Game 10 - December 13 - Omaha

[orangetennis]

3 bench points is concerning

Starters all played 30+ minutes tonight, nobody else reached 15. Wonder if that was a matchup thing, or has Jake found his group?

[7YrsOfCollegeDownTheDrain]

my take from in the building - UNO was athletic and physical. Shot well from 3 in streaks. We shot terribly for a bulk of the first half but we attacked the basket and got to the line and stayed in the game and when a few shots finally fell late in the first stretched out a lead and never really looked back. UNO had another run in the second...got it to 11 or 12 from 20 but we held that off.

Hutty did get bailed out on the one foul, the other where he was behind the basked was a more legit call but he was way out of position, but otherwise he was aggressive and got us plenty of points. Hornseth gave us a typical night, good effort on D, limited on O but he looks like he has a skill set that will develop. Bond and Tytan were aggressive and attacked the basket all night. Trey got good looks and started knocking them down and the team never looked back.

Losing RJ cost us a good ball handler but in the small sample the longer lineup is better defensively. Max is a serviceable back up PG. For the first time in a long time we're a team attacking the basket. For the last 4-6 years seemed like we just settled for jumpshots and we lived and died by our 3 point shooting. This team looks and feels different it is defending better and going at the rim.

I hope Pock can start to see some shots go down, it would be nice to have him be a reliable catch and shoot guy.

Now the real thing is we need to do it against better competition as conference play rolls around. Its hard to shake the memory of those thanksgiving games in Orlando.

[BCPanther]

Starters all played 30+ minutes tonight, nobody else reached 15. Wonder if that was a matchup thing, or has Jake found his group?

He talked in the pod this week about metrics mattering and talking with the guys about them.

It was all about making sure that the margin was good enough to move up.

[Panther Fan]

It was all about making sure that the margin was good enough to move up.

To what end? Honest question. I listened to pod and was confused why he’d be focused on this as we have no where near an at-large non-con resume. Is it a view towards a recruiting resume?

[06panther10]

To what end? Honest question. I listened to pod and was confused why he’d be focused on this as we have no where near an at-large non-con resume. Is it a view towards a recruiting resume?

no kidding, we could basically win every single game the rest of the year and we still aren’t getting an at-large.

[MVCBeat]

I predict we are going to take some frustrating losses in league play playing like we did the first fifteen minutes, and get some big wins playing like we did the next ten minutes.

[Wxcpanther]

To what end? Honest question. I listened to pod and was confused why he’d be focused on this as we have no where near an at-large non-con resume. Is it a view towards a recruiting resume?

Improved metrics are good for the league, and would lessen the blow when UNI beats a team like Drake or Bradley who are both certainly in position for an at large bid. Thus when UNI wins 3 games in 3 days in St.Louis, the league is still in a spot for multiple bids, which is great for the entire league. Also, UNI is at 84 in the NET this morning with # 65 Washington State a week from today, and 4 matchups against # 56 Bradley and #43 Drake. An at large bid is absolutely not out of the question.

[BCPanther]

Improved metrics are good for the league, and would lessen the blow when UNI beats a team like Drake or Bradley who are both certainly in position for an at large bid. Thus when UNI wins 3 games in 3 days in St.Louis, the league is still in a spot for multiple bids, which is great for the entire league. Also, UNI is at 84 in the NET this morning with # 65 Washington State a week from today, and 4 matchups against # 56 Bradley and #43 Drake. An at large bid is absolutely not out of the question.

We can't get one but the league can. It's important for the league to have as many Q3 games turn into Q2 games as possible and that's why it's crucial to have at least 3 or 4 teams in the Top 100 and games at our place become Q1 if we're in the top 75.

That way losses to us don't hurt at all

['70 Grad]

Trey Campbell looked very solid on defense, ball-handling, and shooting last night. I must give him his due. Showed why Jake was complimentary to him over the years. I have changed my mind about him - not just a CF product that we could get. Anyone else warming up to him? Hope he is capable of 34 minutes at both ends this season.

In the arena, I was going nuts about our poor free throw shooting - even the makes were inconsistent. Thought our percentage was similar to the blind-folded kid doing the contest. Then I heard the box score. I guess it wasn't too bad after all. The number of fouls was not balanced between teams, and their coach was not happy. However, his team was quite rough - not just grabbing, but tangling arms - and more could have been called.

[Wxcpanther]

Trey Campbell looked very solid on defense, ball-handling, and shooting last night. I must give him his due. Showed why Jake was complimentary to him over the years. I have changed my mind about him - not just a CF product that we could get. Anyone else warming up to him? Hope he is capable of 34 minutes at both ends this season.

