SU Game Thoughts

[nyg]

MU out hustled SU all day for loose balls and rebounds.  Different level of hustle.

In first half, Jackson and Jardine in foul trouble, so lead was abit in jeopardy. 

MU had a huge difference in free throw attempts, based on MU attacking zone.

DJO with 4 fouls and sitting was the cause of lead dwindling.  He came back and offense was alot better.

The 34 second and shoot offense with ten minutes to go was ridiculous and bailed out by Butler twice and DJO.  Those shots were the ballgame.

Vander Blue is out of sorts, I guess thats what you call it. 

Otule's block was the best play of his career.  Period.

Nice win, the team and fans needed this one.

[rocky_warrior]

Agreed on all.  And blue will get better on offense.  This is just a slump.  Maybe he's getting his sophomore slump out of the way early

[T.V. Diener 34]

I don't really think Vander is in a slump... he hasn't shown any sort of an outside game all year and he's not playing against cupcakes anymore so it's been harder to get to the hoop.  I just think that until he develops more as a shooter, he's going to be one dimensional and easy to guard.  He's young though and I'd expect his J to be a lot better next year.

[Fred Garvin]

Definitely our best Hussell game of the year.Nice dive by Buykes!

[NCAARules]

Well said.

I really truly believe that when vander is content to shoot from 10 feet-18 feet, the game will come to him very nicely (he showed that range in the non-conference). Right now, he only seems to want to shoot from 3-pt., or from the rim.

Impressed by the effort from so many guys today - DB flying out of bounds for a loose ball, O'tule block, Jimmy's pick of the inbound pass.

Will enjoy this win tonight.

[79Warrior]

Agreed on all.  And blue will get better on offense.  This is just a slump.  Maybe he's getting his sophomore slump out of the way early

He has shown nothing offensvely all season so I would not call it a slump. a slump implies he has put up some numbers at some point. No so for Blue. The whole  league knows to leave him alone on offense

[leglegle]

Perhaps this team will become the Packers.  The team no one wants in the tournament because they know they can win any ballgame.

[CTWarrior]

Though we won, there was a lot not to like about the second half.

We were once again very tentative on offense in the second half.  DJO disappeared for a while before he picked up his fourth foul.  

We missed a lot of FTs during the comeback, too.

On the other hand, we played better D in the 2nd half then the past few games, and I think that is a direct result of more Otule on the floor.  The guy doesn't do much, but he does provide solid interior defensive presence when he's not chasing guards on a double team 40 feet from the basket.

The other main reason we won is because a few of our prayers were answered for a change (namely the 2 3s by Butler and the 3 by DJO.  That was the biggest difference in this game to the others.

The important thing is that we held on and won.  Hopefully this will give the guys more confidence moving forward.

Oh yeah, loved the first two timeouts by Buzz.

[willie warrior]

Sorry man--Otule is a non factor and has been a non factor. he can block shots but other than that, he does nothing out there. he is a 5 to 10 minute guy--period!

[nyg]

Yes, but you have to admit his block was the best thing he has ever done in an MU uniform.  I am not his biggest fan either, but I will at least give him credit when due.  Maybe, but just maybe it will benefit his confidence.

[NCAARules]

Sorry man--Otule is a non factor and has been a non factor. he can block shots but other than that, he does nothing out there. he is a 5 to 10 minute guy--period!

I disagree. A lot of the first half success we had against the zone was due to otule occupying a man on the bottom - allowing JB to get those midrange jumpers. We had 37 minutes of otule+gardner in the game. I don't want to think about what syracuse would have done on offense if we went small.

[BrewCity83]

Otule's big body really helps out against a tall team like 'Cuse.  We would have struggled to contain their big guys without him today.

[Slim]

I disagree. A lot of the first half success we had against the zone was due to otule occupying a man on the bottom - allowing JB to get those midrange jumpers. We had 37 minutes of otule+gardner in the game. I don't want to think about what syracuse would have done on offense if we went small.

+1

[mviale]

MU out hustled SU all day for loose balls and rebounds.  Different level of hustle.

In first half, Jackson and Jardine in foul trouble, so lead was abit in jeopardy. 

MU had a huge difference in free throw attempts, based on MU attacking zone.

DJO with 4 fouls and sitting was the cause of lead dwindling.  He came back and offense was alot better.

The 34 second and shoot offense with ten minutes to go was ridiculous and bailed out by Butler twice and DJO.  Those shots were the ballgame.

Vander Blue is out of sorts, I guess thats what you call it. 

Otule's block was the best play of his career.  Period.

Nice win, the team and fans needed this one.

Agree - we all needed this win

[Marquette84]

Though we won, there was a lot not to like about the second half.

We were once again very tentative on offense in the second half.  DJO disappeared for a while before he picked up his fourth foul.  

We missed a lot of FTs during the comeback, too.

On the other hand, we played better D in the 2nd half then the past few games, and I think that is a direct result of more Otule on the floor.  The guy doesn't do much, but he does provide solid interior defensive presence when he's not chasing guards on a double team 40 feet from the basket.

The other main reason we won is because a few of our prayers were answered for a change (namely the 2 3s by Butler and the 3 by DJO.  That was the biggest difference in this game to the others.

The important thing is that we held on and won.  Hopefully this will give the guys more confidence moving forward.

Oh yeah, loved the first two timeouts by Buzz.

I agree with all your points--especially the point on Otule. While a lot of folks were singling out Otule based on lack of production, his +/- numbers in both ND and UConn showed the team plays better with him in the game.  He needs to be in there.

[mviale]

If Otule goes out, Jae moves to the 5 according to Buzz.  With Jae in the 5, he fouls and does not get 25 points.  We probably lose.

[79Warrior]

Sorry man--Otule is a non factor and has been a non factor. he can block shots but other than that, he does nothing out there. he is a 5 to 10 minute guy--period!

disagree on today's effort. He played a solid game on D. Cuse is a really big team. Him playing gave Crowder more ability to get open. I have been critical of Chris, but i thought today he played solid.

[akmarq]

Most simply, Otule is this year's Dwight Burke. The numbers won't be flashy, but he is invaluable because of what he helps OTHER guys do. W/o Burke, Lazar played the 5 and was not near as effective as at the 4.

This is basically the same situation.

[shiloh26]

Most simply, Otule is this year's Dwight Burke. The numbers won't be flashy, but he is invaluable because of what he helps OTHER guys do. W/o Burke, Lazar played the 5 and was not near as effective as at the 4.

This is basically the same situation.

I think that's the first and last time anyone has referred to Dwight Burke as "invaluable."   . But, I agree with the sentiment.  I actually think Otule is already about as effective as Burke ever was... the do different things defensively, but Otule has much more playmaking ability at that end and there is only room for improvement.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Great to see Buzz keep Otule on the floor in the second half. Glad to see Jimmy and Jae get a blow in the second half, instead of playing every minute.

[NotAnAlum]

Postives about Otule
1.  You can't under estimate the effect a 6'10" guy has on the other team's defense.  If Chris can just appear to be a threat it makes things easier for the other guys. 

2.  Chris has gotten really good at clearing a driving lane by picking the other team's center.  Also many of Jae's put backs were made easier because the center couldn't come over to block the shot.  Chris is doing much to help the offense without scoring much

3.  That block was huge today and nobody else makes it.

4.  Finally and most importantly the kid is on his way to actually finishing a season.  If Chris got injured again this year I think you'd have to say his career is over, he just can't survive D-1 basketball.  If he makes it though next year we have an upper classman center who understands the centers role in the defense.  We haven't had that since Barro and I really think Chris has a chance to be at least is good as Barro.