The Wiz Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 And now it is time to play for the Blizzard and Dilly Bar trophy. General Outlook.... A sweet and valuable win over Dav with a dose of consistency thrown in ...39 pts in each half and good shooting overall. It was a valuable win as it boosted our chances for the double bye and sets the stage for a close out top 4 finish. If we beat DQ, we will be in the catbirds seat . A win will give us a 3 game lead(with the tie breakers) with 4 to play. Any combo of 2 wins by the Bills or 2 losses by the winner of the DQ/ LaS game on Feb 22 will give us a top 4 spot...simplified...we win 2 more after DQ and it's over. Or if the winner of the DQ/ LaS game loses 1 and we win 1 , it's over. Well then, how about this ...just keep winning. Game Preview....This game , numbers wise, has a lot of similarities to the game we just played with Dav. We are still B overall and DQ is B- like Dav. Which in turn leads to a 7 pt spread again. The good news is, overall our offense and defense are better than the Dukes. What can go wrong? DQ is a very good 3P shooting team...Grant is their Jimerson. In addition Gunn can also gun from the arc. If we give them open shots this game could be a lot more exciting than you want it to be. The good news is , while they can shoot from the arc they don't defend very well from the 3P line. Also, TO differential, can bite us , if we don't keep this stat close. Report Card.... Coming into this game we are up in 3 categories (3P% off and def and FT%) down in 1 (PPG off)..We finally made the honor role on offense. Let's look at the report card... ...................SLU......................DQ........................SLU.............................DQ .................................OFF..........................................................DEF............. PPG...............B.......................B-.............................C-..................................C+ FG%...............B......................D+..............................A-..................................C- 3P%...............B-.....................B+............................B-.................................D+ FT%...............B-......................D-.................................................................. Reb...............A.......................B............................C......................................F+ OFF Rebs = total rebs...DEF Rebs = opp reb UP...............Off....3P%...FT%...Def.....3P% Down.........Off.......PPG....Def....none Top 100 In The Nation SLU Assts...Collins... 1st...unch......33rd all time D1 list Assts/TO ratio...Collins...18th...dn Reb...Okoro...62nd...up Blks...Okoro ...73rd...dn Off Reb...Okoro...32nd ...unch Dou Dou...Collins...50th...up 3P%...Jimerson...53rd...up DQ Stls....Clark...10th Off Reb...Rotroff...91st Asst/TO ratio...Brewer...19th 3P%...Grant ...44th Injury /Illness report and misc The Bills....2/8...Thames....Out indefinitely....undisclosed......unspecified issue with no time table to return DQ... 1/5...Barba...out for season ...hand surgery Keys to the game.. . The game will be won (or lost) on the arc....If the Bills match them at the 3P line , then advantage SLU as we should be able to take them inside the arc.... Who ever Clark is guarding better protect the ball.... Stay out of foul trouble. DQ is not a good FT shooting team EXCEPT Grant...don't foul him. WWN2D2W...Make the slash...46/35/75...Hold Grant and Clark to a combined 22pts which should allow us to keep DQ under 70 pts....try to have no more than 1 TO more than DQ...Beat them on the boards by 5........Don't give them free pts by fouling Grant Bottom line....Let's take the fight to them and make them put up their Dukes....and then say BYE BYE CenHudDude and Bay Area Billiken like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgstl Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Holy heck, I hope. That would be nice. I think it’s close to other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soderball Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 according to Wiz computer: 4-9 = 8-5. Fix the computer! I'm saying "even" on this game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Sagarin after games of 2/15 had SLU by 5. SLU has the better team, matches up well with this opponent, will be playing at home, and should win it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Elrond Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 We should win this game, now all the Billikens have to do is go win the game, which has been the hard part many times this season… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 This deep into the season, I'm looking at A10 games to figure out what to expect. Bottom line, Duquesne is scary. In their 13 A10 games, the Dukes lead the league in steals at 9.2. Compare to the Bills 5.2 steals per conference game. As expected our Bills lead the A10 in assists at 16.3 per game. Dukes are right behind us at 15.5. Bills lead the A10 in A/TO ratio at 1.29. Dukes are third at 1.25. Defense, Duquesne is third in the A10 holding opponents to 66.5 ppg. Bills come in at 8th at 70.2 ppg Offense, we are 2nd at 73.8 ppg, and they are 5th at 72.2 ppg. Perhaps our biggest edge, in A10 games Duquesne is 2-4 on the road (6-1 at home). This is a heads up, got to win, the season is on the line game. brianstl likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 3 minutes ago, HoosierPal said: This deep into the season, I'm looking at A10 games to figure out what to expect. Bottom line, Duquesne is scary. In their 13 A10 games, the Dukes lead the league in steals at 9.2. Compare to the Bills 5.2 steals per conference game. As expected our Bills lead the A10 in assists at 16.3 per