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Post by crusadermoe on Feb 12, 2011 22:24:01 GMT -5
Agree. It is a W and that's all that counts. We are controlling our own destiny quite well.
Will be really fun to see what we do in Wisconsin. You have to like our chances if we split that trip. Would be great to get it done vs. Milwaukee and relax just a bit mentally for Mo. State.
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Post by valpofan56 on Feb 12, 2011 22:28:59 GMT -5
If Duggins had not turned the ball over and instead hit a shot at the end, the loss would have been 100% on Homer. Putting Buggs INTO the game on offensive in a close one was one of the dumbest coaching moves I've ever seen. What the hell did he think was going to happen?
All that being said, HUGE win! This sweep of WSU is big for possible seeding in the event of a tie. The only possible huge negative I could see happening from this point is if we lose to Milwaukee and they stay red hot and only lose to CSU and end up finishing in 3rd. That would be bad. One very easy way to prevent that from happening though, beat Milwaukee!
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Post by drewsaders11 on Feb 12, 2011 22:33:25 GMT -5
Important stats, in my opinion: - Johnson took no three pointers...he had opportunities, but didn't.
- Taking Buggs out of the equation, FT's were 12-14 (.857). Even with him, 13-19 (.684 vs. there .636. ) was just enough.
- Our two point shots, mentioned on the blog a few days ago, were 15-25, 60%, which will increase our already very high percentage. I attribute this to taking many, many shots late in the possession, and making the extra pass whenever available (13 assists out of 20 made baskets (65% vs. 6/19, or 32% for WSU)
Another interesting facet I found in this game was the foul on Buggs with over a minute left in a one possession game. I would think other teams start adopting this strategy. It was extremely surprising at the time, but Homer may need to recognize this will occur more and more, and respond accordingly, with putting in Harris. Good home stand. Lets get a win at Milwaukee, keep our momentum going vs. Mo. St., and finish this out. Good game.
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Post by bbtds on Feb 12, 2011 22:43:58 GMT -5
Another interesting facet I found in this game was the foul on Buggs with over a minute left in a one possession game. I would think other teams start adopting this strategy. It was extremely surprising at the time, but Homer may need to recognize this will occur more and more, and respond accordingly, with putting in Harris. What do you mean surprising? Many posters saw this coming 2 to 3 games ago. What do you mean Homer may need to recognize this will occur? If Homer doesn't get Buggs out of the game at the end with Valpo on offense then Valpo loses. It will happen! Milwaukee will surely see the effectiveness of this strategy. At least Buggs can't bring the ball up the floor.
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Post by valpofan56 on Feb 12, 2011 22:44:37 GMT -5
Another interesting facet I found in this game was the foul on Buggs with over a minute left in a one possession game. I would think other teams start adopting this strategy. It was extremely surprising at the time, but Homer may need to recognize this will occur more and more, and respond accordingly, with putting in Harris. The foul on Buggs was in no way surprising. Anybody with half an ounce of basketball knowledge should have known exactly what was going to happen.
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Post by milanmiracle on Feb 12, 2011 22:50:26 GMT -5
Buggs is a complete and total liability in the last few minutes of the game. I hope Homer realizes this BEFORE the Horizon League tournament, because if not the results could be disasterous.
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Post by stlvufan on Feb 12, 2011 22:58:30 GMT -5
I can't argue a bit with the comments about Buggs being inserted for offense. Inserted for defense? I'm fine with that. But Jay Harris for offense, please.
How very 2008 of these Crusaders! Raider fans must be having horrible flashbacks on the long bus ride home... For those who may not remember, all 3 games we had last year went down to the wire, and all 3 were heartbreakers for WSU.
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Post by jerome1 on Feb 12, 2011 23:05:44 GMT -5
I can't argue a bit with the comments about Buggs being inserted for offense. Inserted for defense? I'm fine with that. But Jay Harris for offense, please. Jay Harris is only in the game to get fouled not for offense. Jay makes FT's. Buggs does not. Period. I think you meant to say all 3 games we had in 2008 went down to the wire.
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Post by drewsaders11 on Feb 12, 2011 23:06:38 GMT -5
I say it was surprising because it was a 3 point game, with 1:12 left. it is surprising because there is a good chance (as a 33% FT shooter) that Buggs makes at least one free throw. Yes, he is a very bad free throw shooter. But to completely put your faith in him missing as a coach, and not trust in your defense to make a stop and get possession back with about 50 seconds down 3, was surprising to me. You may disagree, but I thought it was surprising.
