(12-01-2021 11:44 PM)ShockerFever Wrote:  WSU is quite the enigma. Just painful to watch on offense. Actually, in general, they’re not a fun team to watch. But they somehow find ways to win and I’ll take ugly winning over pretty 5-stars losing any day of the week. But man, they have some flaws. I don’t think OSU is that good either. Our entire non-con is highlighted by an OT loss to Arizona. No quality wins at all. Only chance for us is to finish 3rd in conference with a couple of Houston/Memphis/Cincy wins scattered in there. Outside of that, this looks like a pretty good NIT team.

kenpom.com has (6-2) Oklahoma State ranked #45 at this point, and the Shockers beat them by 9 pts. on their home floor. OSU was #31 in the Massey Composite before the loss, which would make them a NCAA tournament team.

From an outsider's perspective, it's an impressive Q1/Q2 away win for Wichita State. True, the Shockers only scored 60 pts, but OK St. is a good defensive team.

It may be hard to feel optimistic when your team is only averaging 67 ppg (vs. 62 ppg for your opponents), but heading into the final weeks, a team that plays tough defense has certain advantages in tournament play.

Impressively, the Shockers have held their opponents to only .259 from 3 pt line, coming into the OSU game.
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Dennis is on the court because of his defense .. WSU has been winning because of defense. Dennis isn't getting benched. Our Best Lineup has been Porter, Etienne, Council, Dennis and a big. I think you will see that 4 guard line up more often.

(12-02-2021 12:07 AM)pesik Wrote:  -- wichita started both half terribly, as some noted its in part because ricky council comes off bench.. a legtimate conversation about moving dexter dennis to bench needs to be discussed

It's actually Joe Pleasant who needs to get benched in favor of Council.

(12-02-2021 12:07 AM)pesik Wrote:  results today:

- temple obliterated a not very good la salle.. but great news because people were starting to question if temple wasnt good themselves.

The (4-3) Owls played well in their third consecutive win, considering the fact that they were playing without their injured sixth man, Tai Strickland, and that the #7 to #13 players on Temple's bench - - of whom 5 are freshmen - - were on the floor for 42% of the game (84 minutes).

Temple put the game out of reach in the first half, outscoring LaSalle 39-22, while hitting 52% of their FGAs. The Owls grabbed 45 rebounds, bringing their average above 39 rpg, and made a season-high 19 assists vs. LaSalle.

The Owls have been a much stronger rebounding and shot-blocking team, to date, than they were in 2020-21. Although they've trailed in assists, their playmaking has shown signs of improving in the past two games (15.5 apg).

There were also some strong individual performances:

Khalif Battle scored 22 pts (7-13 FG, 3-5 FG3, 5-6 FT) in 29 minutes, before leaving the game with a foot injury. Battle has scored an average of 26.3 ppg in the team's last three games (FG%: .538; FG3%: .488).

Jake Forrester, Temple's starting Center had his strongest game of the season to date with 12 pts and 8 rebounds in 21 minutes. Jake is a key player on the team, and his productive play in this game is an encouraging sign.

Damian Dunn, (2020-21 AAC all-freshman team), had 16 pts, 6 rb, 4 asts, 2 stls on 7-11 shooting in 32 mpg, helping to maintain the team's lead when Battle left the game early in the second half. Dunn has averaged 15 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 3.5 apg in Temple's last two games.

Jeremiah Williams, the team's starting PG - - who struggled in his first few games - - has has come back strong, averaging 13.3 pts, 6.3 rb, 6 asts, and 1.7 steals in Temple's past three games (30 mpg).

In addition, Temple has been getting strong contributions from two key freshman role players, who have been among the team's best defensive players:

Nick Jourdain (6'8" PF; 19.2 mpg) has averaged 12.5 rb, 6.6 pts, 1.7 blocks, & 1.3 steals per 40 minutes.

Jahlil White (6'7" W; 15.0 mpg) has averaged 4.5 pts, 4.5 rb, 2 ast, 1 stl, & 1 bpg in the past two games.

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The team's low point, thus far, came during their two losses in the Charleston Classic, when most of the players on the team struggled. However, since then, most of the team's starters and key role players have taken their game up a notch or two.

In terms of D1 experience (ranging from 2 to 22 D1 games played, to date) and (four) years of eligibility, eight of Temple's players are freshman; three are sophomores, and most/all are working on improving their D1 skill sets. Hopefully, Battle and Strickland will be back in action soon.

