Different venue, different game. Same story for the Keydets tonight.
Easy to tell where things went wrong. As a team we shot 31% overall, connecting on only 23 of 74 shots. Nine of those 23 makes were from three, and we hit a dismal 23% from distance. Even the free throw shooting (50%) was horrible, the worst percentage of the year. We were about as cold as the weather outside.
Many of these shots were rushed or simply ill-advised. QJ continues to take wild shots from well beyond the arc. Look, by contrast, at the other side and you will see a UNCG team that hit 45% of their takes and outrebounded the opposition 52-40. There was one sequence late in the second half where UNCG missed two three-pointers, got offensive rebounds, missed another layup, got another rebound, and put it in on the fourth try. Next possession, Eleby airballs a three and later gets called for a player-control foul. Trey travels twice and has 4 TOs total. These are the things that separate winning teams from losing teams. And no, UNCG is not on paper a winning team, but they played like it tonight. And that was even WITH 17 turnovers. I can't see they wanted it more but they simply did the things it takes to win.
QJ once again shoots horribly from the field, going 2 for 11 and 1 of 6 from range. This is a trend that his been occurring for QJ since early December, shooting above 40% only at Navy and Mercer. He finishes with 8 points and 4 assists. Brian is 2 of 7 from long range. Tim is 2 of 11. Hinton, 0 of 5. Chapman, 1 of 4. Notice a trend? Our offense is predicated on hitting shots. We all know that our defense cannot cope with 31% shooting. And why were they all short? We can't be that tired having played twice in the past six days. Maybe the focus isn't there. I don't know.
Everyone shot pretty bad except for Anglade. Phil was 5 of 9 for 11 points and 10 rebounds in only 19 minutes. He had 4 fouls but didn't foul it so I guess it's an improvement. Still, we need Phil to be more disciplined under the net. This is a problem we didn't have to deal with having DJ down low. Iruafemi continued to see action and had 4 points as well as 4 boards and two blocks. Burton hit a three-pointer, sunk two FTs, and had three steals. That's about it.
There was very balanced scoring tonight but only one player (Phil) in double-figures. That cannot happen. Last season we had at least three guys every night who scored double-figures, and then some. This season, there is no go-to guy, no consistent shooter. QJ is possibly distracted with point guard duties. Marshall has been up and down all year. We simply don't have any great shooters.
ETSU comes to Lexington Saturday. I suspect a sparse crowd. This one is quite literally a must win if we are to have any shot at a top-four seed. After that we head to Chattanooga and I cannot fathom that we come out of a win there after a six-hour drive against an 11-7 team. After that the five-game homestand mercifully begins. But will it matter at that point?
I fear not...
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