Bills by 12 over UMass

[The Wiz]

With all the conference talk and new transfer rules...almost forgot there was a season...lol

UMass is a C+ team. We will have to step it up a notch from the Sav St. game to beat them. I think we will as this is the first conference game and we play better against better competition.

UMass is shooting about 30% from the arc with about 24 shots a game. I would like to see us hold them to under 20 shots and 25% or less shooting % from the arc.

Looks like a great chance for #8.

[JeffinMH]

I think the boys will be rev'd up for this game. Conference opener, National TV, etc... UMASS is a good team and the the Bills need their "A" game!

[WVBilliken]

It is interesting that UMass has an RPI of 47, higher than SLU. I don't see that they really beat anybody. I guess this just means their competition has been better than SLU's so far. They are 9-3 and we are 11-3 so not much difference there. Hope we do win by 12 but it might be closer than we think.

[Quality Is Job 1]

It is interesting that UMass has an RPI of 47, higher than SLU. I don't see that they really beat anybody. I guess this just means their competition has been better than SLU's so far. They are 9-3 and we are 11-3 so not much difference there. Hope we do win by 12 but it might be closer than we think.

Remember that 75 percent of RPI is strength of schedule. The fact that the Minutemen haven't beaten anyone has nothing to do with the fact that the teams they've played have strong records.

RPI standing is irrelevant until close to Selection Sunday.

[Littlebill]

Since UMass is 47, would this count as a top 50 win on Selection Sunday? (If they drop outside of that between now and then)

[Quality Is Job 1]

Since UMass is 47, would this count as a top 50 win on Selection Sunday? (If they drop outside of that between now and then)

No. It matters only what their rank is on Selection Sunday. If they aren't Top 50 in mid-March, a Billikens win over them Thursday won't count as a Top 50 win.

Conversely, any team currently outside of the Top 50 which the Bills beat prior to Selection Sunday and rises into the Top 50 by then will count as a Top 50 win for the Bills.

[slu72]

This will not be an easy game unless we play like we did against UNM.

[Taj79]

Umass played NC State, Tennessee and Miami --- all BCS league darlings who's numbers will only go up once they hit conference play. Of course, they lost to them all just the same. They did beat Ohio in Amherst and with last year's run, Ohio is a darling team this season. In the "whatever happened to .." category, Jon Smith played 11 minutes and scored two points despite starting once again. Must've been the three fouls.

Other than those games, Umass has done the "NE tour" playing the likes of Harvard, Providence, and Northeastern while venturing not too far from that area. They are 9 and 3 bu tbeat Harvard by 3, Providence by 2, Sienna by 1, Northeastern by six, Elon by 5 in OT, Northenr Illinois by 5 and Miami of Ohio by 1. th eNIU and Miami games were on the road. So a few bounces here or there ....

The rap on Umass right now is they are helter-skelter and want to uptempo you. They play little defense supposedly preferring to outrun and outscore you. And as CE said, based on last year, we owe them one, much like we owed Loyola. I remember how physical they are and long and lean ... Escho plays point on the press and is like like 6'9". Putney was a 6'10" two guard. Riley and Morgan are three-point bombers. I am thinkin gour stifling defense and style needs to be imposed big time. We can do that and we can win.

This is no trap game as SSU was. The matchups will be interesting.

[kwyjibo]

Putney is not a guard. Here is a video that proves it (guards do not dunk like that):

Why do you think he is guard when he himself, his coach, teammates, fans, and all the members of the professional press across the entire country thinks he is a forward (is it some sort of weird conspiracy?)? Not that those terms mean anything but to the extent that they do, he is a forward.

Seriously, Esho had a great game recently but Vinson is the more consistent threat. Although I know a lot of UMass fans that like Esho's positioning and skills a lot. Riley also got real hot (6-9 from 3 land so hopefully this is not a trend) recently but Williams is the consistent threat and presence as we well know. Morgan will still get a ton of minutes at guard and is also very streaky.

[jbizzle09]

Putney is not a guard. Here is a video that proves it (guards do not dunk like that):

Why do you think he is guard when he himself, his coach, teammates, fans, and all the members of the professional press across the entire country thinks he is a forward (is it some sort of weird conspiracy?)? Not that those terms mean anything but to the extent that they do, he is a forward.

