For about the sixth time this year, a sloppy second half does us in. Ike Nwamu uses his strenght and physicality to go off for 18 points, and TJ Hallice and Phillip Leonard get to the free throw line early and often. VMI goes 1-1 in the SoCon sneak peek, which, all things considered, is right about where they should be.
In a complete reversal of last Thursday's game, Mercer got to the line 38 times and that proved to be the difference. Their FT shooting was actually quite pitiful (66%) but it didn't matter. We fouled them so much that there were simply too many free throws to be shot, and they beat us by twenty-three in that category. On the glass the Bears dominated with a 47-29 edge, fifteen of which were offensive and led to 23 second-chance points. Looking at the rosters that's what you'd expect, but we've done so well with rebounding against taller teams in the past that it's a bit surprising.
For the second consecutive game the turnovers were much improved. We committed only ten (to Mercer's sixteen) so at this point I think the guys are getting more comfortable with handling the ball, and in particular, QJ, Brian, and Julian. Unfortunately, we forced only three steals, while Mercer had eight. There isn't enough pressure on the ball and when there is we get called for a foul. Incredibly we doubled-up Mercer on total personal fouls, and it'd be easy to blame the refs but such a disparity shows that you a) are not staying disciplined under the basket and b) aren't creating enough contact on the offensive end. We did neither in yesterday's game and it showed. Free throws have decided the outcome of our last two games.
Overall we shot poorly, but were better from long-range - 38.6%, although much of this was early on the game when Brown and QJ had a hot hand, combining for six three-pointers ten minutes into the game. From there it cooled down immensely. Brian would not hit another three the rest of the way, and QJ ended up going 6 for 16. If QJ and Brian are going to take 25 combined threes, they better make at least 40% of them. Otherwise, dish it off to someone else until you find your stroke. Tim Marshall was just about the only consistent spot in the lineup, going 6 of 13 on 3PT and 7 of 17 overall. He also had five rebounds.
Now consider this: we beat Mercer in bench points 29-12. Tim had 20 points, and Jarid was perfect from the field and had 6 pts. My question is: why are they the bench? Is the purpose of choosing a starting lineup not to maximize your ability to win by setting the tone for the game and giving the biggest minutes to your best players? Trey, a starter, had 2 points yesterday and was a no-show in thirteen minutes of playing time. Anglade did not score and only got four rebounds in twenty-six minutes. I can see starting Brown because of his defense and senior leadership (though his shot has been so frustratingly inconsistent), but what about the other guys? To my way of thinking you go with what works. Maybe Jarid over Anglade is a bit too much (he does, however, have three inches on him), but there's no reason why Tim shouldn't be starting. My suggestion would be to replace Tim with the ineffective Trey Chapman, and sub Hinton (or Watson) for the cold-shooting Jordan Weethee. Three guards has typically been the norm under Baucom, and such a lineup gives us an advantage behind the arc and maybe down low.
So a 1-1 SoCon road trip. Not great, but not bad either. It is what it should be. We have a chance of beating Mercer at home, but for now the focus is on a 2-7 Navy team who most recently lost to The Citadel by seven. After an impressive five-point loss to ranked Michigan State, Navy tanked against Notre Dame, Providence, Northeastern, and St. Francis. Their only win was over 1-8 Binghamton by two. If we can beat them, I like our chances against Marist, and will be interested to see what an inept Va. Tech team can do against us.
If it all works out in our favor, a 6-7 record heading into the New Year is not bad at all, considering all that's happened in the past two months.
No comments:
Post a Comment