Box scores thoughts-SLU

[Mr. Neutral]

This has to be one of Love's least productive games in quite a while-8 min., 2 pts. (0-4 shooting), 0 rebounds, 4 fouls.

B.J.'s got to get his shooting eye back. He's 5-23 in X's last 3 games. Thank heavens Josh, Stan, C.J. and Drew picked up the slack last night.

How did X have only 2 FT attempts in the 1st half, and then 17 in the 2nd half? That 1st half is very much unlike us, and not part of Miller's formula for winning.

Our 7-9 assists to turnovers ratio is uncharacteristic as well. We're usually on the plus side, and 7 assists on 70 pts. is very low.

How did SLU get 5 blocks and 4 steals while we only got 1 of each? Shouldn't the more athletic team have the advantage in those categories?

An exciting road win, to be sure, but our 2nd half performance concerns me.

[Stl_XUFan]

Lavender- 36 minutes.

That is something that I don't like seeing with St. Joe on Sunday. I know Miller had been trying to cut down on Lav's minutes to keep him fresh. With large leads in the game last night I would have liked to have seen more Dante.

[Mr. Neutral]

Drew and Stan played 70 minutes between them, in part because Jackson and Graves played a total of 10 minutes with 0 shots, 0 pts., 0 assts., and 2 rebounds between them.

And as the game tightened up in the 2nd half, Miller probably felt (correctly) that it wasn't the spot to give DJ or AG more time.

[bluegrass]

Lavender- 36 minutes.

That is something that I don't like seeing with St. Joe on Sunday. I know Miller had been trying to cut down on Lav's minutes to keep him fresh. With large leads in the game last night I would have liked to have seen more Dante.

Last night is just proof that no lead is large enough.I would have thought being up 16 against a poor offensive team like SLU would be enough but obviously not.
Just a question-is playing 36 minutes per game twice a week really going to wear Drew out? I mean aren't these guys in good enough shape to do that? It's not like the NBA where you're playing 3 to 4 games a week.

[LA Muskie]

This has to be one of Love's least productive games in quite a while-8 min., 2 pts. (0-4 shooting), 0 rebounds, 4 fouls.

Tough game for Love. 2 fouls in the first 45 seconds (the first on a nice, aggressive move in the post), both of which were questionable. But he needs to learn how to play with fouls, as Sean obviously tried to explain to him when he picked up a reach-in foul on a rebound for his 4th.

B.J.'s got to get his shooting eye back. He's 5-23 in X's last 3 games. Thank heavens Josh, Stan, C.J. and Drew picked up the slack last night.

Like many pure shooters, BJ is a bit streaky. But he still seems to hit them when they matter the most, like yesterday's 3 in the 2nd half to stretch the lead. He'll get his shot back; in the meantime, it's good to see him starting to pump-fake and slip under for a drive or shorter shot.

How did X have only 2 FT attempts in the 1st half, and then 17 in the 2nd half? That 1st half is very much unlike us, and not part of Miller's formula for winning.

We were a bit 3-pt happy in the first half, and otherwise the ball was mainly in Drew's hands so there weren't a lot of FT opportunities. Plus, for whatever reason Derrick couldn't seem to draw a foul; the refs allowed a lot of contact down low.

Our 7-9 assists to turnovers ratio is uncharacteristic as well. We're usually on the plus side, and 7 assists on 70 pts. is very low.

I agree the ratio seems off, but we did have a lot of players creating their own shots yesterday. Mostly, though, I suspect it has a lot to do with the SLU statistician.

How did SLU get 5 blocks and 4 steals while we only got 1 of each? Shouldn't the more athletic team have the advantage in those categories?

The blocks were due in large part to Husak, who had 2 on one possession alone. The steals, again, had a lot to do with the statistician -- although it is true that most of SLU's turnovers were on things like stepping out of bounds and offensive fouls, and not actual steals.

An exciting road win, to be sure, but our 2nd half performance concerns me.

It's always concerning when a team gives up a relatively big 2nd half cushion, but it's tough to deny that Litsch hit some pretty amazing shots down the stretch. I'm far more excited that we pulled out a tough road win (albeit perhaps one that shouldn't have been so close) than I am about the 2nd half performance. That experience may well pay dividends in the post-season.

[CarlosTheJackal]

Ask Gary Lumpkin about shooting legs going as a result of playing 35 min a game.

It looked to me like X was "hiding" Drew a bit in the defensive schemes last night, with the big guys jumping out very high in the first half while Stan was grinding out on the perimeter. Not every possession, but often enough.

What is to be thought about going to the zone late in the game? It looked like we were trying to play the perimeter, defense the 3, and make St. Louis go to the basket for 2. The trouble was, Lisch just was making little spaces even while guarded and doubled.

I hope Love gets the bad game out of his system. There were two very stupid fouls at times when he needed to be keeping himself on the floor, including the sideline trap he jumped.

Doing what you have NOT been taught in certain situations is the hardest thing in the world. Lisch fakes the 3, drives the lane. Stanley, who has taken 1 charge in 3 years before this season, but who has obviously been making up for lost time this season..decides to slide over and draw the charge while we are up 3. No, no..NOOOOOOOOO! Can't fault the effort, it was a close call, but not the time to be doing that.

In another thread, comments about Sean being out of timouts. The last timeout was taken as Stan covered a loose ball on the floor...who called it? I still think it was the right call, just to keep possession and get a fresh 35.

[LA Muskie]

I hope Love gets the bad game out of his system. There were two very stupid fouls at times when he needed to be keeping himself on the floor, including the sideline trap he jumped.

Doing what you have NOT been taught in certain situations is the hardest thing in the world. Lisch fakes the 3, drives the lane. Stanley, who has taken 1 charge in 3 years before this season, but who has obviously been making up for lost time this season..decides to slide over and draw the charge while we are up 3. No, no..NOOOOOOOOO! Can't fault the effort, it was a close call, but not the time to be doing that.

In another thread, comments about Sean being out of timouts. The last timeout was taken as Stan covered a loose ball on the floor...who called it? I still think it was the right call, just to keep possession and get a fresh 35.

Love had a tough game, no denying that. I think the early foul trouble doomed him, and I think both were relatively questionable calls (but not over-the-top).

Stan's attempt at a charge was a mistake, but I can live with it. I'd rather our guys err on the side of aggression and tough D than not. No matter what, it certainly was not a charge -- he slid under late and was not even squared to Litsch. It was either a no-call (which would have been my presence, especially given the contact that was allowed under the basket all night) or a block. But a play like that is hard to leave as a no-call; by trying to sell the charge the defender essentially forces the official to blow the whistle and make a call.

I can't imagine why anyone's complaining about the TOs. I can't think of a single one that shouldn't have been called. Plus, I'll take Drew taking the ball spontaneously to giving SLU (and Majerus) time to set up a defense for the last shot any day.

[mhettel]

Low FTs in the first half was due to the fact that they let us keep taking (and making) open jumpers. No need to drive or pound it in down low if you're hitting J's all night.

the TO total was fine, I'll take that every game. The Assist total was certainly lower than we want, and I agree that the SLU stat guy gets to decide when there is an assist, so that could have impacted it.

Good Scoring by one guy, not much from another.....THATS A GREAT THING!

BJ carried this team for several games. He's cooled down and now Josh has heated up, and Stan as well. Drew gets hot and cold, as does DBrown and CJ.

On any given night, if we have 3 of our main 6 show up and put up some numbers, I'm betting on a W. I'd rather have it that way that depending on a single guy to bring it every night...