Seriously, Esho had a great game recently but Vinson is the more consistent threat. Although I know a lot of UMass fans that like Esho's positioning and skills a lot. Riley also got real hot (6-9 from 3 land so hopefully this is not a trend) recently but Williams is the consistent threat and presence as we well know. Morgan will still get a ton of minutes at guard and is also very streaky.

Taj has been stating that Putney is a guard since last season. I didn't understand it then and I don't understand it now. Is it because Putney shoots a lot of three's? If that is the case, wouldn't Cody be considered a guard? UMass has two guards who get the majority of minutes (Williams, Morgan) with Riley providing the balance of the other minutes at guard. They don't play a three guard lineup.

[jimbofive]

Putney is not a guard. Here is a video that proves it (guards do not dunk like that):

Why do you think he is guard when he himself, his coach, teammates, fans, and all the members of the professional press across the entire country thinks he is a forward (is it some sort of weird conspiracy?)? Not that those terms mean anything but to the extent that they do, he is a forward.

Seriously, Esho had a great game recently but Vinson is the more consistent threat. Although I know a lot of UMass fans that like Esho's positioning and skills a lot. Riley also got real hot (6-9 from 3 land so hopefully this is not a trend) recently but Williams is the consistent threat and presence as we well know. Morgan will still get a ton of minutes at guard and is also very streaky.

that first angle was pretty good quality for a hamburger phone.

[slufanskip]

In the post above, Taj didn't say he was a guard. He said he played point against the press. I took that to mean he brought the ball up against a press. If he has decent handles for a 6'9" guy, it probably works as the guy guarding him may not be the quickest. Put it in his hands and clear everyone else out. If they double him, he can see over top of the trap and find the open man. I don't know about past posts and Taj calling him a guard, but I didn't take this post as that

[kwyjibo]

In the post above, Taj didn't say he was a guard. He said he played point against the press. I took that to mean he brought the ball up against a press. If he has decent handles for a 6'9" guy, it probably works as the guy guarding him may not be the quickest. Put it in his hands and clear everyone else out. If they double him, he can see over top of the trap and find the open man. I don't know about past posts and Taj calling him a guard, but I didn't take this post as that

Taj said Putney is a guard and Esho (another forward who is not Putney) handles the point against a press. Putney has not been shooting that well lately (26% from three this season) so even that does not make sense.

Putney does handle the ball well and does pass well when he wants too (he does get an assist about once a half).

Anyway, I just find this funny (a rose by any other name and all that). Putney as guard is now a riff (quite literally a solo improvisation).

[slufanskip]

In the post above, Taj didn't say he was a guard. He said he played point against the press. I took that to mean he brought the ball up against a press. If he has decent handles for a 6'9" guy, it probably works as the guy guarding him may not be the quickest. Put it in his hands and clear everyone else out. If they double him, he can see over top of the trap and find the open man. I don't know about past posts and Taj calling him a guard, but I didn't take this post as that

Taj said Putney is a guard and Esho (another forward who is not Putney) handles the point against a press. Putney has not been shooting that well lately (26% from three this season) so even that does not make sense.

Putney does handle the ball well and does pass well when he wants too. That still does not make him a guard.

You're right, my bad. I completely misread his post. Hell, he didn't even say Putney brought it up against the press.

[slufan13]

12 seems like too much in my opinion but I honestly have no idea. I think it's going to be a pretty good game. As long as we play our game and don't let UMass speed us up too much, we'll be fine. Gotta handle the press better than we did against Savannah St.

Hopefully Kwamain has shaken more of that rust off. 2 big games this week. I don't think SLU has beaten Temple in Kwamain's time here. I think that's the only A10 team we haven't beaten since we moved to the conference but I'm not sure about that.

Obviously have to take it one game at a time though. Take care of business against a UMass team that has won 7 straight and then concentrate on Temple.

[Taj79]

Let me explain myself .... first, my apologies for not being direct. I knew what I was talking about and presupposed that down to the audience. That is my bad and purely my mistake.

Esho played point on their defensive press last year, harassing the inbounds and double teaming down on the entry pass. I also witnessed this on other games that I caught of Umass (Richmond comes to mind). He is not an offensive point guard and does not bring the ball up offensively against pressure. I meant that purely from the defensive end but did not explain that. I find this to be a relevant point for Thursday night because of the havoc wreaked on our experienced upperclass guards by smaller, typical guard-like players staffing a similar man/zone press as employed by SSU.

