I thought they played well...

[Coach007]

Just could not make the shots that would normally fall.

[preachermatt83]

Holman and Lil Spoon played well... everyone else was crap

[BiscuitEater]

Sorry but nope .. They REALLY looked like they didn't even want to be on the court. Ignored basics. TOs were horrid, zero ball protection, still can't set a screen. Our O is based on a couple of passes and jack up a 3. Only chance to win last night was if we shot >50% from behind the line.

[Liverpooldawg]

I sound like a broken record but it’s the same as last year, no real half court offense and no inside game. If the threes aren’t falling and we aren’t getting transition buckets we can’t score. We get almost no second chance shots and very, very few points in the paint from the half court. It’s tough to beat decent teams when you are like that.

[IMissJack]

I sound like a broken record but it’s the same as last year, no real half court offense and no inside game. If the threes aren’t falling and we aren’t getting transition buckets we can’t score. We get almost no second chance shots and very, very few points in the paint from the half court. It’s tough to beat decent teams when you are like that.

Same thing I saw. There was no apparent offensive strategy, no ball movement... I think Lamar was 0-11, not going to win many like that.

[Doggie_Style]

Just could not make the shots that would normally fall.

I think what we saw last night was a direct result of our pathetic 'cupcake' schedule. We were not prepared or use to playing at that speed or level of physicality. I mean North Georgia.....how did that 'game' help us get better?

[Liverpooldawg]

I think what we saw last night was a direct result of our pathetic 'cupcake' schedule. We were not prepared or use to playing at that speed or level of physicality. I mean North Georgia.....how did that 'game' help us get better?

I think it’s more a result of we aren’t as good as that team. We just aren’t. If we had played more like them we would have lost to those teams, as well as losing last night.

[thf24]

I sound like a broken record but it?s the same as last year, no real half court offense and no inside game. If the threes aren?t falling and we aren?t getting transition buckets we can?t score. We get almost no second chance shots and very, very few points in the paint from the half court. It?s tough to beat decent teams when you are like that.

I keep seeing this complaint, and rightfully so, but it's really tough to have a good half court offense when you don't have a reliable scorer down low. As good as Howland has recruited, that's what he's failed to put on the court thus far; a 4 or 5 who can score consistently from the low block without help. Ado will be that guy before his career is over, maybe Datcher too, but they're both still at least a year away. Garrison Brooks wouldn't have been the absolute answer, but I feel like he would have really helped us in this area this year. I'm of course thrilled we're bringing in a player like Reggie Perry next year, but I'd feel better if Howland was recruiting more blue-collar type forwards and centers instead of all these stretch 4's.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Just could not make the shots that would normally fall.

We looked like a team that hasn't had any real competition all year and has only played at home. It was 100% the schedules fault. Howland's year 3 trend won't happen here but he does get a pass due to having to start from scratch, transfers and injuries.

[DudyDawg]

They killed us on the offensive glass at key times... that was the story.

[Dawg61]

They killed us on the offensive glass at key times... that was the story.

Agree with this. Poor shooting and poor rebounding lost the game last night.

[Coach007]

They killed us on the offensive glass at key times... that was the story.

Now that I agree with. But we shot horrible.

[Big4Dawg]

We actually had more offensive rebounds and rebounds than them....

[Liverpooldawg]

I keep seeing this complaint, and rightfully so, but it's really tough to have a good half court offense when you don't have a reliable scorer down low. As good as Howland has recruited, that's what he's failed to put on the court thus far; a 4 or 5 who can score consistently from the low block without help. Ado will be that guy before his career is over, maybe Datcher too, but they're both still at least a year away. Garrison Brooks wouldn't have been the absolute answer, but I feel like he would have really helped us in this area this year. I'm of course thrilled we're bringing in a player like Reggie Perry next year, but I'd feel better if Howland was recruiting more blue-collar type forwards and centers instead of all these stretch 4's.
The half court offense is basically dribble it around the perimeter a bit and then maybe make a pass a two before jacking up a three. There is no offensive rebounding if we miss.

[CovertDawg]

First, there are not 25 teams better than Cincinnati. People were talking about them as 1 seed when the season started. They will not be worse than a 3 seed.

