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StarkVegasSteve
03-03-2025, 10:32 AM
Obviously still two games to go but we are locked into the tournament and will be somewhere between 5-7 seed. What grades would y'all give us as a team?


Offense: B. Definitely has been Jans' best offensive team he's coached since he's been here. They score the ball at a much higher clip than we have in a long time. We do have the ability to get too reliant on Hubbard but we rebound well on the offensive glass, we have multiple shooters(when they are hitting and not a shell of themselves), and we still have been able to get some solid post play out of Murphy and Nwoko.

Defense: D+. Like the offense has been Jans best, the defense has been his worst. We are slow on rotations, if we get there at all, and we consistently leave shooters wide ass open. Our rebounding has been ok, I actually expected it to be worse. And we can get in passing lanes and cause some steals.

Starters: A-. Our starters have done what we expected them to do. Losing Clary definitely hurt, but I think we've made it over that hump and Hubbard has started embracing not just being a spot up shooter and has learned to attack when it's available. Kugel is a bit like Paul George. You could tell me he scores 15 with a three 3's and you could tell me he scored 0 with 5 TOs. Neither stat line would shock me. Nwoko has been the biggest surprise. I was hoping we could get maybe 5-10 minutes, 4 pts, and 5 boards out of him and lately he's been giving us 8-10 pts and 6-8 rebounds. Cam has been a bit of a disappointment. He was never going to be good offensively, but he's basically just out there for defense and the occasional rebound now. At least the last couple of years he would drive for a dunk or get a few offensive rebounds

Bench: A. We have gotten a lot more out of our bench than I would've thought in about November. Obviously having Murphy there is going to give you points, but what Shawn Jones has brought to the table from a defensive perspective has been really cool to watch. I also like Claudell better off the bench. If he can give us 8-10 moving forward then we're going to be in a lot of games from here out.

Coaching: B. I think Jans has righted the ship well, but I don't feel like this has been his best coaching job. He's made some great adjustments over the course of the season, but his in game coaching has been a tick worse this year. The Florida and Mizzou games stand out where we just looked lethargic. Saying that, I thought he made a really solid adjustment on Saturday and got after their asses at half time and really put the clamps on Carter. He's still far and away the best coach we've had in the last decade and he's creeping up on overtaking Richard for 3rd best all time behind only Stans and Babe.


Overall I would give this team a B. The defense has been the killer. Even average defense in a few games adds 2-3 more wins to our tally and we are fighting for a Top 16 seed right now. However, you only need to get hot for 6 games. And it's like we've said all year, the 3 headed monster of Kugel, Melendez, and Haris is going to the difference in a first round exit and a Thursday night mathcup in a Regional Semifinal against a top flight team.

State82
03-03-2025, 11:05 AM
Pretty much the same for me. Might drop the "+" off the defense grade and just give them a straight "D" and tack a "-" on the overall for a B- but I would pretty closely agree with your assessment.

trob115
03-03-2025, 11:28 AM
My issue with our defense has been the refusal to not change up our defensive post adjustment. We played several teams that had no post presence, yet continued to double every post touch. That led to open outside shots.

If we would've played more straight up situational defense, I think that would help out our 3pt defense tremendously.

StarkVegasSteve
03-03-2025, 11:33 AM
My issue with our defense has been the refusal to not change up our defensive post adjustment. We played several teams that had no post presence, yet continued to double every post touch. That led to open outside shots.

If we would've played more straight up situational defense, I think that would help out our 3pt defense tremendously.

Yea I really hope we don't stick to that in the NCAAT because our seed line is probably going to mean we are playing a mid major that just bombs 3's. So I think Nwoko or Murphy could handle whatever minimal post presence they have.

sleepy dawg
03-03-2025, 12:00 PM
I think your 5-7 seed projection is a bit optimistic. At best, I think we're a 6 seed. 7 to 9 seems more likely, with a 10 being on the lower end.

Our net is 30 which puts us in the middle of the 8 seed range if you only go by that. Bracketology has us as a 7 seed. It hasn't been updated since the LSU game, but the LSU win was a quad 3 and that didn't move the needle at all.

