Well, a win is a win. Good bounce back. Good to be in first place.

Going ten minutes without a field goal? Yuck. Lucas, Braden, and Aher had 46 of our 59 points. At least we made our free throws.

Schwieger needs to find another way to get involved. According to Kenpom metrics, he's taking the 8th most shots of anyone in the conference (I think it's on a possession basis), but he's shooting 30% from the field.

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I think we missed Kennedy's driving and kick outs and his d. And because he was out, it seemed like Norris was trying to do too much at times, but he also did not have anyone open at times to kick out too. Hopefully Kennedy will be back soon.

Brutual game to watch though; but at least it was a win.

Cmon 3 years ago would any of us thought Ugak would be hitting a 3 in crunch time...that wasnt a desperate heave...good for him.
The offense seems sooo different from the offense PM ran with Krutwig. THe Final Four team had a second and a half rule...that is how long you could have to shoot, pass and cut, pass and screen (away or on ball). and man we got good looks almost every possession and spacing was impecable and PM had a set of called plays that he used in different situations....This year looks like screen for whoever has the ball, a little pick and roll with the center and everyone else spreads.....some very quick shots. Cant argue with our record but man it looks sloppy as people have said. We dont seem to get those back door cuts or many cuts to the basket...???
Schwiegert really struggling recently...lot of one on one stuff
Broadcast said Marquis Kennedy was just getting a day off, a little banged up but nothing serious.
7 of our last 11 games on the road, including UNI, MSU and Drake......also 4 of last 11 are UNI and Drake......This is going to be a tough stretch.

Important to point out the incredible job Lucas and Aher did shutting down SIU's duo of Domask and Jones. 6 points for Domask on 8 shots (he had a few unlucky rim outs) and Jones with 9 on 15 (!) shots well under their combined 30 pt average. And most importantly did so without committing a foul between them both which put us behind the 8-ball against Mo St with their early fouls.

Have to imagine both Domask and Jones will play better tomorrow but it was nice to see our guys remind us all why they're near guarantees to be on the all-defensive team one final time.

Most of Schweiger's shots I'd be fine with... at the end of the shot clock. He's inefficient (not as bad as his current slump would suggest) but he can create his shot out of nothing when our sets don't work.

Conversely, Uguak is good when he is receiving the ball and shooting an open 3 or driving, but when he has it at the end of the shot clock it never goes well. His shot goes down but it's a slow release.

Hutty is just completely out of sorts on both ends. Might be time to finally bench him as it seems to be getting worse, rather than him playing his way out of it.

I think those type of set plays stand out in the mind, but they aren't necessarily the norm. I mean, last year, we handed the ball to Krut at the top of the key almost every possession. We got a couple easy ones last night off cutting actions. We also ran a few plays to get threes that we either missed or just well-defended and we couldn't get the shot off.

Drew said Marquise has a mild hamstring strain. Sounded like more than just a day off. He's hopeful he can play Thursday though.

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Totally agree with you here. You don't have work in the paint for your own shot with 20 on the clock.

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The defense looks similar.

The new offense style is a shocking departure from PM and works well when shots are falling. It looks rough when the shots are not falling. I like quick shots when they fall, because it increases the pressure on the other team. It looked great in the last few minutes of each half. It looked good in the beginning of the MoSt game. It looks bad when we struggle to hit the open shots.

Coach Valentine stays with the kid who misses a shot, which is admirable. I liked his rotation last night. He stays with Sweiger as he struggles. PM would pull kids who made mistakes on defense. I don't think it needs to be that drastic, but I think DV should search a little deeper for the hot hand.

I found it interesting that he pulled Lucas and Aher at the end of the game. I think that was to prevent any payback issues after the hard foul rather than get them an extra minute of rest.

Most of Schweiger's shots I'd be fine with... at the end of the shot clock. He's inefficient (not as bad as his current slump would suggest) but he can create his shot out of nothing when our sets don't work.

Conversely, Uguak is good when he is receiving the ball and shooting an open 3 or driving, but when he has it at the end of the shot clock it never goes well. His shot goes down but it's a slow release.

Hutty is just completely out of sorts on both ends. Might be time to finally bench him as it seems to be getting worse, rather than him playing his way out of it.[/quote]


Agree - I am fine with Scheweiger's shots....he just isn't making them anymore. He was the key to the start of our season - instant offense off the bench - our leading scorer. A key reason we have struggled on offense the last few weeks is that he can't make any shots anymore. We need him - but I think he will get it back.

Agree on Hutty as well. He's particularly lost on defense. He's completely consumed with putting his body on his guy when a shot goes up - which most times is good fundamental basketball. But he does so at the expense of letting other guys drive right to the basket. (eg - recall Donovan Clay driving baseline for an uncontested dunk). He lacks the instinct of when to help in the paint and therefore he rarely challenges any shots.

And I noticed yesterday that he is in the habit of looking at Drew almost every time he is running down the floor - both ways. Looking for direction...or approval....or disapproval....or wanting to come out? Something...it's interesting.

But I have also noticed that - very unlike PM - Drew rarely speaks to a player when he pulls them out of a game. There is little to no coaching after "in game" coaching moments. I would love to see him - or any other coach - talk to Hutty (and Saint..and a few others) when he comes off the floor - because it usually after he has a couple of lapses.