SEC Championship

[todbo]

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

 

[shiverz45]

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

It is all about matchup.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

McCowan was in foul trouble and sat most of the 1st half. Only scored 6 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes.

 

[Wbbfan1]

McCowan got into foul trouble in the 1st half and sat most of the 2nd quarter. When she came into the game in the 2nd half, she was a shadow of the player that she was all year. She was a Non-Factor. That's why Miss St lost.

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

 

[msugrad00]

Playing three games in three days is just dumb as hell. MSU is a team who presses full court the entire game(even when they have the lead late in games which I don't like) and they rely on knocking down threes so playing three in three effects that type of team more. By the time they played USC their legs were gone and they couldn't hit anything. Plus USC is just in the head of MSU and us fans just like MSU is now in the heads of UConn and their fans

 

[IWearShoes]

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

They played their worst game of the year. We needed McCowan in the first half, but we needed our good shooters to make shots more. They were just off and it happened to be in a game were Teaira wasn't there to clean up the mess with a pile of putbacks. She had 20 rebounds vs SC in Starkville, so it's not like she wasn't capable.

VV 7-20, 1-5 3pt
Ro 3-12, 2-8 3pt
Blair 0-5, 0-5 3pt
Mo 2-7, 0-1 3pt

And if you watch the game, we were getting the same open shots we've gotten all year, just missed most of them. It happens. Usually happens to a team more than once.

 

[bballnut90]

Posted this earlier in the year...but SC just has had the mental edge over Mississippi State the last several seasons and I think that was the difference. Mississippi State stopped playing to win and played in fear of losing. Similar to how SC always lays an egg against UCONN.

 

[IWearShoes]

Posted this earlier in the year...but SC just has had the mental edge over Mississippi State the last several seasons and I think that was the difference. Mississippi State stopped playing to win and played in fear of losing. Similar to how SC always lays an egg against UCONN.

I don't disagree that SC is kinda in State's head, but they exorcised that a bit with the pressure packed win in Starkville. The SEC Tourney game really did just feel like a bad shooting game to me and when combined with T being out and SC being a solid team, it was a loss.

I also think it's possible that 3 straight games in the physical SEC Tourney when we start 3 small guards and play all out for 40 minutes could have resulted in some level of exhaustion. No proof of that, but that shooting was head scratching. UCLA played much tougher D on us Sunday than SC did in that game and we hit a lot of shots against the Bruins.

 

[Sonny44]

Playing three games in three days is just dumb as hell.

I disagree. I think its a worthy test. Not all horse races are the same distance. Check out the triple crown. It's good to have to prove you're the best under different demanding situations especially if you seek greatness.
Ask Alydar!

 

[oldude]

McGowan is the key to MS St. Most teams have to double her which creates opens shots for Vivians, William and Schaefer. Wilson can defend McGowan without any help, allowing the other SC defenders to focus on MS St’s shooters.

 

[SCspur]

It's about matchups and obviously SC knows personnel when it comes to playing Miss St.

Obviously William, Vivians, and Johnson are the only three in the starting 5 who can create their own shot. William isn't a big three point threat so you force her to shoot, You run Blair Schaefer off the 3 point line, Force Johnson right and contest everything, and Force Vivians left and make her make a shoot over you. Obviously McCowan is a different matchup but the two ways to get her off the floor is getting her in foul trouble or make her run in a track meet. SC got her off the floor so we had the advantage in the post.

We'll see how good McCowan is next year with teams sagging in on her as Miss St. loses their entire starting 5 of guards and 40% three point shooters. She'll probably get a ton of rebounds but I think her scoring average will plummet.

 

[shiverz45]

South Carolina was up 5 going into the 4th quarter and the MSU crowd was dead. SC only true ball handler was in foul trouble and on the bench and eventually she fouled out. SC started turning the ball over and the crowd got back in to it and that was the end.

