1. If we had held on to beat Colorado State and not pooped the bed vs Coppin State, we would be 8-2 instead of 6-4. Would you view the team any differently?

2. What do you think the rotations should look like by the time we turn the calendar to January? My off-the-cuff proposal:

Krutwig - 30
Lucas - 30
Hall - 30
Clemons - 25
Kennedy - 20
Aher - 20
Pipkins - 15
Paxson - 15
Frank - 10
Welch - 5

Total: 200

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

I wonder if this "slow" start will actually work in our favor? Either way.. there was no way we were gonna get an at large bid. But this way...is there a greater chance that league foes will sleep on us? Which would have to be a benefit...

I think the minutes are really going to depend on the opponent, but those listed above seem like good averages.

In my opinion -- at this point -- the more bench play, the better. Nothing is going to be more valuable by the time we get to the end of conference play than having two strong lines to limit minutes and stay fresh. Right now, that's the second best thing we have going for us after Krutwig's strong interior play.

Agreed on this. We are literally 1 second of good defense away from 7-3.

Coppin State and the exhibition were both good reality checks for youth that you always have to respect your opponent. We’ve been really good at competing with teams early, often jumping out to nice leads. I have to imagine we’ve spent way more time with a lead than not. Despite this, we struggled to hold leads late in games, and have yet to truly come from behind and steal a win. I think that’s the next big step for this current group, who takes charge and help us claw back. That may still take time, but the way we closed our last two DI games was encouraging from a team composure standpoint.

I still don’t think this team wins the regular season and that’s OK. Despite an awful week over the holidays the Valley has bounced back nicely, I really don’t think a ton separates 1-9. Indiana State has won five in a row and Valpo looks really good with Freeman Liberty on an absolute TEAR. Illinois State despite not having the talent of the last few years has a much better culture, and plays scrappy tough, defense. There will no doubt be games where we are down one or two possessions late and someone needs to make a big shot; hopefully we find that person by February.

Minutes I mostly agree with, I’d like to see the starters closer to 28, but realistically some will probably be closer to 32 in conference play. That said, there’s a lot to like on the bench, and we should be able to find one or two hot hands a game. I’d love to see Kennedy get around 25 and Wojcik get close to 18. The top end talent off the bench isn’t up to the standards of 2017-18, but I believe it has more reliable options. kind of reminds me of the CBI team in 14-15 that had no one player over 27 minutes a game, and 9 players playing at least 17 minutes a game.

Noticed that the current Kenpom predictions have all ten teams separated by four games. First place: 11-7; last place: 7-11. In 2018, we won the league by four games!

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

What happened to Bruno?

It seems like his minutes have been dwindling. He didn't play against Old Dominion, and came in for less than a minute to deliver a foul against Ball State.

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

I love Bruno, but at this point, i would rather the newcomers get more playing time and a chance to develop and get more comfortable. If they aren’t improving, I’m glad we have Bruno on the bench for some relief, but I seems like all the other guards have more athleticism.