The Wiz Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Just 1 shot away from a win (and the exact spread). Sometimes you ask yourself ...how could we lose that game? If you are one of those people then check the post game review on the GM spread thread to find out how that happened. The Bills continue to move sideways on their base line as once again we did pretty much what we were supposed to do to the top ranked team. We didn't win but we came within 1 shot of the shot of the 1st place team. As I pointed out in an earlier thread, we peaked after the 1st St. J game and have been moving sideways since. What is also happening is the trend line is also moving sideways now. The good news is that it is still above the base line which means we still have upside/ unrealized potential. If we don't start playing a little better and realize that upside potential it will start to fade and we will remain at this level going forward...ie win one, lose one mode. One of the issues keeping us from realizing that potential is lack of depth. When you have 5 players playing most of the minutes , this leads to fatigue. Not only during the game but during the season as it progresses. That fatigue can lead to missed shots that you normally make...unforced errors/careless passes or TOs ...loss of focus. And finally it can keep you from reaching your potential. The 2 lines are still apart (don't cross the streams) so there is still upside left but we need to start moving up again by exceeding the spreads. Game preview.... We come into this game as a B team...Loy is a B-. The offenses are pretty even but we have the advantage on defense. This should be another close, down to the wire, low scoring, defensive struggle. We need to make shots (target slash) and keep the FGAs close to even (within a few). Rubin (6' 10") is their planter. He plants himself under the basket and sinks bunnies. On the other end, he plants himself and swats away shots. Don't give him free reign at either end. If we do what we are supposed to do (see WWN2D2W), we can win this game. Top 4... VCU, GM, SLU, Day, St. J....as mentioned in the last thread , we are in a 3 team race for 3rd and 4th place. We move on to another crucial game in trying to secure a top 4 spot. Crucial again because Loy is right on our heals. A win would be a blow to their top 4 hopes and put us a step closer to a double bye. Report Card.... Report Card change....2 up...3 dn...4 unchanged = -1 UP.....OFF....Reb....DEF....FG% Dn....OFF....3P%....FT%...DEF........3P% ................SLU................Loy.................SLU........................Loy ...........................OFF...........................................DEF.......... PPG...........C-..................C-.......................B-............................B FG%..........B+.................B.........................A-............................B- 3P%..........C-..................B-.......................A-.............................C+ FT%..........F+.................F+........................................................ Reb............C+................C-........................D-.............................B+ OFF Rebs = total Bills rebs...DEF Rebs = opp total reb Top 100 In The Nation SLU... 2P%....Team.........2nd.....up...tied with 'Bama the # 1 scoring team ITN...we are in good company here Asst....Swope........73rd...dn 3PM......Jimerson...62nd...dn ..............Swope.......42nd...up Reb....Anya............31st...up FG%...Anya..........37th ...up 2P%....Anya.........37th...up Loy... 2P%...Rubin......7th FG%...Rubin...19th Blks...Rubin....18th 3P%...Edwards...75th Injuries... SLU... Casey & Dotzler...OFTS Thames...Ques....2/12/25...undisclosed GM Moore...G...OFTS...12/17 24/... Leg Keys to the game....Even up FGAs...make 3s WWN2D2W..... Target slash 48/36/73......keep them under 70 pts...Beat them with POTs (Points Off Turnovers )....out reb them by 1...Hold Watson, Edwards and Dawson to 30 pts combined...Hold Rubin to 6 pts and 1 blk...Match them in FGAs. Bottom line....Valentines Day......Wouldn't you LOVE to ramble to a win. TheChosenOne 1 Quote
73Billiken Posted February 13 Posted February 13 Missed layups, turnovers, out rebounded and missing the front end of 1 & 1s.................it's always just a little bit short. A 1 point win is exciting but I would rather be bored with 10-15 point wins. Quote
HoosierPal Posted February 13 Posted February 13 We control our own destiny with two games left against Loyola + one with Dayton. @studurando George Mason and VCU now appear to have a firm grasp on the top two spots in the Atlantic 10. The battle for the remaining top four spots and a double bye in the tournament is a jumble: SLU 7-5 Dayton 7-5 Loyola 6-5 St. Joseph’s 6-5 9:22 AM · Feb 13, 2025 CenHudDude 1 Quote
The Wiz Posted February 13 Author Posted February 13 Strategy for the rest of the season......just win the next game... Bay Area Billiken 1 Quote