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Jank looking like a genius after a solid SMU effort at home vs UNLV. A highly entertaining game that SMU led wire to wire and kept a cap on a second half hot shooting run by the Rebs.
Changes in starting line up had freshman Jalen Smith replacing Marcus Weathers. Smith responded with great defense and 3-3 shooting from outside the ark in the first half. Increased minutes for Tristan Clark helped relieve the disaster that is Isaiah Jasey ( who actually MADE a layup, resulting in what can now be called a total team effort).
The Weathers boys were money off the bench, appearing to have moved on from the ridiculous hero ball they’ve been playing. Their stats were solid as they combined for a ton of points, assists, rebounds and blocked shots. Jahmar Young continued to make good with his 8-10 minutes per night. That’s less time spent watching Jasey and his hands of stone. Only a few minutes for freshman Zurich Phelps, mostly spelling KD. No minutes for Todo.
Davis: 33 minutes 18 points 5/10 2/4 8 assists
Michael Weathers: 26 minutes off the bench, 14 points on 5/7 0/1 (four thundering slams) 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
Bandoumel: 29 min 13 points 5/11 3/8 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Tristan Clark: 21 minutes 10 points on 5/6, 4 rebounds 2 blocks

Team shot 60% and 45% from 3
A season high 23 assists.

Is this sustainable?
If it is this is a pretty good team.

But then this is Jankistan.

Here’s hoping.

I'm not going to flip out about UC's last two games. I think they are both kind of anomalies from a shooting perspective. UC isn't going to be a good shooting team, they may even be a bad shooting team, but the level of bad shooting the last two games isn't sustainable. Teams don't shoot 20% from 3 and 25% from the free throw line over the course of the season. It's in their heads right now, but what is encouraging is they are still doing a bunch of other things right.

(12-02-2021 12:07 AM)pesik Wrote:  mixed bag of results today:

-- cincy beat miami oh by 1, on essentially a missed layup by miami.. a win is a win and good prep for xavier

-- ucf get collapsed in the 2nf half vs auburn but auburn is ranked.. not a bad loss.. but ucf is going to need a good win at some point

-- wichita started both half terribly, as some noted its in part because ricky council comes off bench.. a legtimate conversation about moving dexter dennis to bench needs to be discussed

-- smu obliterated UNLV-- most probably didnt watch but an interesting fact is SMU completely flipped around its lineup... it moved the weathers twins to the bench..reduced the role of their projected star freshmen phelps.. and gave the start and tons of minutes to a completely unheralded freshmen Jalen smith ( a catch and shoots 3pt shooters) didnt put up crazy stats but the best smu has looked all season

- temple obliterated a not very good la salle.. but great news because people were starting to question if temple wasnt good themselves

- Memphis lost to Georgia that is not good.. but becuase it was in Georgia and Georgia play in a p5, likely loss can be overcome in respect to the tourney, but Memphis being ranked is done
sidenote: i still think Memphis runs through the conference and finishes top 3/4 easily...i think Memphis has issues with teams that can match their length and athleticism ..the problem is only 3 aac teams can maybe do that.. the majority of the aac is 6'8 in the post.. or playing multiple 6'0 guards

We stopped playing defense last night, allowing Georgia, arguably the worst team in the SEC, to score 50 points in the second half, and we lost by 3. And Georgia was missing its best player, the PG.

Odd thing is Penny reduced the rotation, and let the starters play most of the minutes. We cut our turnovers down to 11, and shot 80+% from the line. And still lost. That's how bad our D was, which is a new problem now.

But the really bad news occurred after the game, when Penny threw the entire team + Larry Brown under the bus. It's apparently everybody's fault but Penny's.

It's so bad right now, I doubt we even make the tourney, if we don't figure out a way to put this team back together. If not, I wouldn't be shocked if players transferred out at the semester.

I thought Larry Brown was the answer to Penny not having a clue beyond out talenting teams but perhaps not.

(12-02-2021 11:01 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I thought Larry Brown was the answer to Penny not having a clue beyond out talenting teams but perhaps not.

I guess not if Penny doesn't listen to him. But Penny said last night that he has concentrated on defense, while Larry installed a new offense to take advantage of Bates' and Duren's skill sets. So apparently, Brown is the ineffective coach, not Penny, lol.

So Penny installed a different O, which was slightly better (less turnovers, and we led most of the second half), but then the defense went to hell.

