Momentum swing last night

[Aike]

Great win. Going to nitpick a bit.

We were up 14 and Matthews drove down the lane for a runner. Ball circled the rim without going down.

Think we had 3 guys in the lane? We allowed Matthews to get back into the play and bat the ball outside. The sequence culminated in Matthews hitting a three to cut it to 11.

I’m calling a timeout right there if I’m Pope. There are moments in a game where you can almost measure the momentum swinging the other way. That was one of those moments.

I “knew” we were in for a fight. Then JR missed a three on the other end, and MSU hit another 3 to cut it to 8.

If I didn’t take the TO when we cut it to 11, I definitely call it at 8.

All’s well that ends well, and there is something to be said for letting players work through issues on their own.

But sometimes you can just feel it.

 

[mcwildcats04]

Great win. Going to nitpick a bit.

We were up 14 and Matthews drove down the lane for a runner. Ball circled the rim without going down.

Think we had 3 guys in the lane? We allowed Matthews to get back into the play and bat the ball outside. The sequence culminated in Matthews hitting a three to cut it to 11.

I’m calling a timeout right there if I’m Pope. There are moments in a game where you can almost measure the momentum swinging the other way. That was one of those moments.

I “knew” we were in for a fight. Then JR missed a three on the other end, and MSU hit another 3 to cut it to 8.

If I didn’t take the TO when we cut it to 11, I definitely call it at 8.

All’s well that ends well, and there is something to be said for letting players work through issues on their own.

But sometimes you can just feel it.

Yeah Pope was asked about a timeout here in the postgame and he mentioned something like wanting to make sure he had one in his pocket at the end. I'm not sure how many timeouts we had at the time but I thought we should have taken one around this time too. Good on them to still fight through after completely blowing the lead and going down a few and still being able to pull out the win.

 

[BlueSince92]

Yeah post was asked about a timeout here in the postgame and he mentioned something like wanting to make sure he had one in his pocket at the end. I'm not sure how many timeouts we had at the time but I thought we should have taken one around this time too. Good on them to still fight through after completely blowing the lead and going down a few and still being able to pull out the win.

At least he thought about it.

 

[ManitouDan]

And for as hot as AA was a stretch I've got to have Carr in the game the last 2 minutes .

 

[Big BlueBeard]

That was an effort play by Matthews and I wish we had a few more plays like that ourselves. That guy plays beyond his talent level and it's because of his motor.

 

[BlueWorldOrder74]

Great win. Going to nitpick a bit.

We were up 14 and Matthews drove down the lane for a runner. Ball circled the rim without going down.

Think we had 3 guys in the lane? We allowed Matthews to get back into the play and bat the ball outside. The sequence culminated in Matthews hitting a three to cut it to 11.

I’m calling a timeout right there if I’m Pope. There are moments in a game where you can almost measure the momentum swinging the other way. That was one of those moments.

I “knew” we were in for a fight. Then JR missed a three on the other end, and MSU hit another 3 to cut it to 8.

If I didn’t take the TO when we cut it to 11, I definitely call it at 8.

All’s well that ends well, and there is something to be said for letting players work through issues on their own.

But sometimes you can just feel it.

Said the same thing brother.

 

[silentsaregolden2.0]

One of my biggest concerns for this team is FT shooting. We have several guys I have ZERO confidence in at the line. Williams is the main one. He has very poor mechanics. And even a guy who is in general a good FT shooter (Carr), has been very unreliable down the stretch in games.

FT shooting is such a weird aspect, in that there doesn't seem to be a magic bullet. Teams try using a sports psychologist, or a former player who was great at FTs to help out. Never really works. Some teams are just really, really good at FTs and some aren't. We seem to rarely have teams that are great at them.

 

[jwphelps]

Great win. Going to nitpick a bit.

We were up 14 and Matthews drove down the lane for a runner. Ball circled the rim without going down.

Think we had 3 guys in the lane? We allowed Matthews to get back into the play and bat the ball outside. The sequence culminated in Matthews hitting a three to cut it to 11.

I’m calling a timeout right there if I’m Pope. There are moments in a game where you can almost measure the momentum swinging the other way. That was one of those moments.

I “knew” we were in for a fight. Then JR missed a three on the other end, and MSU hit another 3 to cut it to 8.

If I didn’t take the TO when we cut it to 11, I definitely call it at 8.

