Maryland at Duke, Kansas State at Texas Tech
1. As well as Duke has played, one thing worries me about them. Whenever they come out of a timeout, whenever they draw up a play for a shot out of the huddle, it's always a three. I noticed it tonight, against Maryland, when the Terps spent their out-of-commercial possessions getting the ball inside to Bambale Osby. Duke's got excellent three-point shooters and their edge over their opponents is definitely on the perimeter, but an over-reliance on the three-pointer has been the death of many a high seed come March.
2. I've noticed far too many teams getting away from what works for them mid-game. Georgetown's been doing it all year with Roy Hibbert, and tonight I watched it happen twice. Maryland would only occassionally throw it in to Osby in the post. Every time they did, something good happen, but the majority of their possessions consisted of Greivis Vasquez going to the basket. Vasquez scored a bunch of points, but I don't know why Osby was an afterthought.
Kansas State did a little bit better, reducing a 22-point deficit to four mostly on the shoulders of Bill Walker -- who was absolutely unguardable tonight -- and Michael Beasley. But they got away from it down the stretch, shooting three-pointers late (two of which, by Jacob Pullen, went in). Texas Tech wasn't doing anything differently defensively; in fact, K-State had been getting the ball to their freshman frontcourt duo just by tossing it up in the air and letting them go get it. I don't know if fatigue was a factor -- Walker wasn't even on the court for a few minutes -- but the Wildcats got away from what brought them back in the first place.
3. Kansas State finally played "young" tonight, especially in the first half and the first few minu.es of the second. Nothing was going right for them on either end of the court, and they allowed themselves to get frustrated, barking at the referees on every possession, concentrating on perceived missed calls rather than putting the ball in the basket and getting back on defense. Walker was a particularly egregious offender at the start of the second half, loafing back on defense and allowing Texas Tech three transition baskets right out of the gate. The Red Raider lead swelled to 22 at that point, and though Walker played valiantly in the Wildcat comeback, the lackadaisical play of him and his counterparts put them in a hole too deep to climb out of.
And1 Nice scene at the end of the game, as recently-retired Tech coach Bobby Knight choked back tears as he applauded his former team's first victory without him at the helm. Taking his place, of course, was his son and long-time assistant Pat.
I really like Pat Knight's demeanor on the sideline, by the way. I've never had a problem with his dad, but Pat is definitely a bit calmer, and I think that even keel will serve him and his teams well.
2. I've noticed far too many teams getting away from what works for them mid-game. Georgetown's been doing it all year with Roy Hibbert, and tonight I watched it happen twice. Maryland would only occassionally throw it in to Osby in the post. Every time they did, something good happen, but the majority of their possessions consisted of Greivis Vasquez going to the basket. Vasquez scored a bunch of points, but I don't know why Osby was an afterthought.
Kansas State did a little bit better, reducing a 22-point deficit to four mostly on the shoulders of Bill Walker -- who was absolutely unguardable tonight -- and Michael Beasley. But they got away from it down the stretch, shooting three-pointers late (two of which, by Jacob Pullen, went in). Texas Tech wasn't doing anything differently defensively; in fact, K-State had been getting the ball to their freshman frontcourt duo just by tossing it up in the air and letting them go get it. I don't know if fatigue was a factor -- Walker wasn't even on the court for a few minutes -- but the Wildcats got away from what brought them back in the first place.
3. Kansas State finally played "young" tonight, especially in the first half and the first few minu.es of the second. Nothing was going right for them on either end of the court, and they allowed themselves to get frustrated, barking at the referees on every possession, concentrating on perceived missed calls rather than putting the ball in the basket and getting back on defense. Walker was a particularly egregious offender at the start of the second half, loafing back on defense and allowing Texas Tech three transition baskets right out of the gate. The Red Raider lead swelled to 22 at that point, and though Walker played valiantly in the Wildcat comeback, the lackadaisical play of him and his counterparts put them in a hole too deep to climb out of.
And1 Nice scene at the end of the game, as recently-retired Tech coach Bobby Knight choked back tears as he applauded his former team's first victory without him at the helm. Taking his place, of course, was his son and long-time assistant Pat.
I really like Pat Knight's demeanor on the sideline, by the way. I've never had a problem with his dad, but Pat is definitely a bit calmer, and I think that even keel will serve him and his teams well.
posted by H.S. Slam, Ph.D at 2:27 PM
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