game. Dukes are right behind us at 15.5. Bills lead the A10 in A/TO ratio at 1.29. Dukes are third at 1.25. Defense, Duquesne is third in the A10 holding opponents to 66.5 ppg. Bills come in at 8th at 70.2 ppg Offense, we are 2nd at 73.8 ppg, and they are 5th at 72.2 ppg. Perhaps our biggest edge, in A10 games Duquesne is 2-4 on the road (6-1 at home). This is a heads up, got to win, the season is on the line game. SLU has the better team and better players. While anything can happen in sports, SLU should win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierPal Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said: SLU has the better team and better players. While anything can happen in sports, SLU should win. Who has the better coach? (ouch!) BC1764 likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 Sagarin, now through games of 2/16, says SLU by 5.13, rounded to 5. SLU is ranked 92 in Sagarin, DUQ 106. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, HoosierPal said: Who has the better coach? (ouch!) You might ask a DUQ fan that same question last year after Dambrot led the Dukes to 6-24. Triple ouch️ HoosierPal likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soderball Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 7 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said: You might ask a DUQ fan that same question last year after Dambrot led the Dukes to 6-24. Triple ouch️ Ford's problem is perpetual mediocrity; not that he is Crews-level bad. Marlow likes this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 40 minutes ago, Soderball said: Ford's problem is perpetual mediocrity; not that he is Crews-level bad. The subjective narrative notwithstanding, the 3rd highest winning percentage in SLU Men’s Basketball coaching history since 1947-48, behind only Ed Hickey and John Bennington, says otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gister Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 46 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said: The subjective narrative notwithstanding, the 3rd highest winning percentage in SLU Men’s Basketball coaching history since 1947-48, behind only Ed Hickey and John Bennington, says otherwise. Amen!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 8 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said: The subjective narrative notwithstanding, the 3rd highest winning percentage in SLU Men’s Basketball coaching history since 1947-48, behind only Ed Hickey and John Bennington, says otherwise. Fair point but using your logic, Crews should have been kept since he was one of only 2 coaches to take us to the NCAA in consecutive years. We should have kept Sodie and not taken a chance on getting RM. I am not bashing the guy just trying to point out that water does always seeks its level. For a program like us we have to realize that we can not stand pat - if you are happy with 4-5K in the stands then OK but if you want to see 8-10K winning 20 games and straining to get the double bye in the A10 tourney is not going to do it. Next year will be the litmus test for Ford - either he gets the right players and excels or he treads water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Duquesne is a guard-oriented team in Grant, Clark and the others. They have little inside. They will run and press and try to speed up the game. They will launch threes. Long rebounds will be key. Much like Mizzou and Fordham, they played a weak OOC and have gained confidence in winning against weak competition. They got beat bad at Dayton but did beat VCZ early and at home. As noted, no road wins in conference. This is the typical team that can run out ahead, or rally late if you let them. Key game as far as top four goes. Fordham stands a good chance of beating VCU with DeLoach out today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikenbill Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 1 hour ago, cheeseman said: Next year will be the litmus test for Ford - either he gets the right players and excels or he treads water. Between the incoming freshman and the current ones along with Parker and TJ, bring on next year, I ain’t skeered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 10 minutes ago, billikenbill said: Between the incoming freshman and the current ones along with Parker and TJ, bring on next year, I ain’t skeered. I hope you are right but the bottom line will have to be judged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_w Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 the bottom line for this year is yet to be determined, but many posters want ford gone before the season even plays out. i prefer to wait till this season is over before giving a grade billiken_roy and slufanskip like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 2 hours ago, cheeseman said: Fair point but using your logic, Crews should have been kept since he was one of only 2 coaches to take us to the NCAA in consecutive years. We should have kept Sodie and not taken a chance on getting RM. I am not bashing the guy just trying to point out that water does always seeks its level. For a program like us we have to realize that we can not stand pat - if you are happy with 4-5K in the stands then OK but if you want to see 8-10K winning 20 games and straining to get the double bye in the A10 tourney is not going to do it. Next year will be the litmus test for Ford - either he gets the right players and excels or he treads water. Crews went 22-42, .344, his last 2 seasons at SLU, on his own after the Sons of Majerus’ eligibility ended. Soderberg went .519 at SLU. Travis Ford is currently at .600. So no, you are not using my “logic.