But ya know what? This team plays hard. This team doesnt fight over the ball and shots. They represent our school well. We've missed that for a decade.
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But ya know what? This team plays hard. This team doesnt fight over the ball and shots. They represent our school well. We've missed that for a decade.
I?m not predicting wins and losses anymore because we are so random, but finishing 11-7 would at least give us hope to make the tournament. Especially if we win 2 in the SEC tourney
Our schedule is about to get brutal after OM Tuesday night...
At Bama
At tenn
Iowa st
At ark
At South Carolina
LSU
This is about as tough a stretch you can have in the sec.
I don't think 11-7 gets us close. I think it's going to have to be 12-6 and a minimum 2 wins in the tournament to even think about the bubble. Our NET ranking sucks. It's at 86. We have enough of Howland's track record to say it's going to be virtually impossible to go 12-6. We play too many good teams that we can't score enough points against to only lose 4 more games in conference.
I enjoy watching this team play as long as I don't have to watch them in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the game. Right now it is just emotionally painful to endure that. If we have an 8 to 10 point lead you know we are going to be trying to hold on for dear life or if we have a 4 to 6 point lead you know there is probably as good a chance or better that we lose than win. Howland needs to work this team over and over in practice in every situation at the end of games because we have no natural awareness right now of end game situations. First, we don't make free throws which already makes it difficult to close out games but we don't do other things well either. For example, like yesterday, if you are ahead 6 with 20 seconds to go and your opponent is willing to drive and take two points then let them have it without fouling because you are still up 2 possessions. Or if you are up by 3 with 12 seconds to go don't put up an off balance shot when you can dribble out and force them to foul you where one free throw pretty much seals the game. Just situations that our team is apparently oblivious to. And that doesn't even count our difficulty inbounding or handling a press at the end of a game or being unable to even get a shot up if its an end of game situation where we need to score to win. Yes, this team is doing a lot of things very well that makes them a lot of fun to watch but its frustrating to watch them play so well for 37 to 38 minutes only to know that it will be like pulling teeth to survive the last couple of minutes of the game. Hopefully as the team continues to get experience they will improve at end of game situations but this does seem to be a trait of all Howland's team in close games. This team just seems to be even worse because of the lack of experience in the backcourt.