And yes, Homer WILL need to recognize that Buggs is a liability. Obviously, he does because he is intelligent...my initial comment about Homer was probably not worthwhile.
However, I still think it was surprising to foul when down three. If they were only down 1 or even 2, it wouldn't have been as surprising (it still would have stayed one possession with one make), but it worked out well for Wright State at the time, and better for us with the outcome.
Additionally, the balance of this team from game to game is remarkable. Broekhoff only had one after his amazing game Thu, but Little stepped up with a quiet 17. Amazing.
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Post by valpospartan on Feb 12, 2011 23:07:39 GMT -5
I don't get why we put Buggs in for offensive purposes in a close game at the end... You and me, too.
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Post by lowposter on Feb 12, 2011 23:10:58 GMT -5
What a game. While the Norris Cole of Cleveland STate all but assured himself of PoY, Vaughan Duggins is a load. He can just flat out play. We were lucky the last two defensive stops. We dodged yet another free throw/Eric Buggs bullet tonight. This young man is so valuable to this team for the first 38 minutes of a game, but... I really thought Homer made a couple of mistakes down the stretch - lets not even discuss the Buggs in the game situation, that is really obvious. We really dont generate much offense holding the ball to the 10 second mark and then starting a set. WSU just dug in an denied the passing lanes, that were there in the first 30 minutes of the game. By holding the ball until 10 seconds, the defense only must defend 10 seconds. We dont have the penetration ability (other than Buggs and he cant be in the game) to break things down. Second, we went really passive against their 1-3-1 defense they showed for the one possession. I dont care if you have to burn a timeout, we were not prepared for it and the possession was critical. Other than that, Homer has done a great job with this team. The passing is just absolutely crisp and unselfish. How in the world did Howard get open so much for those layups? This team puts on a passing clinic when they are clicking. We got into trouble at about the 8-10 minute mark with a couple of turnovers off of attempting to do too much off of the dribble. Our inability to have a low post presence down the stretch hurt us. Cory is a very effective offensive player, but primarily facing the basket. The officiating for the first time since we have been in the HL seems to be giving us the benefit of the doubt. Evenly called game, perhaps we got a couple of breaks. It has taken quite awhile for us to get this respect. Finally...the crowd was disappointing. First place in the HL in the second weekend of February in a must have game and this is all we could draw. No local HS games other than girls sectional finals, the weather was well above freezing, and a quality opponent - there should have been over 4000 in attendance. lowposter
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Post by lowposter on Feb 12, 2011 23:15:17 GMT -5
Official attendance listed as 4533. Hmmmmm. Sure.
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Post by drewsaders11 on Feb 12, 2011 23:17:59 GMT -5
Interesting posts from Wright St's forum about the game:
"Valpo's mascot is hideous." "I love the way Valpo's players move without the ball. They get a lot of back door passes for easy shots. I wish we moved the ball like that." "All of those missed FTs are killing us." (We aren't the only ones in that boat). "Hello middle of the pack in the HL. This will drop us from 3rd to 5th place." "That was tough loss to swallow. Only if we could have finished the game a better. I will say Valpo does the best job of running an offense in the league. They are the best at always looking for the open man and getting clean, open looks."
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Post by bigdwsu on Feb 12, 2011 23:22:41 GMT -5
Interesting posts from Wright St's forum about the game: "Valpo's mascot is hideous." "I love the way Valpo's players move without the ball. They get a lot of back door passes for easy shots. I wish we moved the ball like that." "All of those missed FTs are killing us." (We aren't the only ones in that boat). "Hello middle of the pack in the HL. This will drop us from 3rd to 5th place." "That was tough loss to swallow. Only if we could have finished the game a better. I will say Valpo does the best job of running an offense in the league. They are the best at always looking for the open man and getting clean, open looks." I agree with all of the comments especially about the mascot Good game tonight. It really is enjoyable to watch your team's ball movement. Good luck the rest of the year.
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Post by leftcoast on Feb 12, 2011 23:28:21 GMT -5
Should a player who is only capable of making 33% of his free throws be playing Division 1 basketball?
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