Villain-Over ThoughtZ™

[RichZ]

1. Samson 6" too far under the hoop on that first attempt.
2. I don't think McNeeley was expecting that pass from Diarra.
3. Solo driving. It's going to count as a block, but on the replay from behind the backboard, it was clear that it wasn't going in anyway. Sigh.
4. Is it me, or do we look exactly like we did at SH?
5. NOVA has made three 3s in a row.
6. McNealy's straight line full court drive was the first time I smiled tonight.
7. Solo's three perked up the home crowd.
8. Dixon is just manhandling Reed offensively.
9. Nowell on the court! 2 minutes later, we know why Hurley's been so hesitant to play him.
10. Just over 11 minutes left and we're down by 14. Hope is fading. Crowd is dead.
11. And then, 8 of the best minutes we've played in a long while. Solo and Tarris made layups. 10 points doesn't seem nearly as daunting as 14. Then Solo dropped a dime to Tarris, and Stewart tipped in Diarra's miss. This is a six point game, boys and girls. Then Diarra's FTs make it 4!
12. Finally, after a 6 minute drought, Nova gets a bucket.
13. Reed has REALLY upped his game in the 2nd half. Now HE's is the one taking it to Dixon at will.
14. Reed's layup ties the game at 2:42!
15. 1:42, a pair of McNeeley FTs give us a two point lead. Last time we led was also by 2. As in 2-zip, a minute and a half into the game.
16. Two more on Reed's dunk. 4 point lead with 58.3 to go. This feels way too much like the last minute or so on Saturday.
17. 3 point lead 34.7 left with 14 on the shot clock.
18. Stunningly good block by Alex! I've got to screen cap that and make it my wallpaper for the rest of the season.
19. 5 point lead with 15.8 left and McNeeley on the line.
20. And we win by 7. Pretty much exactly the opposite ending as Saturday's.
21. For a game that looked so ugly, other than 3 point shooting, our stat line doesn't look awful. We outshot them overall 45% to 35% and outrebounded them 35 to 29. 17 assists to their 9, and 7 blocks to Nova's 2.

 

[jibsey]

1. Samson 6" too far under the hoop on that first attempt.
2. I don't think McNeeley was expecting that pass from Diarra.
3. Solo driving. It's going to count as a block, but on the replay from behind the backboard, it was clear that it wasn't going in anyway. Sigh.
4. Is it me, or do we look exactly like we did at SH?
5. NOVA has made three 3s in a row.
6. McNealy's straight line full court drive was the first time I smiled tonight.
7. Solo's three perked up the home crowd.
8. Dixon is just manhandling Reed offensively.
9. Nowell on the court! 2 minutes later, we know why Hurley's been so hesitant to play him.
10. Just over 11 minutes left and we're down by 14. Hope is fading. Crowd is dead.
11. And then, 8 of the best minutes we've played in a long while. Solo and Tarris made layups. 10 points doesn't seem nearly as daunting as 14. Then Solo dropped a dime to Tarris, and Stewart tipped in Diarra's miss. This is a six point game, boys and girls. Then Diarra's FTs make it 4!
12. Finally, after a 6 minute drought, Nova gets a bucket.
13. Reed has REALLY upped his game in the 2nd half. Now HE's is the one taking it to Dixon at will.
14. Reed's layup ties the game at 2:42!
15. 1:42, a pair of McNeeley FTs give us a two point lead. Last time we led was also by 2. As in 2-zip, a minute and a half into the game.
16. Two more on Reed's dunk. 4 point lead with 58.3 to go. This feels way too much like the last minute or so on Saturday.
17. 3 point lead 34.7 left with 14 on the shot clock.
18. Stunningly good block by Alex! I've got to screen cap that and make it my wallpaper for the rest of the season.
19. 5 point lead with 15.8 left and McNeeley on the line.
20. And we win by 7. Pretty much exactly the opposite ending as Saturday's.
21. For a game that looked so ugly, other than 3 point shooting, our stat line doesn't look awful. We outshot them overall 45% to 35% and outrebounded them 35 to 29. 17 assists to their 9, and 7 blocks to Nova's 2.

A couple more of made 3’s would be even better. We are due.

 

[Hurleyman216]

A couple more of made 3’s would be even better. We are due.

Yes, as a team the past couple games we have not shot it well from 3. We’re due for some 12-20 type 3 point shooting games. Might as well make them against St. John’s and Marquette. We’re still very dangerous, we aren’t gonna get blown out by anyone, but we need to get the old Karaban back. He has never looked super quick, but the past 2 weeks he looks like he’s half his normal speed. I don’t know if it’s the ankle he tweaked a couple weeks ago or he’s just played too many minutes, but the staff needs to figure it out ASAP. It seems we CAN play lock down defense in spurts, but when our offense struggles our defense quickly follows suit.

 

[LBird33]

Yet if we penetrate and go inside we seem to be effective. We just don’t do it enough

 

[upstater]

Winning with our defense!!

Now if only our offense would return!

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Winning with our defense!!

Now if only our offense would return!

It starts with defense.™

 

[SwingDog]

Yet if we penetrate and go inside we seem to be effective. We just don’t do it enough

It's easier said than done. If we can shoot well from outside it will draw defenders out to the perimeter and open up things inside. This is a big reason why our teams from the last two years were so dangerous. They presented multiple threats on offense which kept opponents guessing.