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Line per cbssports.com has moved to SLU -6, after being SLU -4.5 yesterday, o147. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Taj79 said: Duquesne is a guard-oriented team in Grant, Clark and the others. They have little inside. They will run and press and try to speed up the game. They will launch threes. Long rebounds will be key. Much like Mizzou and Fordham, they played a weak OOC and have gained confidence in winning against weak competition. They got beat bad at Dayton but did beat VCZ early and at home. As noted, no road wins in conference. This is the typical team that can run out ahead, or rally late if you let them. Key game as far as top four goes. Fordham stands a good chance of beating VCU with DeLoach out today. we are the champs at letting our opponent "rally if you let them". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 3 hours ago, cheeseman said: Fair point but using your logic, Crews should have been kept since he was one of only 2 coaches to take us to the NCAA in consecutive years. We should have kept Sodie and not taken a chance on getting RM. I am not bashing the guy just trying to point out that water does always seeks its level. For a program like us we have to realize that we can not stand pat - if you are happy with 4-5K in the stands then OK but if you want to see 8-10K winning 20 games and straining to get the double bye in the A10 tourney is not going to do it. Next year will be the litmus test for Ford - either he gets the right players and excels or he treads water. i was ready the first season that crews was given the head coaching spot with rickma's autopilot players, to oust crews when 1. he never put rebounders on the lane during free throws and 2. he showed he had absolutely no out of bounds plays and would just hoist a cannon ball to the other end of the floor and bring it down court again. worthless. he only won because rickma did a spectacular job of preparing his players. when they were gone everyone saw what crews really was. Schasz and MusicCityBilliken like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said: Crews went 22-42, .344, his last 2 seasons at SLU, on his own after the Sons of Majerus’ eligibility ended. Soderberg went .519 at SLU. Travis Ford is currently at .600. So no, you are not using my “logic.” Well if the only metric you are using is winning % then I would say that you are missing the big picture which is what my post was intending to say. Your point was he has a 600 winning % and so that makes him have a good program. He has won 6 of 10 which is overall not bad however if you play 30 games that would give you a 18-12 record which really will not cut it. You also have to look at how he is often out coached especially against bigger named schools or for that matter similar schools to us that we should expect to beat - see Fordham this year and VCU as well as Dayton if we can not beat these two then we have no chance of ever excelling. He also has these hiccups during the season both during the OC schedule and the conference schedule which usually destroys his chance of winning the A10 or getting an at large bid. I would think most on the board expect to win the A10 once in awhile and get fairly consistent bids to the NCAA. These expectation are necessary if we ever aspire to getting a bid to the Big East. If he manages to lose to the Dukes tonight then this team is starting to circle the drain. Sorry you took offense to my post but I was only trying to point out that we have had coaches in the past who had accomplished something unique but never were able to get over the hump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 2 hours ago, billiken_roy said: i was ready the first season that crews was given the head coaching spot with rickma's autopilot players, to oust crews when 1. he never put rebounders on the lane during free throws and 2. he showed he had absolutely no out of bounds plays and would just hoist a cannon ball to the other end of the floor and bring it down court again. worthless. he only won because rickma did a spectacular job of preparing his players. when they were gone everyone saw what crews really was. I agree with you that Crews should not have been hired after that first year he filled in for RM but people like us were drowned out by the "but he was National Coach of the Year" people who thought the school had no choice but to hire him - I said nonsense then and nonsense still. This also why you have some say you can't move on from Ford because he has a 600 winning %. I am not trying to get the guy fired but I am saying we have to have higher aspirations. Wining the A10 or at least coming in second and getting a bid now and then to the Dance is not asking too much in my humble opinion. Adman and brianstl like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soderball Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 3 hours ago, cheeseman said: I agree with you that Crews should not have been hired after that first year he filled in for RM but people like us were drowned out by the "but he was National Coach of the Year" people who thought the school had no choice but to hire him - I said nonsense then and nonsense still. This also why you have some say you can't move on from Ford because he has a 600 winning %. I am not trying to get the guy fired but I am saying we have to have higher aspirations. Wining the A10 or at least coming in second and getting a bid now and then to the Dance is not asking too much in my humble opinion. Nah. the school with the basketball palace and 5k-per-seat prices should be happy to wallow in the muck with LaSalle and Fordham. #teamblue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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