 

[IWearShoes]

South Carolina was up 5 going into the 4th quarter and the MSU crowd was dead. SC only true ball handler was in foul trouble and on the bench and eventually she fouled out. SC started turning the ball over and the crowd got back in to it and that was the end.

Up 5 off a banked in last 2nd 3 ptr at the end of the 3rd by Cliney. The crowd was far from dead. One of the loudest I've heard.

Blair hit a 3 ptr 20 seconds into the 4th and State took the lead for good less than 2 minutes into the 4th in the midst of a 13-0 run that put them up 8. They won by 13.

Interesting how different fans of opposite teams describe the same game.

 

[IWearShoes]

It's about matchups and obviously SC knows personnel when it comes to playing Miss St.

Obviously William, Vivians, and Johnson are the only three in the starting 5 who can create their own shot. William isn't a big three point threat so you force her to shoot, You run Blair Schaefer off the 3 point line, Force Johnson right and contest everything, and Force Vivians left and make her make a shoot over you. Obviously McCowan is a different matchup but the two ways to get her off the floor is getting her in foul trouble or make her run in a track meet. SC got her off the floor so we had the advantage in the post.

We'll see how good McCowan is next year with teams sagging in on her as Miss St. loses their entire starting 5 of guards and 40% three point shooters. She'll probably get a ton of rebounds but I think her scoring average will plummet.

McCowan got herself off the floor with two not smart fouls before A'ja even hit the floor, but you nailed it. The recipe is simple, but 36 times various teams' recipes haven't worked, so maybe not. That was a good win for SC and they were the better team last year.

Next year will be interesting and MSU will certainly look different. I doubt McCowan will have a lower scoring average. Plummet? No way.

 

[shiverz45]

Up 5 off a banked in last 2nd 3 ptr at the end of the 3rd by Cliney. The crowd was far from dead. One of the loudest I've heard.

Blair hit a 3 ptr 20 seconds into the 4th and State took the lead for good less than 2 minutes into the 4th in the midst of a 13-0 run that put them up 8. They won by 13.

Interesting how different fans of opposite teams describe the same game.

I meant after that moment. The crowd was loud most of the night but you could sense that 'here we go again feel' throughout the game. The momentum was with SC. I just watched the game a few days ago. The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated.

 

[veryolddog]

The SEC men and women's basketball would be the best if UConn would be a member. If they could accept UConn football as the door mat of the league, it would be ok.

 

[IWearShoes]

I meant after that moment. The crowd was loud most of the night but you could sense that 'here we go again feel' throughout the game. The momentum was with SC. I just watched the game a few days ago. The game was a lot closer than the final score indicated.

Sure a banked in 3 to take a lead from 2 to 5 is going to deflate a crowd. Agree to disagree, but the game swung back and forth and with MSU's recent history with SC and them coming out and getting up early it took time for the crowd to sense that we could win. Once we had the halftime lead, we were in it and got back in it during the 4th quarter run.

Sometimes it's tough to get over the hump against a great team. The SC games recently have been dominated by SC wins, but MSU has certainly been competitive in nearly all of them.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

After watching Mississippi State last night and South Carolina tonight, I am baffled as to how the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs.

Pretty simple, South Carolina doesn't typically struggle with any of the individual matchups defensively. Morgan William has never been a problem and Vivians has always been inefficient. McCowan typically doesn't do much, but she did dominate the boards in Starkville, which was likely the difference in that one.

UConn blew us out twice this season because whoever South Carolina left open, it didn't matter who, drilled shots from outside. Granted they were wide open shots, but UConn took them in rhythm with no fear and in volume. Miss State doesn't have the players to do that. That's not their game.

Miss State matches up better with UConn than South Carolina did, because I think Miss State would play better defense than South Carolina could manage this season.

Last night Bianca Jackson and Grissett were late a lot of times on those threes. Miss State's rotation has a lot more experience than that.

Also, I think Miss State has the advantage of a real scorer on the perimeter with a senior sharp shooter willing to pull the trigger beside her.