Lord Elrond Posted February 13 Posted February 13 33 minutes ago, The Wiz said: Strategy for the rest of the season......just win the next game... If only we had followed that strategy from game 1 of the conference schedule… The Wiz 1 Quote
laker119 Posted February 13 Posted February 13 5 hours ago, HoosierPal said: We control our own destiny with two games left against Loyola + one with Dayton. @studurando George Mason and VCU now appear to have a firm grasp on the top two spots in the Atlantic 10. The battle for the remaining top four spots and a double bye in the tournament is a jumble: SLU 7-5 Dayton 7-5 Loyola 6-5 St. Joseph’s 6-5 9:22 AM · Feb 13, 2025 A win in Dayton would be an unexpected surprise, let’s be honest. We should go 5-1 (sweep Loy, beat RI, Duq, and Dav) rest of the way, if we play how we should. I’d like to think that’s good enough to stay in top 4. If Robbie has turned a corner, that record should be more than achievable. MusicCityBilliken and CenHudDude 2 Quote
longtimelistenerfirsttimec Posted February 14 Posted February 14 i will be at game so i game so i hope your right (more than achievable?) bills have no bench leading scorer has very bad ankle and the feeling is that this team will win easy on the road see you in chicago! Quote
WVBilliken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 Come on guys, bring a win home for Otis, in Chi-town! You can do it! Quote
Lord Elrond Posted February 14 Posted February 14 6 minutes ago, WVBilliken said: Come on guys, bring a win home for Otis, in Chi-town! You can do it! Post this photo in the locker room! Win one for Otis! CenHudDude 1 Quote
Adman Posted February 14 Posted February 14 44 minutes ago, longtimelistenerfirsttimec said: i will be at game so i game so i hope your right (more than achievable?) bills have no bench leading scorer has very bad ankle and the feeling is that this team will win easy on the road see you in chicago! SLU's alumni team is throwing a pre-game party. $30 admission. This was really good last year. Same location. On campus, it overlooks Lake Michigan. Very short walk to the game. I'll be there. https://alumni.slu.edu/s/1264/17/interior.aspx?sid=1264&gid=1&pgid=8724&cid=13962&ecid=13962&crid=0&calpgid=413&calcid=8723 Quote
The Wiz Posted February 14 Author Posted February 14 7 hours ago, laker119 said: A win in Dayton would be an unexpected surprise, let’s be honest. We should go 5-1 (sweep Loy, beat RI, Duq, and Dav) rest of the way, if we play how we should. I’d like to think that’s good enough to stay in top 4. If Robbie has turned a corner, that record should be more than achievable. 12 victories should take 4th place. The computer is showing 3-1-2 right now with 2 games as tossups at this point...so 5 more wins are possible. Quote
The Wiz Posted February 14 Author Posted February 14 4 hours ago, Lord Elrond said: Post this photo in the locker room! Win one for Otis! W 1 4 O O 14 Win 1 4 Otis On 14 (Feb) CenHudDude and Lord Elrond 2 Quote
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 LInes: ESPN Loyola Chicago -2.5, o140.5; ESPN Matchup Predictor has Loyola Chicago with 66.1 chance of winning; CBS Sports Loyola Chicago -2.5, o140. Quote
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 https://x.com/jonrothstein/status/1890357569765482549?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw Adman 1 Quote
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 SLU and its 5 Ironmen challenge Coach Drew Valentine and his ‘Blers on St. Valentine’s Day in Chicago … https://x.com/augienash/status/1890385000836788442?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw Quote
Cowboy II Posted February 14 Posted February 14 56 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said: https://x.com/jonrothstein/status/1890357569765482549?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw -I wonder the reaction from CJS to the stat Rothstein advances, is it just a slump or is it something else Quote
HoosierPal Posted February 14 Posted February 14 12 minutes ago, Cowboy II said: -I wonder the reaction from CJS to the stat Rothstein advances, is it just a slump or is it something else The game against George Mason results were clearly due to Gibson's ankle. He didn't have his normal lift on his shots. Before that, who knows. In addition, both Durando and Timmermann report that Swope's ankle continues to bother him, to the extent that he doesn't participate in full practices. Gibson is shooting 29.5% from the arc in 12 conference games and Swope is shooting 32.1% from the arc. Quote
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 2 hours ago, HoosierPal said: The game against George Mason results were clearly due to Gibson's ankle. He didn't have his normal lift on his shots. Before that, who knows. In addition, both Durando and Timmermann report that Swope's ankle continues to bother him, to the extent that he doesn't participate in full practices. Gibson is shooting 29.5% from the arc in 12 conference games and Swope is shooting 32.1% from the arc. One wonders if too many minutes for both JImerson and Swope, both by necessity with the slim bench, are taking their toll. almaman 1 Quote
