Shark84

Once Ruben is back, we will be able to handle the press better. Only having one true ball handler hurts. Hodge said Allen also had surgery on his teeth, two were knocked loose. Trainer said it was the worst cut lip he had ever seen and that Allen was the toughest kid he had been around.

Visited the UAB fan board and love that they hate playing us and put us down for our slow down offense. I have grown to appreciate our style of play and the results that have followed. It seems to be the best way for us to be able to compete with the bigger budget programs. It would be great to have an up-tempo offense but we aren't able to get those kinds of players. I have come to acknowledge that the old saying "Defense travels" is true. We are able to play teams tough on the road because of our defense.

I was at the Wichita State game and they did something I thought was pretty cool. Their fans stand up until the opponent scores their first basket. The season ticket holder sitting by me said that it used to be a really cool deal when they were selling out games a few years ago. We need something like that since we are such a strong defensive team. Just something to identify with what are team is known for. Go Mean Green!

Anyone heard what kind of crowd they are expecting for the game tomorrow night? It's on ESPNU and a late tip at 8pm. Haven't seen anything from the university promoting it, just ones for the Memphis game in Feb. Hope the students come back out and we can get 4-5k. GMG

Yes. He is mentioned in an article in the DRC this morning.

Quick turnaround and tough travel in this conference but it's awesome to be on espn2 in back to back games.

The other thing to consider is if we would have had as good a look as Buggs did. We don't always get good looks in half court situations like that. Bottom line is if Buggs makes it, we're saying great shot and I like our chances of denying them a good look at a three at the end of the game. This is a tough team and one that deserves the support of the students and alumni. GMG!

If Hodge didn't like how he was playing, he wouldn't be out there for 38 minutes a game. He plays good defense and is always a scoring threat. When Jones is healthy, he doesn't have to be a main ball handler.

Even the halftime show was great!

IMO If we are serious about wanting to win the conference or at least be a top four seed, we MUST win our home conference games. This one is bigger than Sunday at FAU. When we play Memphis and FAU at home, THOSE will be huge games.

I wonder if we have inquired about this young man. Sure seems like he could help. De'Braylon Carroll, Rice De'Braylon Carroll has spent four seasons at Rice and improved in each year. This past season, Carroll had a career year with 46 total tackles and 3.5 sacks. For programs looking for a consistent defensive lineman to help wreck other teams offenses, Carroll could be the perfect fit.

Parking is going to be a nightmare.

Sounds like we will have between 7-8 thousand at the game. A lot of the total will depend on how many students actually show up. Should be a great environment. GMG

https://youtu.be/2iEPXKUTrjY

For those of you who are season ticket holders, get ready to have Smut fans buying up tickets next to you. It is beneath them to sit in general admission seats. I'm sure the ushers won't be checking tickets and people will sit wherever they want to. It will also be interesting to see if we have more than two gates to enter. Expect long lines to get in and at the concession stands.

The most important thing for us is to finish the regular season in the top four so we can earn the double bye and only have to win 3 games in 3 days.

Anyone know if there are any pregame activities planned for Thursday? I know it is an early start so that may not allow for anything big.

That has been the question for the past couple of years. Grant and now Hodge don't give guys off the bench a chance in games. I wish we knew the reason why. Maybe they don't perform well in practice but if that is the case, replace them in the summer. Maybe they are dealing with injuries that we don't know about. I have been told it is a trust thing. Some guys are not practice players but play well in games. I think Cotton might be one of those, but we may never know. I like Stone but not starting and playing 20 or more minutes. He could be a great 8-9 minute guy to come in and inject some energy defensively. He isn't a scoring threat and that hurts us when we aren't getting steady production from our post players. We end up playing 3 on 5 offensively. That puts a ton of pressure on Edwards, Scott and Noland to do all of the scoring. Getting Buggs and Jones back will help lower everyone's minutes and at least give us other scoring options. It's a long season. This conference has shown that no team is unbeatable. We just need to get healthy and allow players to get used to their roles. Right now we have guys playing more than they should be and trying to fill roles that they aren't able to handle. Pack the Pit Thursday and let's beat Smut! GMG!

To be fair, our 4 wins have come against teams currently in the bottom half of the conference so the next week will tell us more about where we stand in the league overall. At Charolette, Smut and at FAU then home against UAB. The next 4 will be tough. Sure hope we can get Jones and Buggs back for some of those games. GMG

They usually just post highlights.

Sure would be nice if our coach was able to have a press conference after every home game.

That wasn't as bad as the missed traveling call right before they banked in the go-ahead basket. The refs did the right thing letting the players decide the game. You could also argue that he was fouled on the basket.

I would love for us to go undefeated in conference play, but I don't think that is going to happen.

So, if we don't sweep both games and win by double digits does Hodge have to walk home? I hope you are correct but I'm not going to panic if you're wrong. Winning road games was tough in Conference USA so the AAC shouldn't be any different. Go Mean Green!