Miss State knows what it wants to do and has done it before.

I still don't give them much of a chance vs UConn but it could be interesting.

I don't wish UConn anything bad, but I hope Miss State gets it done. I have no bad feelings about their team.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

The SEC men and women's basketball would be the best if UConn would be a member. If they could accept UConn football as the door mat of the league, it would be ok.

And people think Missouri is a weird fit, ha.

I'm not sure whose reaction would be more entertaining. UConn's New Englanders or the SEC folks.

Oh my, the idea of UConn fans calling into Feinbaum is priceless.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

It's about matchups and obviously SC knows personnel when it comes to playing Miss St.

Obviously William, Vivians, and Johnson are the only three in the starting 5 who can create their own shot. William isn't a big three point threat so you force her to shoot, You run Blair Schaefer off the 3 point line, Force Johnson right and contest everything, and Force Vivians left and make her make a shoot over you. Obviously McCowan is a different matchup but the two ways to get her off the floor is getting her in foul trouble or make her run in a track meet. SC got her off the floor so we had the advantage in the post.

We'll see how good McCowan is next year with teams sagging in on her as Miss St. loses their entire starting 5 of guards and 40% three point shooters. She'll probably get a ton of rebounds but I think her scoring average will plummet.

Well, she should get a lot more touches in the offense and you wouldn't necessarily expect her offensive rebounding to be much affected. I think that is where she gets a lot of her points now. So I think she'll probably see the percentages go down, but I would guess she'd score more points.

But then again, at times she has shown more offensive touch and skill than we've seen her manage vs South Carolina. But ultimately, I'm not sure how great an athlete she is and I think she'll continue to struggle with teams that don't give her room.

 

[SCspur]

McCowan got herself off the floor with two not smart fouls before A'ja even hit the floor, but you nailed it. The recipe is simple, but 36 times various teams' recipes haven't worked, so maybe not. That was a good win for SC and they were the better team last year.

Next year will be interesting and MSU will certainly look different. I doubt McCowan will have a lower scoring average. Plummet? No way.

She's going to have a tough time scoring especially since teams will double and triple her. She can't create her own shot and doesn't have a face up game. She'll be good defensively and should collect a ton of D and O boards but I have a hard time believing she'll average better then 17 ppg without shooters to space the floor.

 

[IWearShoes]

She's going to have a tough time scoring especially since teams will double and triple her. She can't create her own shot and doesn't have a face up game. She'll be good defensively and should collect a ton of D and O boards but I have a hard time believing she'll average better then 17 ppg without shooters to space the floor.

She'll average more than 17 a game for a number of reasons, not the least of which is we won't be as good a shooting team and there will be more rebounds to put back in. You're comment was that her scoring average would plummet. That sounds like you expect her to average 12 to 13 a game. I find that ludicrous.

It also seems that you don't expect her to continue to develop, when she has probably improved as much as anybody in the country from her freshman year. I have a feeling the vast majority of the games you saw her in the last two years involved SC and this year's national POY. That's a tough standard to hold her too, considering that's the best post she sees all year.

Also, don't be so sure we won't have shooters. Myah Taylor was a 5 star guard who is redshirting and will get a lot of minutes and she was a fine shooter in HS. Chloe Bibby is also a good shooter (who will likely show it more as she settles into Vic's style), who will be looked to for scoring, unlike this year.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

She'll average more than 17 a game for a number of reasons, not the least of which is we won't be as good a shooting team and there will be more rebounds to put back in. You're comment was that her scoring average would plummet. That sounds like you expect her to average 12 to 13 a game. I find that ludicrous.

It also seems that you don't expect her to continue to develop, when she has probably improved as much as anybody in the country from her freshman year. I have a feeling the vast majority of the games you saw her in the last two years involved SC and this year's national POY. That's a tough standard to hold her too, considering that's the best post she sees all year.

