The Wiz Posted January 3 Posted January 3 A big win against Fham. It is a big win because we beat a C+ team at their place by a big amount. Because of parity ( lots of teams bunched together due to similar data) when you beat a similar team you jump up in the ratings. The Bills went up a almost full letter grade by beating Fham. In the old days the only way you could move up a full letter grade in 1 game was to beat an elite team. Because of parity , the season isn't over till it's over. A few weeks ago, I posted in my Beginning of the Season review that our first goal was to get to a grade of B. We are now a B- team. That means we are close to being in a position to compete for the top 4 spots in the A10. If we can get to and stay in the B position, it means that we can compete with anyone in the league. Ideally between now and the end of the season we need to move up 2 more steps to B+ to give ourselves the best chance at the A10 tourney. Look, we are not going to win all the games in conference but neither is anyone else. The fact that we got to this level quickly shows we have the potential to win. We could take another big step up in the game against St. J. Let's see what we are up against... Game preview... St. J is a better team than Fordham...this will be a tougher game. Yet, the computer doesn't just say we could win the game...it says we are the favorite in this game. We also have something we haven't had so far this season ...some momentum...we are trending up. That trend started after the GC loss. While we lost that game in the final second on a freak play at their place, the computer saw that we were good enough to win. GC could be a top 4 team in the A10. St. J is rated about the same as GC in my system. This game will be like a 2nd chance at GC. Let's win it this time. Both offenses come in at C+... our defense has improved but is still lagging at C-. St. J comes in at B- on their defense. But we can make some of that up by pressuring them as they turn the ball over more than we do. We can also make up some ground on the boards....cut down on TOs and 2nd chances... and we can win. We have been playing short handed this season . Well now the Hawks have lost a couple of players and some of their depth. Let's look at the Card and see what's up.... Report Card.... Report Card change....5 up...0 dn...4 unchanged = +5...a refreshing change ...no down categories UP.....OFF....PPG.....FT%...DEF....FG%...PPG...Reb Dn....OFF...none....DEF...none ................SLU..................St.J.....................SLU......................St.J ...........................OFF...................................................DEF.......... PPG...........B-..................C+...........................C..........................B FG%..........B+..................C+..........................C+........................B+ 3P%...........B...................C+...........................D+.........................B FT%..........F.....................B+.................................................................. Reb............C...................C+............................D..........................C+ OFF Rebs = total Bills rebs...DEF Rebs = opp total reb Top 100 In The Nation SLU... PPG...Jimerson ....46th...up ..........Swope.........82nd....dn ..........Avila............76th...up 3PM......Jimerson...26th...up ..............Swope........49th...dn Reb....Anya...........19th...dn Asst...Swope...46th...up FG%...Anya.....91st...up St. J... Rebs...Fleming...34th Blks...Fleming...75th FT%...Brown ...37th ..........Reynolds ...62nd Injuries SLU Player Status/Updated Notes Amari McCottry G Ques Fri - Back - 1/1/25 McCottry is battling a back injury, and it is undetermined if he will suit up against Saint Joseph's Hawks on Friday. AJ Casey F Ques Fri - Undisclosed - 12/31/24 Casey is nursing an undisclosed injury, and it is undetermined if he will dress against Saint Joseph's Hawks on Friday. Josiah Dotzler G out of season - Knee - 11/26/24 Dotzler has been sidelined with a knee injury, and he is likely to miss the remainder of the season. St. J Player Status/Updated Notes Khaafiq Myers G Ques Fri - Knee - 12/31/24 Khaafiq is nursing with a knee injury, and it is unclear if he will dress against Saint Louis Billikens on Friday. Steven Solano C Out indefinitely - Personal - 12/31/24 Solano will miss an undetermined length of time with a personal matter, and there is no timetable for return. Keys to the game....The Bills need to play like they did against Fham...offense and defense for 40 min...wash, rinse, repeat and win. This game looks like a back and forth close contest all night. If we can shoot 73.3% from the charity stripe that should make up for our FT deficiency. WWN2D2W.....Target slash 49 / 36 / 73....Rebs even... win TOs by 1...either we hold them to 72 pts or we score a Shack Shake (80pts)....Hold Reynolds, Fleming and Brown to 39 pts....Do not give Brown and Reynolds more than 5 FTA. Bottom line..There will be no flappin...just high 5 slappin....we will receive our fame ...when we win the game. gobillsgo, CenHudDude, JettFlight5 and 2 others 5 Quote
The Wiz Posted January 3 Author Posted January 3 I have updated the spread...Bills by 2 CenHudDude 1 Quote
The Wiz Posted January 4 Author Posted January 4 A sweet win...in front of the largest crowd of the season... on national TV...The Bills played their best ball of the year. Let's see what happened...bolded statements from original post. We could take another big step up in the game against St. J...we could and we did. We also have something we haven't had so far this season ...some momentum...we are trending up...yes we are and the trend continues... offense and defense for 40 min...Yes Target slash 49 / 36 / 73..This was the key to the win...actual...49/32/71...we missed the slash by one 3p shot....pretty good. In addition...excellent defense led to a 33/ 15/ 73...the key was their 3 pt shooting was down nearly 60 %...they shot 9% in the 2nd half. Had they had an average game they would have scored an additional five 3s...the difference in the game. In summary...our slash allowed us to win the game, their slash allowed us to blow them out. Rebs even...We beat them by 3...including by 9 on the DRB...excellent. either we hold them to 72 pts or we score a Shack Shake (80pts)...I will take the 72 and another checkmark. Reynolds, Fleming and Brown to 39 pts...They scored 35pt...more good D....Do not give Brown and Reynolds more than 5 FTA...We gave them 4 extra FTA which resulted in 4 extra pts but because we held their best scorers to a 4 pt deficit in the previous statement, it was a wash. And because we neatly matched them in FT shooting , again there was no damage. Bottom line..There will be no flappin...just high 5 slappin....we will receive our fame ...when we win the game...The fame will be the jump in rankings. CenHudDude, billikenbill and Bay Area Billiken 3 Quote
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