now down to a do or die home gm versus The Hall. (unless we reverse longstanding history and make a run in Madison Square Gardens.) The team fought hard last night and you just wish that effort could have been more consistent this year. Many prior posts have nailed some of my minor gripes about last evening. Especially why wasn't Edwards used more instead of Hunter in the OT's. Paul had heroic moments but honestly he had way more brain farts and horrific defensive lapses that out-weighed the good. My biggest gripe, and one that there really is no excuse, is that twice -(end of regulation and end of 1st OT), we had the ball tied with 20seconds to work for a last winning shot. And twice we seemed to run no executed set and wound up with two horrific low % shots. Free was playing well and did not have Watson guarding him, the play should have been to run some motion & rotate the ball so that Free could work the lane and pin his defender for an entry pass. Free had good touch last night on his soft baby hooks. Is that so Fu@&ing complicated Travis..........?
But as Bobby Plant so eloquently surmised ' but what is and what should never be....? '

every baby hook he tried in all 3 OT's MISSED.

[X-lucidity]

yet he was fouled on a couple and made at least one FT each time. So apparently 'Skip you were quite pleased with the sets we ran end of reg and end of 1st OT.....?

[pdxmuskie]

I don't believe Free played well offensively after half time. 5 for 7 at half which puts him at 2 for 7 after halftime.

The plays to end regulation and the first OT were bad. Going to Free wouldn't be much better. Scruggs or Odom should have been attacking with Kunkel moved to catch and shoot if the lane closes.

[Michigan Musketeer]

Things are really bad when we have fans hoping we go to the NIT (NOBODY INTERESTED TOURNAMENT) Pretty sure they would probably go as there is $$ involved. X will probably need more revenue when season ticket sales drop due to another disappointing season. Most College Basketball fans including myself couldn't tell you who won it last year. I know now because I looked it up on Google but didn't know or remember before. Hopefully they play better and win at least (2) of the remaining games so this isn't an issue. With Providence having a very good year maybe they should start thinking about building a new arena so they don 't have to play over ice and under a leaky roof at the Dunk or Dump built in 1972. Surprised a player hasn't been seriously hurt.

[kyzrex]

Things are really bad when we have fans hoping we go to the NIT (NOBODY INTERESTED TOURNAMENT) Pretty sure they would probably go as there is $$ involved. X will probably need more revenue when season ticket sales drop due to another disappointing season. Most College Basketball fans including myself couldn't tell you who won it last year. I know now because I looked it up on Google but didn't know or remember before. Hopefully they play better and win at least (2) of the remaining games so this isn't an issue. With Providence having a very good year maybe they should start thinking about building a new arena so they don 't have to play over ice and under a leaky roof at the Dunk or Dump built in 1972. Surprised a player hasn't been seriously hurt.

I thought Michigan people LIKED ice?

[Anti-Homer]

No time to read the last three pages, so if this has been addressed, I apologize.

X played a really good game against a 3 seed barring a collapse at their place. Biggest blunder of the night. In fifty minutes of basketball, Watson was held to 2 boards and 7 points principally by Nunge. X was down by 1 w/less than 30 seconds, so had to foul. They did the right thing by fouling Watson. Major blunder? Steele had his best player do it and foul out of the game!. The person who was not Hunter, not Edwards, not Stanley. It should have been anyone but Nunge! Nunge also had 250% more rebounds than Watson, basically matched him in points. And Steele had him foul him. Not Hunter, not Edwards, not Stanley, or anyone else. Yes, it bears repeating.

This rivals his most egregious motsa ball size mind blowing decision when they played someone in 20,' and they were up 3 with less than 2 seconds left. The opposing team had the ball under X's basket. Of course, the obvious thing is to foul them right away to prevent a 3 pt shot right? It would be in everyone but Steele's world. They threw the ball to the wing, but instead of fouling, they let the player take an uncontested three. Steele's logic? If it was on the sideline, he would have fouled. What?????

As I've said repeatedly, and Steele has generously accommodated my theory: If X makes it to the tourney, and even wins a couple of game, I feel confident that it will be due to the talent on the court, SOLELY. A four-year sample of making Pat Ewing look like Brad Stevens is enough for me. My dilemma is how I want X to finish. I just wish I had a crystal ball about what the administration is thinking, as AD Christopher is enjoying the Skyline and Graeter's ice cream a certain BOT dropped off at his house just because.

First time in....well, forever last night's loss wasn't a huge downer. I just hope the people who call the shots sees what 97.4% of X fane see. I really want Steele to succeed because I know he is putting his heart and soul into trying to make X successful. However, I believe if he simply makes the tourney this year, he will get at least a two year extension, and prolong our collective agony. #TeamStanley.

[JKC74]

What's left to say really. We are now down to a do or die home gm versus The Hall. (unless we reverse longstanding history and make a run in Madison Square Gardens.) The team fought hard last night and you just wish that effort could have been more consistent this year. Many prior posts have nailed some of my minor gripes about last evening. Especially why wasn't Edwards used more instead of Hunter in the OT's. Paul had heroic moments but honestly he had way more brain farts and horrific defensive lapses that out-weighed the good. My biggest gripe, and one that there really is no excuse, is that twice -(end of regulation and end of 1st OT), we had the ball tied with 20seconds to work for a last winning shot. And twice we seemed to run no executed set and wound up with two horrific low % shots. Free was playing well and did not have Watson guarding him, the play should have been to run some motion & rotate the ball so that Free could work the lane and pin his defender for an entry pass. Free had good touch last night on his soft baby hooks. Is that so Fu@&ing complicated Travis..........?
But as Bobby Plant so eloquently surmised ' but what is and what should never be....? '

every baby hook he tried in all 3 OT's MISSED.

He just refuses to USE THE BACKBOARD!!! Get with it. It's not a decoration!!!!

[skyhops]

Agreed, been saying most of the season a 8’ half hook is not a good shot especially for a poor shooter.

[X-lucidity]

I wonder sometimes if posters watched the same game. Honestly we are on to Seton Hall... That said, my post above regarding our two end gm chances to outright win on last shot, both with 20+ seconds to prepare, were pitiful. The 1st one at least was shot by Kunk. So maybe that gets a C+ based on that. Even though it was a fade away, 12+ foot baseline jumper by a 6-1 kid with an athletic 6-9 Watson draped in his face arms fully extended. Second chance in 1st OT, we got Colby doing his psycho drive underneath the basket where he was enveloped by defenders and almost also got blocked by the bottom of the rim. That my friends is an F-. Oh, and we called a time out to conjure that up. Free was playing inspired and well all game. Was he perfect? Hell no, who on our team was playing A+ ball, no one. But Jack could have easily drawn Watson away from the basket and Free would have been left a clear lane to pin and post up a smaller defender within four feet. Not 8... And it don't take any higher than a junior high coach to reinforce to Free that if Watson were to double down then a quick pass to Jack for an open 10 ft J is plan B. It's spilt milk now, but I am amazed at how no one else was even remotely disappointed at the poor quality of those two potential gm winning shots. Both of which had ample time to relax and run some sort of plan. Had we only had 7 to 9 seconds each time, well then the narrative is different, but we had TWENTY. Sorry folks, but those were not impressive possessions when they counted most.