Cinci ThoughtZ™

[RichZ]

1. First half, 10 minute mark, I cringed when Vital threw a hard, low bounce pass to cobb. But Cobb actually handled it and scored!!!
2. Then he very badly missed the ensuing defensive play and found the bench immediately.
3. Cobb generated a steal, ball ended up in Gilbert's hands and he wasted the possession driving into four defenders with three teammates behind him. Most critical and blatant mental error I can remember him making. I assume he was expecting a foul call, but he's been a Husky long enough to know better than to rely on the stripey guys. He made up for it though with a three on the next possession.
4. Cobb playing very well on O.
5. Great Big Red led cheer when Cinci called a time out with just under a minute left in the half following a great move and finish by Cobb. Really got loud.
6. Polley stuck in the passive zone -- total first half effort 2 shots, both threes, made one, with no other presence in the box score. Been watching to see if they were defending him that tightly. Not particularly. He gets the ball and hesitates long enough for a man to come from 8 feet away and then he passes it because he's covered.
7. Other than Polley, the most pressing first half problems... 3 (maybe 4) wasted breakaway opportunities. 25% FT shooting vs 100% for the bad guys. Carlton having trouble holding onto the ball. Awful rebounding. Probably at least partly a product Carlton not being on the court much because Cobb was in a groove.
8. Just another awful start to the 2nd half. This is a serious issue. Three point game at the half. Came out in the second half and that hole is 11 points before we score, and soon grows to 15!
9. Sid had a bad game.
10. Not sure I've ever seen a team hit the heel of the basket as many times as we did today.
11. Seemed like a bunch of times, we played really good defense and they ended up putting up a poor shot, but then we gave up the board and they immediately scored.
12. And then, with about 11 minutes left in the game, Everything changed. For 6 minutes or so, the building was flat out electric. Everything we did seemed to work, and everybody contributed. It was 6 minutes of the best basketball we've played since the 'cuse game.+
13. In the end, it came down to them shooting a little better from 3 than us, and shooting free throws a whole lot better than us.
14. The season was shot before this game tipped off, but I really, really wish they won. To work as hard as they did through the last 11 minutes of the game and come up short has to be heartbreaking on the kids. And the fans. The fans who sat through the dismal part and then helped fuel that run at the first positive sign. They deserved better, too.
15. Yeah, I know, if they had shot better from three and the foul line, it would have been a different outcome, so they've got no one to blame but themselves. If they hadn't served up a crapfest early in the 2nd half, it would have been different -- or would it? If they stayed close through the early 2nd half, would whatever triggered that run have had the same effect? Would the run have happened?

 

[SwingDog]

Nicely done, RichZ. On point #1, we've cringed a lot this year on bad passes. Sometimes they manage to get through as in the case you pointed out, but too often we are plagued by poor passing and unforced turnovers. This needs to get cleaned up. Also, on points #13 and #15, we're always going to have the "what ifs" when we lose, and yeah, poor shooting, particularly from the free throw line hurt us again.

As far as starting out slow in the second half, I was actually worried we were going to dig ourselves a hole at the start of the game when Cincinnati had a 5-0 lead but we managed to get some baskets and stops. Slow starts are bad, and we've seen lots of them over the past few years, especially in the second half. A lot of energy is expended in fighting back from a 15 point deficit when perhaps some of that energy could be better served to seal victories in the closing minutes.

RichZ, I agree: deep in my gut I felt like this was a game we deserved to win after such a great comeback effort, but Cincinnati made the big plays and escaped, and that's what good teams do, which Coach Hurley mentioned in his post game presser. The Huskies have come out on the short end of the stick quite a few times this season against strong opponents, where they have been competitive but just haven't been able to drive it home. I am hoping we are able to get over that hump, at least to some degree for the remainder of the season, and going forward into next. On the plus side, the tenacity on defense, the fight-'til-the-bitter-end toughness, and belief that they can win, are things that are becoming evident, and these things need to be there before we completely turn the corner.

 

[Edward Sargent]

1. First half, 10 minute mark, I cringed when Vital threw a hard, low bounce pass to cobb. But Cobb actually handled it and scored!!!
2. Then he very badly missed the ensuing defensive play and found the bench immediately.
3. Cobb generated a steal, ball ended up in Gilbert's hands and he wasted the possession driving into four defenders with three teammates behind him. Most critical and blatant mental error I can remember him making. I assume he was expecting a foul call, but he's been a Husky long enough to know better than to rely on the stripey guys. He made up for it though with a three on the next possession.
4. Cobb playing very well on O.
5. Great Big Red led cheer when Cinci called a time out with just under a minute left in the half following a great move and finish by Cobb. Really got loud.
6. Polley stuck in the passive zone -- total first half effort 2 shots, both threes, made one, with no other presence in the box score. Been watching to see if they were defending him that tightly. Not particularly. He gets the ball and hesitates long enough for a man to come from 8 feet away and then he passes it because he's covered.
7. Other than Polley, the most pressing first half problems... 3 (maybe 4) wasted breakaway opportunities. 25% FT shooting vs 100% for the bad guys. Carlton having trouble holding onto the ball. Awful rebounding. Probably at least partly a product Carlton not being on the court much because Cobb was in a groove.
8. Just another awful start to the 2nd half. This is a serious issue. Three point game at the half. Came out in the second half and that hole is 11 points before we score, and soon grows to 15!
9. Sid had a bad game.
10. Not sure I've ever seen a team hit the heel of the basket as many times as we did today.
11. Seemed like a bunch of times, we played really good defense and they ended up putting up a poor shot, but then we gave up the board and they immediately scored.
12. And then, with about 11 minutes left in the game, Everything changed. For 6 minutes or so, the building was flat out electric. Everything we did seemed to work, and everybody contributed. It was 6 minutes of the best basketball we've played since the 'cuse game.+
13. In the end, it came down to them shooting a little better from 3 than us, and shooting free throws a whole lot better than us.
14. The season was shot before this game tipped off, but I really, really wish they won. To work as hard as they did through the last 11 minutes of the game and come up short has to be heartbreaking on the kids. And the fans. The fans who sat through the dismal part and then helped fuel that run at the first positive sign. They deserved better, too.
15. Yeah, I know, if they had shot better from three and the foul line, it would have been a different outcome, so they've got no one to blame but themselves. If they hadn't served up a crapfest early in the 2nd half, it would have been different -- or would it? If they stayed close through the early 2nd half, would whatever triggered that run have had the same effect? Would the run have happened?

I enjoy your summaries. You were kind with Tyler's passivity. His 2 shots in the second half. Four shots in 32 minutes?