Well a disappointing loss to say the least. I can't say the effort wasn't there but the focus certainly wasn't and neither was the shooting. As expected, Chattanooga was more athletic than us, more aggressive, and faster to the ball. Nothing you could do about it, unless you expect to make 50% of your three-point attempts, which, in all reality....will never happen.
This game marked the return of Tyrell Mason to the lineup, and unfortunately his presence did not spark a rally[/sarcasm]. Anglade, who came into the game third in the nation in FG percentage at .684, shot just 6 of 14 from the field, but he did get 16 points which led all scorers, plus 7 boards. And he even shot "better" from the FT line, going 4 for 8. Marshall once again a now-show: 2 of 10 overall, 1 of 7 from three, 6 points. This team is going nowhere if he can't contribute. He did six rebounds and two steals but his main asset is offense and right now it's nonexistent.
In an expected downturn Fred Iruafemi had only 4 points and made one FG. Despite getting called for his fourth foul early in the second half Fred continued to play and couldn't find a way to contribute, at least offensively. Craig had 7, and Eleby had 9 but didn't hit a three. Trey had an awful game; zero points with six turnovers, two of which were offensive fouls; a rebound and assist is all for Trey.
As a team we shot less than 32% overall and 7 of 25 from three (28%). Quite honestly this doesn't surprise me. The harsh reality is that we are not at all a good shooting team, and that's putting it softly. Even free throw shooting was again poor - 62% - although I suppose if you subtract Phil that number goes up to 69%. It's unfortunate that the players who have the ball in their hand most often are most often the poorest free throw shooters. Only positive stat is that we outrebound UTC 47-38, including 20-8 on the offensive glass. But, we counter that with 20 turnovers. We once again fail to play a complete game and it costs us. These are things that happen on the road, especially to a young team.
The Mocs shot 48% from the floor (despite shooting horribly from three - 4 of 17), which tells you where the problem lies: in the paint. Stronger, and more physical always beats weaker and unaggressive. Plus some silly fouls in the backcourt spell our doom. We don't have nearly enough talent to overcome these things; last year's team did. And such torrid shooting is not a fluctuation but a trend. We lack the height and quality rim-protectors to hold teams under 80 points, which is what we need to have a chance (although with this offense nothing is guaranteed).
At long last the five-game homestand is upon us. El Cid lost to ETSU tonight which is hopeful, but where will the offense come from? I have no idea. Brian has picked it up as of late but that's all. No one else has been consistent enough to give me confidence. We can only cross our fingers that Marshall will get on a hot streak right about now. But the good news is that the most disadvantageous portion of a schedule in all the time I've watched VMI basketball is over and for that we are thankful.
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