As for Putney, short of his size, all I've seen of him screams two guard. Yes, he is 6'10" but he was bombing from the parking lot in games I saw. In last year's game at Umass, he was 3-of-5 from three-point land. He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Last year, he launched 142 treys, only slightly less thna his 156 other shots. Yes, that was good for almost a tie for third on the team behind Morgan, Riley and Williams but he's 6'10". While he was second on the team in rebounds, someone had to be. Carter led, Vinson was third, but the drop off was then to Esho, who played like 200 minutes less than most of the others mentioned here. Thye did play longer, however, makin git to the finals of the NIT.

I guess what I was saying with Putney is I see him more of a traditional shooter and therefore a guard more than a forward. I was implyin gmatchup problems in terms of if we put Remekun on him, he floats to his more preferred outside bomber mode. If we match him up with our three, that Evans and I think DE goes into foul trouble mode again. If we match him up with Jett or any other guard, he'll post down low. If we match him up with Elli sor Loe, he'll blow by with natural talent. He was the best player I saw us play last year, that's all. But now he's averaging 7.2 ppg and nowhere near what he was last year so who knows.

Bottom line: Umass scares the crap out of me with 1) their up tempo insistence, 2) their three point bombs away mentality, 3) Chaz Williams, 4) their press, and 5) their athletes. I am confident we can counter with 1) our defense, 2) our tempo and will, 3) our athletes, 4) our home court, and our fans. I also think we have payback to repay from last year.

[slu72]

In the video above I was more impressed by the 4th grader playing pg for the Titans. Offer him today.

[Cowboy]

-did Jett defend Chaz in last season's game? I don't recall

[kwyjibo]

UMass is a team that puts out a ton of effort. Freddie Riley was not giving a lot of effort for a bit and did not see a lot of time. He has really upped the effort, and played well and has gotten more time. He has been playing great defense lately according to my Umass observer. JBizzle is right above when says that UMass has not played a lot with Williams, Riley, and Morgan together (3 guards) but my UMass source thinks that they have had all 3 on the court at the same time recently and it has worked. SLU may see some 3 guard play.

Taj is right that Putney's instinct is often to float around on the perimeter but he is being coached not to do that. SLU fans obviously remember his great game (he has had one this year as well) but he is taking less outside shots this year and is shoothing 26% from 3. Morgan is the streakiest shooter on a team with a lot of streaky shooters.

Esho will create problems in that he is another tall high energy guy on defense and the press.

UMass does have a tendency to be a little out of control (this is true of Putney, and Esho in particular--Williams is fast but stays in better control) so if SLU defense can get position in time they can draw charges (Cody should bring his charge card). I think getting some of their bigger athletic guys in foul trouble will help a lot against SLU.

Chaz Williams is ultimately the key. He is the only guy to create a lot of opportunities for others and most of the offense works through him. As my Umass friend emailed today:

Chaz is the key to pretty much every game UMass plays. He sets the tone on both ends. When he plays on the right side of that line between total intensity and out of control, UMass tends to be quite good; when he crosses that line, which he does have a tendency to do, he brings the whole team down with him. SLU is the kind of team that could push him over the edge, but he has shown better judgement and self control over the past couple games that I've watched.

[moytoy12]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Taj79" data-cid="335126" data-time="1357667276"><p>

Let me explain myself .... </blockquote>

When Taj says this, you better hunker down 'cause you could be reading for awhile.

[Taj79]

Apparently, moy, I need to be more thorough (05 just rocketed into orbit!).

[OkieBilliken]

UMASS is 4-0 in true road games. This game scares the hell out of me. Northeastern, Siena, Northern Illinois and Miami of Ohio are all legitimate D1 teams.

[For-DaLove]

This game scares me too but not because of who they've beat on the road. I mean they only beat a terrible 2-13 siena team by 1.

[waldo027]

UMASS is 4-0 in true road games. This game scares the hell out of me. Northeastern, Siena, Northern Illinois and Miami of Ohio are all legitimate D1 teams.

SLU is just a tad bit better than these teams you listed. If SLU is really a contender for the conference title then this game should not be particularly close. UMass is a middle of the pack A-10 team at best. I imagine most people are worried about this game because of the game last year, when UMass was playing at home and was extremely hot in the first half and the game was still winnable for SLU at the end.

[Taj79]

I would say my fears are completely explained by waldo. And he is also correct in saying this should not be particularly close tongiht. I agree with that too. It's just getting from here to there that makes grey hairs begin to sprout.

Wow .. won by one on the road against a 2 and 13 team? That makes me feel good.