Game 16 - January 8 - Murray State

[Fran McCrabby]

ya I think Bond would've been my pick for the last shot with his turn around jumper. You know Ferguson was going to guard Ty, but yes I do think Ferguson got by with one. Weisbrod shot decision sometimes????

[unifan]

I really wish we knew how to draw up a play instead of, "hey, give him the ball and get it off the way." I love Ty, but that's a horrible call.

Let him barrel down the lane and pray the foul gets called. Fitting to end the way it did.

[Stebs Amusements]

No foul called on final drive to the basket. Loss at home in a mostly empty McLeod Center. Not a good look.

[orangetennis]

Good fight from the team to battle back from down double digits TWICE to gain a lead with under a minute to go. Without our star big man at that. But back to back losses after a 3-0 start is really disappointing.

[unifan]

Is there ever a situation where Jake gets into the hot seat?

Also, even with whatever new roster pieces we do have this year, we are still always at a disadvantage with other Valley teams in regards to just having pure athletes on the floor that can produce.

[BCPanther]

Tonight is how you end up 12-8 ever single year...

[QCPanther05]

Is there ever a situation where Jake gets into the hot seat?

Also, even with whatever new roster pieces we do have this year, we are still always at a disadvantage with other Valley teams in regards to just having pure athletes on the floor that can produce.

I doubt it. He’s peaked though, so he has nowhere else to go. We’re 15 years removed since our Kansas win and closing in on 10 years since our last NCAA tournament appearance. We’re not a nationally relevant mid-major program anymore. Most coach’s seats would be scorching by now but he’s found a way to keep his nice and cool. And it will probably stay that way until he is coaching his grandkids out there.

[CyCarp]

I doubt it. He’s peaked though, so he has nowhere else to go. We’re 15 years removed since our Kansas win and closing in on 10 years since our last NCAA tournament appearance. We’re not a nationally relevant mid-major program anymore. Most coach’s seats would be scorching by now but he’s found a way to keep his nice and cool. And it will probably stay that way until he is coaching his grandkids out there.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see Jake as the guy who's going to stay around forever. He's struggled to adjust to the portal, something I think he hates. The program has been very underwhelming most of the last decade. He's got 4 years on his contract after this season. If we aren't dancing in those seasons and Tut (imo, the clear heir to the throne) is ready, which he will be, Tut will be the HC in the fall of 2029. That's my bold prediction for the evening.

[QCPanther05]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see Jake as the guy who's going to stay around forever. He's struggled to adjust to the portal, something I think he hates. The program has been very underwhelming most of the last decade. He's got 4 years on his contract after this season. If we aren't dancing in those seasons and Tut (imo, the clear heir to the throne) is ready, which he will be, Tut will be the HC in the fall of 2029. That's my bold prediction for the evening.

I think that’s a fair take. There are so many older football and basketball coaches out there who are stubbornly resisting the changes in college athletics. They’re so arrogant that they think they can coach around these changes. They can’t. And they quickly have turned into dinosaurs. Tuttle will probably be more receptive of those changes.

[PantherAlum09]

That was a tough game again. We put it together in bursts but can't consistently do it for a game. This has been a problem for a long time. I thought the effort on defense was actually pretty good tonight. There were at least 4 or 5 shot clock violations. Murray shot the 3 well, but we were usually flying around and in the right spots. Murray has some good playmakers and they made a lot of tough shots.

I have no doubt Hutty would make a big difference in this game, but we have got to find a way when it's not perfect.

Positives:

- It was good to see Wes out there early. He looked much better tonight and I like that he gets rid of the ball quicker on offense. He also didn't seem to be lost on defense tonight. It was obvious he was exhausted with the long time before the TV timeout. He wasn't the only one who was fried at that point.

- Trey turned it on in the 2nd half. He was great on defense and offense. If he can ever do that for 30 minutes instead of 15-20, he will be a first team Valley player

- Schweiger hit a bunch of difficult shots. I'm torn on this one because although the ball went in for him quite a bit down low, I don't think that is a strength for him. I hope we don't start to think this is something he should be doing consistently.

- Leon was solid again. He's just a very smooth athletic basketball player. His shot has clearly improved a ton since he left Virginia.

Negatives:

- Pock... Where are you?

- The first half offense...It started so strong with 8 quick points and then 19 over the last 16 minutes or so. That was just bad ugly basketball.

We are stuck in a funk again. I thought we played ourselves out of it with those big games right as league play started to kick off, but we are back in the slop. We have got to find a way to fix these issues faster. It always seems like it's a multiple game fix. I know it all comes down to Arch Madness, but punting 3-4 games in a row during the season every year because we can't correct things quick enough isn't okay. Figure it out and turn it around.

[06panther10]

Tonight is how you end up 12-8 ever single year...

12-8 would be an improvement. We have won 12 or more MVC games 3 times in the last 10 years.

This program is the very definition of mediocre.

[unifan]

This program is the very definition of mediocre.

The narratives keep being things such as “well this is the best recruiting class we’ve ever had,” or “this is the most talent on the roster in years,” etc. We play the same style and continue to get the same results. Kudos to the athletic department leadership on trying to be creative with getting fans engaged & trying to get butts in seats. The general apathy isn’t going anywhere when these are the results our program continues to give and continues to be content with.

[BCPanther]

12-8 would be an improvement. We have won 12 or more MVC games 3 times in the last 10 years.

This program is the very definition of mediocre.

18 v 20 league games but your point is well taken.

I'll say this. I don't care what Jake makes. He's not the highest paid guy in the Valley anymore and he's in a cluster of the top guys at this point salary wise with Alexander, Wardle, Prohm and McCollum. It frankly doesn't matter because it's not like that money can just be moved somewhere else if he's gone, that money is just gone at that point most likely.

He does, however, have either the 1st or 2nd largest overall budget in the league. We've invested in MBB because it's where our biggest chunk of revenue should be coming from. When you've got the number of empty seats we do right now, the obvious lack of new corporate sponsors and no extra tournament revenue coming in, it starts to handicap what else you can do as a department.

A&M was what it was, it was a fluke that doesn't happen with the cylinder rule that got put in as a result. The program changing game for me was Drake in StL in '20. How you no show that game is unconscionable regardless of what terrible luck it was to have a team like that Drake team fall to the 8. Then you did the same thing 2 years later with Loyola.

There's just never a sense is urgency. Outside of Tytan, there's nobody willing to play with their hair on fire. There's nobody willing to dig in to make the play to get a stop when we need one. Its the same movie over and over right now.

[Panther Fan]

I'll say this. I don't care what Jake makes. He's not the highest paid guy in the Valley anymore and he's in a cluster of the top guys at this point salary wise with Alexander, Wardle, Prohm and McCollum. It frankly doesn't matter because it's not like that money can just be moved somewhere else if he's gone, that money is just gone at that point most likely.

I think your point is the private funding that is specific to Jake's contract, it's not general AD funds. But the question is if the individuals funding that money would be supportive of those same dollars going to the next coach, or NIL funds. Are they fans of Jake or UNI basketball? In some ways I wonder if in the current landscape you are better under spending on the coach and putting more into NIL.

[Born-a-Panther]

I echo the sentiment that the administration and marketing team is working real hard to bring energy to the McLeod. They also are getting creative in handling the concessions problem in order to have both sides open. But there's only so much they can do. The team has to win. The team has to bring energy. Many times the energy on the visiting team's bench during games is 100 times greater than our own home bench. The crowd feeds off the team. Last night was a bummer.