CenHudDude Posted February 14 Posted February 14 3 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said: SLU and its 5 Ironmen challenge Coach Drew Valentine and his ‘Blers on St. Valentine’s Day in Chicago … https://x.com/augienash/status/1890385000836788442?s=46&t=jikm5nKg-NlIUjy2c9C9zw Was Fred “Killer” Burke in the SLU class of 1899? Quote
Bay Area Billiken Posted February 14 Posted February 14 14 minutes ago, CenHudDude said: Was Fred “Killer” Burke in the SLU class of 1899? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Burke Also, in 1991 the infamous St. Patrick's Day (as opposed to St. Valentine's Day) Massacre occurred (3/17/91) between the St. Louis Blues and hated Chicago Blackhawks at the old Chicago Stadium. Multiple brawls broke out. Those were the days, my friends. CenHudDude 1 Quote
The Wiz Posted February 15 Author Posted February 15 Another one we should have won slipped away. The good news was that we out rebounded them.... Came within 1 on FGA So what went wrong ? Shooting ...our shooting and their shooting. 2 Loy players each shot 67% from the arc. Generally, if you shoot above 38% , it is considered an A+....They had together an extra five 3s...15 extra pts....on our side of the ledger, here is our target slash...48/36/73...and here is the actual...42/ 38 / 83. We got 2 of 3 which is great because we have been struggling from the arc and shooting F+ from the FT line. So the problem is with the 1st number...breaking that down further ...we shot 46% from 2... What is especially painfully about that number is we average over 60% a game from 2. We are 2nd in the nation in 2P%...it is what we do best....we are missing four 2s from an average night. We make those 2s and we make not only our 2P average but our target slash too....Missing 8pts. In the last 2 games there have been 3 players who all have shot 67% from 3. And we are not talking about 2of 3 stuff. We are talking about 18-27....done by players who have averaged 32.7% from the arc....kind of like throwing a 12 at a crap table...3 times in a row. Other areas...Our old friend TOs...More specifically, POTs...we lost this battle 15 to 7pts....and many of these TOs were careless.... gave away an extra 8 pts...also we can't over look the blocks... 7 of their 8 blks came from 2 players , the block brothers ...who average 3 /gm combined. Whether you want to figure it on the 8 blocks or the difference in blocks , we gave up 3-5 baskets...6-8pts. I will let you mix and match the above extra pts to figure out the many ways we could have won. Bottom line...We should have won this game. I guess Loyola lived up to their name tonight...LUC...They were certainly LUC-key. Quote
CenHudDude Posted February 15 Posted February 15 8 hours ago, The Wiz said: Another one we should have won slipped away. The good news was that we out rebounded them.... Came within 1 on FGA So what went wrong ? Shooting ...our shooting and their shooting. 2 Loy players each shot 67% from the arc. Generally, if you shoot above 38% , it is considered an A+....They had together an extra five 3s...15 extra pts....on our side of the ledger, here is our target slash...48/36/73...and here is the actual...42/ 38 / 83. We got 2 of 3 which is great because we have been struggling from the arc and shooting F+ from the FT line. So the problem is with the 1st number...breaking that down further ...we shot 46% from 2... What is especially painfully about that number is we average over 60% a game from 2. We are 2nd in the nation in 2P%...it is what we do best....we are missing four 2s from an average night. We make those 2s and we make not only our 2P average but our target slash too....Missing 8pts. In the last 2 games there have been 3 players who all have shot 67% from 3. And we are not talking about 2of 3 stuff. We are talking about 18-27....done by players who have averaged 32.7% from the arc....kind of like throwing a 12 at a crap table...3 times in a row. Other areas...Our old friend TOs...More specifically, POTs...we lost this battle 15 to 7pts....and many of these TOs were careless.... gave away an extra 8 pts...also we can't over look the blocks... 7 of their 8 blks came from 2 players , the block brothers ...who average 3 /gm combined. Whether you want to figure it on the 8 blocks or the difference in blocks , we gave up 3-5 baskets...6-8pts. I will let you mix and match the above extra pts to figure out the many ways we could have won. Bottom line...We should have won this game. I guess Loyola lived up to their name tonight...LUC...They were certainly LUC-key. Rubin’s presence in the post affected our layups and put backs. Quote
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