(12-02-2021 11:03 AM)TripleA Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 11:01 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I thought Larry Brown was the answer to Penny not having a clue beyond out talenting teams but perhaps not.

I guess not if Penny doesn't listen to him. But Penny said last night that he has concentrated on defense, while Larry installed a new offense to take advantage of Bates' and Duren's skill sets. So apparently, Brown is the ineffective coach, not Penny, lol.

So Penny installed a different O, which was slightly better (less turnovers, and we led most of the second half), but then the defense went to hell.

Ever notice it is never Pesos fault?

Who could see him randomly throwing people under the bus after the stand up way he got the job way above his competency level?

I am always happy when Memphis gets what they want and what they deserve. Another preseason championship

Memphis will figure out by conference season. Hopefully they can steal a couple of their remaining good non con games otherwise figuring it out in conference only hurts the rest of the conference

Sent from my SM-F916U1 using Tapatalk

Sure is a lot quieter around here again.

Goodness, Temple can’t catch a break lately. Sorry owls.

Brutal.

On the bright side, may have bought McKie another year.

(12-02-2021 03:21 PM)ShockerFever Wrote:  Sure is a lot quieter around here again.

I'm still here.

I think the league did enough to keep the dream of 3-4 bids alive. But we're really gonna need Memphis and UCF to get back on the horse.

temple was extremely dependent on 1 scorer.. he was just lost for the year

short term this is horrendous for temple.... in the long term this could be beneficial.....

mckie is unlikely to be fired this year, temple's team is extremely young, but also was not in line to pick up any touted recruits...if battle was healthy theyd have just rode him all this year, and rode him all next year...

team was never going to be that good this year with or without battle... him being hurt forces the others to step up as scorers... when battles comes back next year, their 2022 in now in a postion to be drastically better if offensive skills are developed amoun the remainders in his absense

(12-02-2021 04:25 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  

Goodness, Temple can’t catch a break lately. Sorry owls.

Adios Temple, try again next year.

The 2022-2023 season will mark 10 years since the Owls won a tourney game. If we are being honest, its likely to continue for another few years. For better or worse, the new AAC will allow the Owls to win more games down the road.

(12-02-2021 05:15 PM)TripleA Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 03:21 PM)ShockerFever Wrote:  Sure is a lot quieter around here again.

I'm still here.

Props to you. The only one.

(12-02-2021 05:44 PM)Off_The_Hook Wrote:  

(12-02-2021 04:25 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  [twitter]

Goodness, Temple can’t catch a break lately. Sorry owls.

The 2022-2023 season will mark 10 years since the Owls won a tourney game...It's likely to continue for another few years...

If by "another few years," you mean 3-4 more years, that may be an overly pessimistic view. There's enough young talent on the roster and enough progress from the standpoint of player development that Temple might be able to play in the NIT or NCAA tournament in 2022-23, if Battle returns, and beyond.

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The truth is that, as crushing as the injury is to Battle and the team this year, hardly anyone was expecting them to play in the NCAA or NIT until the 2022-23 season, when they'll have a lot more players with significant D1 experience.

The loss of Battle will cause the team's freshman guards and wings to play more minutes than they would have played - - guys like Miller, Hicks, and White - - and
that will give them an opportunity to develop their skills at a quicker pace.

Tai Strickland (son of former NBA standout Rod Strickland) is a PG who has played more as alike a combo guard this season and has become the team's second-leading score on a per-minute basis (20.2 pts per 40 min.). Strickland has played 17.8 ppg thus far. this season, and could play 10-12 more mpg to help fill the scoring gap.

The rest of the slack will probably be taken up by the team's other starting guards (Dunn (SG; 28 mpg) & Williams (PG; 27 mpg) ).

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This was already on track to be a player- and team-development year for the Owls, and that will continue to be the main focus. That being the case, the loss of Khalif Battle for rest of the season isn't as devastating as it would have been to the program if the team had been expected to contend for a NCAA bid.

One of the challenges the rest of the way this season will be to maintain good morale, so that everyone will want to return next season. However, the team seems pretty close-knit and mutually supportive. Many will appreciate getting more playing time, and they know they've all got to pitch in for the sake of the team.

Given their good team chemistry, it's possible that the entire team could return next season. It seems likely that at least 10 of the players will return, and if Battle is back with the team next year, the Owls should be at least a NIT-quality team next season, assuming that the team's 8 freshmen continue to develop, as expected.

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