Also, don't be so sure we won't have shooters. Myah Taylor was a 5 star guard who is redshirting and will get a lot of minutes and she was a fine shooter in HS. Chloe Bibby is also a good shooter (who will likely show it more as she settles into Vic's style), who will be looked to for scoring, unlike this year.

I think she'll maintain both due to more touches -- and possibly due to more misses.

Wilson didn't really defend McCowan a ton I don't think over they years. Coates and Jennings usually had that responsibility. Being physical and pushing her away from the basket.

 

[SCspur]

She'll average more than 17 a game for a number of reasons, not the least of which is we won't be as good a shooting team and there will be more rebounds to put back in. You're comment was that her scoring average would plummet. That sounds like you expect her to average 12 to 13 a game. I find that ludicrous.

It also seems that you don't expect her to continue to develop, when she has probably improved as much as anybody in the country from her freshman year. I have a feeling the vast majority of the games you saw her in the last two years involved SC and this year's national POY. That's a tough standard to hold her too, considering that's the best post she sees all year.

Also, don't be so sure we won't have shooters. Myah Taylor was a 5 star guard who is redshirting and will get a lot of minutes and she was a fine shooter in HS. Chloe Bibby is also a good shooter (who will likely show it more as she settles into Vic's style), who will be looked to for scoring, unlike this year.

That's not it at all I just don't think she is very skilled outside the paint. Take a look at Kalani Brown, she can hit the 15 ft jumpshot with ease. I haven't seen the same from McCowan. Now she might prove me wrong and average the same or maybe more but I don't think most of it will be in the flow of the offense. Dont get me wrong I think she is very good I just don't see how they will be able to just lob the ball inside and she just turns and shoots. I'm thinking a lot of feet will be in the paint.

I never said State wouldn't have shooters. I just know they won't shoot the ball as well (losing 3 40% shooters) next year due to the lost of Vivians, Johnson, and Schaefer. I suspect your shooters next year will be Bibby and Wiggins. I've seen a lot of these kids play on the AAU circuit and High school. Taylor is very fast and is much more of a slasher than a shooter. Same with Holmes and Iggy Allen. I haven't seen much of Scott or Tate to gage if they can shoot or not. AEH would have been great if she was elgible next year because she will be the best shooter.

 

[IWearShoes]

That's not it at all I just don't think she is very skilled outside the paint. Take a look at Kalani Brown, she can hit the 15 ft jumpshot with ease. I haven't seen the same from McCowan. Now she might prove me wrong and average the same or maybe more but I don't think most of it will be in the flow of the offense. Dont get me wrong I think she is very good I just don't see how they will be able to just lob the ball inside and she just turns and shoots. I'm thinking a lot of feet will be in the paint.

I never said State wouldn't have shooters. I just know they won't shoot the ball as well (losing 3 40% shooters) next year due to the lost of Vivians, Johnson, and Schaefer. I suspect your shooters next year will be Bibby and Wiggins. I've seen a lot of these kids play on the AAU circuit and High school. Taylor is very fast and is much more of a slasher than a shooter. Same with Holmes and Iggy Allen. I haven't seen much of Scott or Tate to gage if they can shoot or not. AEH would have been great if she was elgible next year because she will be the best shooter.

I agree they likely won't shoot nearly as well, but predicting is a hard thing. I never thought VV was capable of shooting north of 40% from 3 after the prior seasons in her career.

Myah is likely to play a good bit with Jazz running the point, making her less of the slasher and more the shooter. She made over two 3 ptrs a game in HS shooting around 40% so I have a feeling Vic will look to her more for outside shooting than slashing next year. Especially when Danberry and Iggy will be getting a lot of minutes, and that's their game too. I hope Wiggins is good enough to get a lot of minutes, that will bode well for our chances of maintaining competitiveness with the best in the SEC.

Teaira has a little more offensive game than you typically see vs SC because SC's bigs are generally better defenders than most others have and there are a lot of them. She hit a FT line jumper in the SECT Championship game and has hit a number of those this year. I expect to see her add some other things in the offseason.