All’s well that ends well, and there is something to be said for letting players work through issues on their own.

But sometimes you can just feel it.

What I take from this was under Cal we lose that game on that swing, under Pope they remained calm and pulled the game out. Plus that game was full of swings going back and forth.

 

[Aike]

What I take from this was under Cal we lose that game on that swing, under Pope they remained calm and pulled the game out. Plus that game was full of swings going back and forth.

It was full of swings. I just think there are points in a game where you may be able lock-in your advantage. Prefer to see a TO with a quick reset, as opposed to taking the air out of the ball (Cal’s way).

Anyway, it was how I was feeling at that moment. Could have gone the other way, I just had a hunch it wouldn’t.

 

[jwphelps]

It was full of swings. I just think there are points in a game where you may be able lock-in your advantage. Prefer to see a TO with a quick reset, as opposed to taking the air out of the ball (Cal’s way).

Anyway, it was how I was feeling at that moment. Could have gone the other way, I just had a hunch it wouldn’t.

Pope did call a time out down the stretch, and yes Cal would have tried to kill the clock at the 4 minute mark, UK would struggle and throw up a bad shot and most likely lose.

 

[Lempface]

I pointed this out in several threads last night. I don't think I take it after the first 3 but I'm definitely taking on earlier in that stretch than Pope did, I was yelling it at the TV.

I think the guys would have settle down if we had an early time out and never let them go up by 2. Probably win by around 12-15.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

It was full of swings. I just think there are points in a game where you may be able lock-in your advantage. Prefer to see a TO with a quick reset, as opposed to taking the air out of the ball (Cal’s way).

Anyway, it was how I was feeling at that moment. Could have gone the other way, I just had a hunch it wouldn’t.

I thought a timeout might be needed, but I think CMP liked the pace of the game being fast and prolly felt it would play back into our favor soon enough.
Which it did, thank goodness.

 

[southvillecat]

One of my biggest concerns for this team is FT shooting. We have several guys I have ZERO confidence in at the line. Williams is the main one. He has very poor mechanics. And even a guy who is in general a good FT shooter (Carr), has been very unreliable down the stretch in games.

FT shooting is such a weird aspect, in that there doesn't seem to be a magic bullet. Teams try using a sports psychologist, or a former player who was great at FTs to help out. Never really works. Some teams are just really, really good at FTs and some aren't. We seem to rarely have teams that are great at them.

Williams went 4-5 at the line tonight and maybe I’m wrong but he seems to have been pretty consistent over the last several games

 

[mcwildcats04]

Williams went 4-5 at the line tonight and maybe I’m wrong but he seems to have been pretty consistent over the last several games

Yes, he has been shooting FTs a lot better lately. Good on him for that improvement.

 

[yabbadabbadoo]

Williams went 4-5 at the line tonight and maybe I’m wrong but he seems to have been pretty consistent over the last several games

Amari doesn’t have the prettiest form, but he’s gotten pretty good at it I must say. I think he’s put in a lot of work on that. His hands are so big it’s hard. Imagine shooting a softball, it’s hard to shoot straight.

 

[darkshadesofblue]

This. It probably would’ve been better had the ball rolled in. All’s well that ends well though..

 

[MachineHead1]

I would’ve called a TO as soon as it got below 10, personally.

 

[catben]

One of my biggest concerns for this team is FT shooting. We have several guys I have ZERO confidence in at the line. Williams is the main one. He has very poor mechanics. And even a guy who is in general a good FT shooter (Carr), has been very unreliable down the stretch in games.

FT shooting is such a weird aspect, in that there doesn't seem to be a magic bullet. Teams try using a sports psychologist, or a former player who was great at FTs to help out. Never really works. Some teams are just really, really good at FTs and some aren't. We seem to rarely have teams that are great at them.

Yet Carr and Williams were 6-7 last night. It was Butler and Oweh that went 3-8 with Butler missing both of his. It just comes down to consistency. And it's the same reason we give up offensive rebounds and turn it over at the most inopportune times. These guys were thrown together within a month and are going to fight through some things but it seems like they are making plays when needed for the most part(Clemson, OSU and UGA not withstanding).

I LOVE the "All for one" attitude and I hope that as the season moves along Coach Pope will get this team to FIX these areas of need. When he does, LOOK OUT!!!!