GAME THREAD: MBB at Virginia

[highlander]

Well,

We got lucky there. What an ugly game. SMU was stuck on 45 for about the last 5 minutes of the game which turned an 8 point lead to 2 point deficit. Then, we are down 5 with 30 seconds to go.

SMU then makes 3 three pointers in the last 30 seconds and a 82% FT shooter for Virginia misses both free throws with under 10 seconds setting the game winning shot.

Should have definitely lost that game, If Virginia would have shot even close to their average from behind the line (38%) we would have been blown out. It wasn't like we played great defense, most of their misses were wide open, they just couldn't buy one.

Hopefully we can shake that performance off, count ourselves lucky and play much better in Miami.

I will say it was fun to finally see us win one like that, was definitely exciting!

There was a stretch there in the 2nd half where we were trying to put the game away, and we kept missing really good shots. We ended up shooting better than UVA, but neither team played all that well. Had UVA won, they would have considered themselves lucky, too.

[Hop Sing]

Masterclass on how to blow a lead and lose the game

Hello

Hello again!

That’s called a reverse jinx in Kowloon.

[indianmustang]

both mens and womens teams practicing blowing down leads

[highlander]

both mens and womens teams practicing blowing down leads

Yeah but there's a big difference btw blowing an 8-pt lead and blowing a 31-pt lead.

[shadowman]

Heh,

Saw a stat on X this morning that SMU scored more points in the last 30 seconds than they had the previous 14 minutes! Man that is ugly, luckily Virginia was matching us, brick for brick!

[EastStang]

Was at the game. We were definitely laying bricks as was Virginia. I don't know if they shrunk the rims or what, but even their lights out 3 point guy No. 11 was bricking them. Both teams seemed to be shooting off balance a lot which speaks well of the defense. Yamit is a liability at times on offense. He needs to learn to simply pivot and go straight up. Unfortunately, if he gets fouled he can't make free throws. Our 3 point shooting was horrific until the last 18 seconds. I think we were like 2 for 16 or 12%. And UVA figured out to shift to zone and pack the paint so that we had to shoot outside and make us beat them out there. We also need to work on free throws. Missing the front ends of one and ones in a crucial part of the game, is not acceptable. UVA is a bad team, if any other ACC team sees this tape, they are going to force us to shoot outside until we can break the zone.

[Lotus]

Sure hope BJ Davis-Ray and Jermaine O'Neal Jr. can knock down 3s consistently

[Charleston Pony]

Just back from the game myself. As East says, it was really ugly at times and both teams shot very poorly. McNeely shot really well against us in Moody but went 1-9 and 0-6 from three and that was huge. Both teams played tough perimeter D but Virginia did not defend the paint well early and we didn't defend well late allowing Virginia to go on that 12-0 run.

Really nice arena there at Virginia and a great bball history. Don't know if people watching on TV noticed but Virginia is hanging several Final Four banners and a 2019 National Championship banner (couldn't quite finish in the Ralph Sampson era). They are down this year after Bennett walked out just before the season started. Talk here is that he had disagreements with their A.D. but resigned late because he wanted to give Sanchez a shot at earning the job as his successor and didn't think he'd be considered for the job if Bennett left earlier. Doesn't appear that plan is going to work out.

Really engaged student section but the arena is sold out for every game and there were tons of vacant seats. Late game with the 9:00 eastern start and lots of season ticket holders driving from locations an hour or more from Charlottesville (not to mention their team's poor performance to date). It was easy to get good seats for this one.

Virginia is a frustrating team to watch as they've been taught to milk the shot clock. Their guys turned down several open looks with 15 seconds left on the clock and you could see their hesitation knowing they've been coached not to take shots too early. That team just doesn't have any confident shooters and McNeely often got the ball as the clock was expiring and was forced to jack up bricks and even a couple of air balls. We played good perimeter D and that was a factor as well, especially as the clock ran down. Hope Virginia can finish strong to help our NET but basically we survived what would have been a Quad 3 loss

[Red+BlueDude]

Ralph Sampson was the second-best college player I ever saw (after Len Bias)

[mustangxc]

This team is so frustrating to watch because it is probably the worst shooting team I think I have ever seen. They consistently miss tons of layups, 2 foot shots and easy putbacks. Nonetheless we have managed to win all the games we are supposed to win. When Enfield finally fields a talented team watch out.

[dalpony]

Oscar Robertson from Cincinnati was the best high school player I ever saw play in person

[EastStang]

I did see Kareem Abdul Jabbar in high school. Needless to say, it was no contest. I also saw Magic play against SMU in a tournament in Norfolk. That was also no contest.

[highlander]

This team is so frustrating to watch because it is probably the worst shooting team I think I have ever seen. They consistently miss tons of layups, 2 foot shots and easy putbacks. Nonetheless we have managed to win all the games we are supposed to win. When Enfield finally fields a talented team watch out.

For the year they are shooting 47.3% - not bad. But yeah, lately it's been atrocious. Still nowhere near as bad as the Doherty days.

[Charleston Pony]

Shooting has been really inconsistent as we've shot lights out in games against inferior talent but we've shot poorly against teams with better athletes or good defensive teams (like Virginia). That's certainly understandable but what's more concerning is that we've shots FTs poorly of late. That's really disappointing and while usually a sign of tired legs, we've got enough depth that guys haven't had to play as many minutes as some of our guys have in recent years.

[ponyte]

I saw two greats play against each other when I was a Fr in HS. Was in Shreveport, LA. One was named Parish and the other Bird. Parish was defending against an Indiana State guard on a fast break. As the layup went up, Parish jumped to blocked and hit his head on the rim on the way up! Bird was magical that night. This was at Centenary College which had a small but modern facility. Youngster like myself could walk along the baseline and sit on the floor right next to the action. Never dreamed I see those tow as teammates.