for a "veteran" team, we sure lack poise on the road

[jage]

sunday feels like it is not quite a "must-win" but more like a "we could use the confidence boost-win".

this team looks like a top 10 team at home, but looks like they shouldn't even be ranked on the road. they simply lack poise away from the BC. at l'ville, we panicked when we had the ball near the rim and i probably pulled out half of my hair as a result of all the missed "bunnies". lazar and jerel, especially, played horrendous...lazar looked complacent and lazy and missed a number of defensive assignments. jerel turned it over seven times...are you kidding me? the cold shooting affected every aspect of our game. alright...now i'm just venting...my apologies.

excuses, complaints, etc. aside, the bottom line is that you win on the road with solid defense, efficient offense, and poise, with the latter being the most important. without poise, you miss the extra pass (or make too many...see how many fast breaks in the l'ville game ended with behind-the-back crap and missed opportunities to draw fouls and get to the line), you take poor shots, miss easy ones, commit cheap fouls, overplay on defense (we got burned by pick & rolls all night against l'ville), and...ultimately...you lose the game.

the key to the uconn game tomorrow is not "who turns it over more" or "who gets to the line more"...it's how will our guys respond when uconn makes a run or gets a big three-point play. how will we respond when the shots aren't falling? how will we respond if DJ struggles or can't go? this game will show the character of our team.

[dwaderoy2004]

we showed a lot of poise against wisconsin on the road.  we have looked BAD in our first two road games.  Remember, a 5-4 road record in teh big east is pretty darn good.  i would agree uconn is a big game in terms of proving to ourselves and others we can win on the road in the BE.

[🏀]

Yes, we struggled on the road. AS DOES THE REST OF THE BIG EAST.


Look. Listen. Think. Then speak.

[mu_hilltopper]

Big East: 8 wins, 31 losses on the road in conference.

The chances of winning on the road versus the top 5-8 teams is nearly zero.  The top 9 teams have lost a total of 1 game at home.

[Marquette84]

Big East: 8 wins, 31 losses on the road in conference.

The chances of winning on the road versus the top 5-8 teams is nearly zero.  The top 9 teams have lost a total of 1 game at home.

And of those 8 wins, 2 are against Rutgers, 1 versus USF,  1 versus St. Johns, 1 versus SHU. 

So approaching 25% of the conference season gone, there are just 3 road wins total against teams not in the bottom four. 

[eagles11]

Yes, we struggled on the road. AS DOES THE REST OF THE BIG EAST.


Look. Listen. Think. Then speak.

Everybody struggles on the road.  As the OP correctly pointed out, we lack poise on the road.  We lack confidence on the road.  We look like a completely different team on the road.  There is a huge difference between that and simply "struggling".  Try to get it through your head. 

EDITED: flames not tolerated.  clean it up.

[🏀]

Yes, we struggled on the road. AS DOES THE REST OF THE BIG EAST.


Look. Listen. Think. Then speak.

Everybody struggles on the road.  As the OP correctly pointed out, we lack poise on the road.  We lack confidence on the road.  We look like a completely different team on the road.  There is a huge difference between that and simply "struggling".  Try to get it through your head. 

First off, thank you for the compliment. I find it annoying when people that only post on the site after a loss come in a think they are going to make a big swooping statement like that.

So instead of me 'responding to this and other posts without acting like a stroke.', how about you start responding to posts anytime except when the team loses.


Nice name by the way.

EDITED: removed flames from quoted message.

[mviale]

Home is worth 10 pts in this league.  we are down 40-50 with 8  min to go.  I believe with a Healthy James, that one goes to wire at the bradley center. 

Buck up - this is the Big East and did you expect undefeated?

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

No kidding. A team with 4 or 5 losses may still be in position to contend for the league title.

[Pardner]

Big East: 8 wins, 31 losses on the road in conference.

The chances of winning on the road versus the top 5-8 teams is nearly zero.  The top 9 teams have lost a total of 1 game at home.

And of those 8 wins, 2 are against Rutgers, 1 versus USF,  1 versus St. Johns, 1 versus SHU. 

So approaching 25% of the conference season gone, there are just 3 road wins total against teams not in the bottom four. 

According to Pomeroy the visiting teams in the BE win 39% of the time.  I assume this 25% will close the second time through the conference.  If averages hold, we should be 4-5 on the road.

That said, while there have been a lot of Chicken Little comments out after the UL loss, I am also weary of the talk explaining away our road losses.  Duke will be ranked #3 on Monday...and we stayed with them on a neutral site.  We went into Madison and took it to the first place Big Ten team from start to finish.  We didn't just beat, but spanked Providence and ND at home like I haven't seen in a number of years.  IMO, we can be a Top 10 team...we are with the Big Boys.  No excuses.

Winning on the road is indeed tough.  But, we are a tough as nails team, who I still think can win the BE.  If we win tomorrow with DJ hurt, we will be set up for a nice win streak--looking at our schedule.  We need to play desperate from the tip.  If we set ourselves up over this span, I agree we can beat that 4-5 road record expectation.