Offense was bad, no doubt about it. However, I am not completely discouraged by the effort. I did not feel like we were physically overwhelmed like we would have been last year (thank you freshmen Nick Weatherspoon and Ado.) And yes, Cincinnati was able to convert on their offensive rebounds at opportune times but we had 17 offensive rebounds to their 10. Part of that is all the bricks we were firing up increasing the chances, but those numbers tell me we at least went toe to toe on the glass.

Right now, Q is the only guy we can throw the ball to and say "make a play" against high end opponents. I thought he looked exhausted with his shot in the second half last night...legs were gone. Nick shows flashes and I love his ability to convert difficult layups against bigs (an excellent indicator of an elite player, unlike Malik Newman) but he is still pretty much a straight line driver at this point of his career. Lamar should be able to create for himself and others but he is in his own head. I wish Howland would tell Lamar against UT Martin...you are going to play 40 minutes tonight. Figure it out. It would be worth it for the upside of the team this year.

Holman's improvement is real. He won't face a better front line than Cincinnati and he more than held his own. Ado has lots of work to do on offense but as a freshman to battle defensively against an elite team like that was encouraging. I have not given up on the team this year but either Lamar has to find himself.... or Nick, Ado, and Tyson are going to have to take major steps forward during conference play for this to be an NIT/Bubble type of year.

On a side note....I have seen both Reggie Perry and DJ Stewart play in person. Reggie is a swiss army knife. He will absolutely ease our pain on offense next year with his versatility. I think DJ is better than the rankings indicate. Big upside. He and Nick Weatherspoon will be a nightmare for opponents with their defense.

[thf24]

The half court offense is basically dribble it around the perimeter a bit and then maybe make a pass a two before jacking up a three. There is no offensive rebounding if we miss.

Throwing it around the perimeter and jacking up 3's aren't bad options when you know throwing it in down low is probably going to result in a turnover or a shot that comes nowhere close. Our guards trying to drive a little more than they do would probably help, but an offense that moves defenders around to create open shots has to start inside-out, and we don't have anyone down low who can create that threat right now.

[Dawg61]

Aric Holman is shooting 67% from 3 this year. I take back every shitty thing I said about him shooting 3's the last 2 years. Oh and Nick Weatherspoon is a stud. We have enough offense if Howland will let Nick run the pick and roll with Holman and leave Q/Carter on the wings ready for the 3.

[Liverpooldawg]

Throwing it around the perimeter and jacking up 3's aren't bad options when you know throwing it in down low is probably going to result in a turnover or a shot that comes nowhere close. Our guards trying to drive a little more than they do would probably help, but an offense that moves defenders around to create open shots has to start inside-out, and we don't have anyone down low who can create that threat right now.

If you do that then you better crash the offensive glass. We don't.

[Johnson85]

We looked like a team that hasn't had any real competition all year and has only played at home. It was 100% the schedules fault. Howland's year 3 trend won't happen here but he does get a pass due to having to start from scratch, transfers and injuries.

I don't get why people are melting over this. We knew we had played a cupcake schedule. It would have been nice to come out against our first real opponent in our first real road game and execute, but it wasn't real likely. The players knew this was their only real game in the preseason and probably put a little too much pressure on themselves in addition to Cincy just having a good D.

That doesn't mean that we won't show up in conference games. We're probably not going to be great but that doesn't mean we're not going to be much improved from last year and have reason to think we're going to be better next year (although I'm not sure we're going to be a tournament team without finding a low post scorer).

[biggun]

Agree with this. Poor shooting and poor rebounding lost the game last night.

Lamar Peters - 21 minutes played
FG - 0-11
3PT - 0-7
FT?s - 0-0
Points -0
Turnovers - 6
Fouls - 4
Assists - 2
Rebounds - 1

THAT IS F******* PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!

A total of 9 assists as a team is awful and is an indicator of playing ?me? and not ?team? basketball. Defense broke down in transition far too easily too many times, just like last year. Holman threw up several prayers that happened to be answered last night but I would not be counting on to many more 3 point shooting nights like last night from Holman in the future, very low percentage shots.
Nick is the real deal. Peters looked awful. The rest of the returning guys looked about the same as last year.

[BiscuitEater]

They killed us on the offensive glass at key times... that was the story.

Respectfully disagree. MSU had 17 offensive rebounds, 38 total. Cincy had 10 offensive rebounds, 27 total. We just shot poorly and had zero points from the bench.