In the arena, I was going nuts about our poor free throw shooting - even the makes were inconsistent. Thought our percentage was similar to the blind-folded kid doing the contest. Then I heard the box score. I guess it wasn't too bad after all. The number of fouls was not balanced between teams, and their coach was not happy. However, his team was quite rough - not just grabbing, but tangling arms - and more could have been called.

Hutty had 2 or 3 instances where he went 1/2, but largely it was very good. I agree, didn't realize we had shot that many, or that we had actually shot it that well. Their team was incredibly physical, which was part of the reason we had a bit of a slow start, and why they kinda kept hanging around and got back into it a bit in the second half. I'd be surprised if they weren't a factor in the Summit.

[PantherAlum09]

I think Omaha was a case where their KenPom ranking didn't exactly fit what kind of team they really were. They were pretty tough and it's plenty easy to see how they could have a few upsets in the Summit if they get the three ball going more consistently.

In most games where the foul discrepancy is that huge, it seems like one team is really getting away with something, but they were fouling all night. They could've called another handful just for the reach ins on all of our ball handlers. They are very aggressive on defense and I imagine they will have some games with missing whistles where they will benefit greatly.

The usuals were all very good again. Ty, Hutty, Trey, Leon, and Ben. We really need Kyle and Max to start picking it up a bit. Max just still doesn't look very comfortable on offense. The speed is obviously bothering him. I think Kyle was starting to look better before he smashed his face. I'm hoping as he heals up he will get back on track again. Sounds like Schmitt won't be back until at least January so we have to get some guys contributing in the meantime.

One big thing I have noticed about this team... In the past when we would struggle offensively, our only way out was to hit some threes. We just didn't have the personnel to get close to the hoop. Between Ty, Ben, and Leon, we have a few guys who can go make something happen when the offense is really stagnant. That also opens stuff up outside. Our ability to get the ball inside turned into three straight 3's to really open it up last night. That's going to be big in league play, and I just hope this defense continues. The length and athleticism is noticeable.

[Username]

Wonder if Jake figured Born probably wouldn't play much next year anyway and decided to get experience this year instead when there's a better chance. Though the patience for guys could be lower in the new era as well.

Trey needs to look like the team's best player most nights and he has done well these last 3. Not trying to skip Montana, but it would be nice to knock off Washington State to end the non con and beat a team in our weight class.

[06panther10]

I think Omaha was a case where their KenPom ranking didn't exactly fit what kind of team they really were. They were pretty tough and it's plenty easy to see how they could have a few upsets in the Summit if they get the three ball going more consistently.

In most games where the foul discrepancy is that huge, it seems like one team is really getting away with something, but they were fouling all night. They could've called another handful just for the reach ins on all of our ball handlers. They are very aggressive on defense and I imagine they will have some games with missing whistles where they will benefit greatly.

The usuals were all very good again. Ty, Hutty, Trey, Leon, and Ben. We really need Kyle and Max to start picking it up a bit. Max just still doesn't look very comfortable on offense. The speed is obviously bothering him. I think Kyle was starting to look better before he smashed his face. I'm hoping as he heals up he will get back on track again. Sounds like Schmitt won't be back until at least January so we have to get some guys contributing in the meantime.

One big thing I have noticed about this team... In the past when we would struggle offensively, our only way out was to hit some threes. We just didn't have the personnel to get close to the hoop. Between Ty, Ben, and Leon, we have a few guys who can go make something happen when the offense is really stagnant. That also opens stuff up outside. Our ability to get the ball inside turned into three straight 3's to really open it up last night. That's going to be big in league play, and I just hope this defense continues. The length and athleticism is noticeable.

That is a good point about our team strategy with regard to shooting. My hope is that our highly paid coaching staff can recognize this and try to use our strengths to our advantage.

[BCPanther]

The ball moves again.

We had 6 years of AJ/Born pounding it into the floor. Sometimes that was great, sometimes it was, um, less than great.

Do what we need to do against Montana Monday and then see if we can't get Wazzu. That would be a great springboard into league play.

Bradley is a fraud and Drake is going to figure out that the grind is just a bit different at this level.

[NormStewart]

In the past when we would struggle offensively, our only way out was to hit some threes. We just didn't have the personnel to get close to the hoop. Between Ty, Ben, and Leon, we have a few guys who can go make something happen when the offense is really stagnant. That also opens stuff up outside. Our ability to get the ball inside turned into three straight 3's to really open it up last night. That's going to be big in league play, and I just hope this defense continues. The length and athleticism is noticeable.

Good point. All our rotation players this year (now that RJ's out) are hitting at least 37% on threes. 40% as a team vs 35% last year, maybe that's due to better penetration.