Offense: B-
Defense: C
Starters: B-
Bench: B+
Coaching: C


We are bad 3 point shooters and take a lot of 3 point shots. Luckily, we are very good with offensive rebounds and that really helps our scoring. We're also pretty good at blocks and steals, but are really really bad at defending the 3.

LC Dawg
03-03-2025, 04:05 PM
Offense: B- It's the best offense Jans has had here. Solid B if we could shoot the 3 worth a damn.

Defense: C- As bad as our 3 pt defense is we are actually very good at rebounding, blocks, and steals.

Starters: B Hubbard adjusting his game and pulling up on some drives has been nice. I agree Nwoko is a great surprise. Him playing well has allowed Murphy to continue to come off the bench. Cam hasn't been exactly what we expected. Maybe he will come around since they don't ask him to handle the ball as much. I like Kugel starting but he is what he is. Since he was made a starter he has scored 11, 2, 11, 4, and 12.

Bench: A I'm happy Jans stayed with Murphy coming off the bench. You can't overstate what Jones has done.

Coaching: B I love Jans and I hope he stays a long time but I thought he was straight outcoached a few times this year - even in some wins. I'm sure he's not liking the offense being better than defense.

Overall - B I want to go a little higher here but can't without us having a signature win. Our best conference win is at Ole Miss or at Vandy and overall is at Memphis but none of them really move the bar. Finishing 8th or better in the best conference ever is a good season. If we end up being the 5th or 6th seed I may would bump to B+

gtowndawg
03-04-2025, 10:54 AM
One answer we will never know, would we have won 1 or 2 more games with Clary running point? That's the biggest question mark in my mind. If yes, we are probably looking at a 4 or 5 seed instead of a 7.

msstate7
03-04-2025, 11:06 AM
With 104 brackets in, bracket matrix has us a 6-seed. A win tonight would do wonders for solidifying that

StarkVegasSteve
03-04-2025, 11:34 AM
With 104 brackets in, bracket matrix has us a 6-seed. A win tonight would do wonders for solidifying that

I think we're pretty solid to be either a 6 or a 7. There's a shot with some chaos and us winning both this week that we could sneak into the last 5 seed. But honestly, I'd prefer a 6 or 7 over a 5.

State82
03-04-2025, 12:45 PM
But honestly, I'd prefer a 6 or 7 over a 5.

6 is what I would like to see. Want nothing to do with having to deal with a 12 seed if we got a 5.

LC Dawg
03-04-2025, 12:57 PM
This weekend my brother and I looked up first round sites to see if there was anything close to us. It brought the conversation to when he was so excited that he got tickets to see us in Birmingham in 2003 as a 5 seed. Yeah, probably should stay away from the 5 seed.

sleepy dawg
03-05-2025, 09:08 AM
6 is what I would like to see. Want nothing to do with having to deal with a 12 seed if we got a 5.

5 seed is better than a 6 seed. 5s beat 12s more than 6s beat 11s in both the history of the tournament and in the last 10 years. Both of them lose a lot, but there's no statistical reason to prefer a 6 over a 5.

klong-dog
03-05-2025, 09:15 AM
We're at 7 seed at best. Lose to @ Fayetteville, which i think we will. We drop to an a solid 8 seed. I'm fully expecting a first round 8/9 match up.

Pancho
03-05-2025, 09:34 AM
seems to be spot on

sleepy dawg
03-05-2025, 11:03 AM
We're at 7 seed at best. Lose to @ Fayetteville, which i think we will. We drop to an a solid 8 seed. I'm fully expecting a first round 8/9 match up.

I agree. I think we're a solid 8 right now, 7 max. All this talk about 5 or 6 seed is delusional, barring something insane happening in the sec tournament. I think 8 or 9 seed is our most likely destination.

gtowndawg
03-05-2025, 12:03 PM
Just being honest here, but I've never gone from being so excited with a State team to being so frustrated with a State team in the same season like I have with this bunch.

MoreCowbell
03-05-2025, 05:36 PM
Just being honest here, but I've never gone from being so excited with a State team to being so frustrated with a State team in the same season like I have with this bunch.

Same. I have to eat a lot of crow to friends. After Memphis, UScar1, and Vandy I was talking so much sh-it. Drove 5 hours solo and paid $200 for a ticket to watch us beat UK at the Hump. Of course we lose and have not looked the same since. I mean seriously?