Loyola-Chicago (1/2/21)

Andrew · January 3, 2021

1 minute ago, BillySee58 said:

Jackson is the only one who fits that bill on this team and you’re saying you want to see him more

I want to see him over Murray... if your going to play Murray. That includes most players on this team (if I’m going with NT90s height limits... haha) Reese, Hamlet, McBride.

I like Jones length.

GrandGreen · January 3, 2021

Nothing like a ball control team that can not hang on to the ball. Most of these turnovers are unforced, just poor ball handling.

Andrew · January 3, 2021

Maybe Mcasland should stick to just coaching defense. We finally starts coding once it’s too late and he lets them shoot in the first half of the shot clock .

CMJ · January 3, 2021

Loyola-Chicago 52 ---------- NT 42

2:46 to go

Just not enough time given the offense.

Travis · January 3, 2021

Based on every game I have seen, we won’t look too well in conference.

BillySee58 · January 3, 2021

1 minute ago, Andrew said:

Maybe Mcasland should stick to just coaching defense. We finally starts coding once it’s too late and he lets them shoot in the first half of the shot clock .

His offense works really well against competition CUSA level and below. Against better competition, working the clock so long looking for the perfect shot just results in more passes, which get stolen, and bad shots late in the shot clock because we’re passing up okay shots hoping we’ll get a better one but we don’t

Andrew · January 3, 2021

1 minute ago, BillySee58 said:

His offense works really well against competition CUSA level and below. Against better competition, working the clock so long looking for the perfect shot just results in more passes, which get stolen, and bad shots late in the shot clock because we’re passing up okay shots hoping we’ll get a better one but we don’t

It’s slow and a pain to watch. They need to open it and really push the ball. Hamlet needs to get back to attacking and having options. It’s torture to watch this offense.

Edited January 3, 2021 by Andrew

ntmeangreen11 · January 3, 2021

Am I crazy or did we play with a much faster pace and much more attempted 3s in his first couple years?

The offense we are running seems ancient.

BillySee58 · January 3, 2021

Just now, Andrew said:

It’s slow and a pain to watch.

It has prevented us from getting a single signature non-conference win in 4 seasons. It’s tough to beat good teams on the road, but much harder when we’re turning the ball over. 20 turnovers on the road against a good team is just too much to overcome.

CMJ · January 3, 2021

Loyola-Chicago 57 ---------- NT 49

Final

Green Lantern · January 3, 2021

Well that was our worst played game of the year. Sucks. I was excited for this one.

Venson · January 3, 2021

Damn I paid to renew my subscription to ESPN+ to watch this garbage. At least my renewal to CUSA paid off because the women won.

Andrew · January 3, 2021

1 minute ago, BillySee58 said:

It has prevented us from getting a single signature non-conference win in 4 seasons. It’s tough to beat good teams on the road, but much harder when we’re turning the ball over. 20 turnovers on the road against a good team is just too much to overcome.

It’s not infuriating to wait 20-25 seconds into the clock to turn over the ball...

I lost money on this game (the odds were good) and it was winnable. Lesson learned. UNT can’t win big games. 😕

BillySee58 · January 3, 2021

7 minutes ago, ntmeangreen11 said:

Am I crazy or did we play with a much faster pace and much more attempted 3s in his first couple years?

The offense we are running seems ancient.

We were 340th out of 353 division 1 teams in offensive pace last season. Here is what we’ve ranked in possessions per game since Mccasland was hired.

2020-2021 pace: 252nd out of 334 division 1 teams

2019-2020 pace: 340th out of 353 division 1 teams

2018-2019 pace: 257th out of 353 division 1 teams

2017-2018 pace: 161st out of 351 division 1 teams

Mccasland wants to play it slow. We were one of the most efficient offenses in the nation last year, because we executed well in conference play but this is largely how we looked against the good teams we played in non-conference last year.

Edited January 3, 2021 by BillySee58

Gibbz · January 3, 2021

All four losses have been against top 50 BPI teams. I doubt UNT has ever been a top 50 BPI team. Sure getting one or two of those would have been nice, but it's not time to melt down just yet.

If we look similar to this against UTSA, then it'll be time to panic.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 3, 2021

11 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

We were 340th out of 353 division 1 teams in offensive pace last season. Here is what we’ve ranked in possessions per game since Mccasland was hired.

2020-2021 pace: 252nd out of 334 division 1 teams

2019-2020 pace: 340th out of 353 division 1 teams

2018-2019 pace: 257th out of 353 division 1 teams

2017-2018 pace: 161st out of 351 division 1 teams

Mccasland wants to play it slow. We were one of the most efficient offenses in the nation last year, because we executed well in conference play but this is largely how we looked against the good teams we played in non-conference last year.

That’s why Rose fell off (minus DUI and injury) because some of these guys aren’t slow paced offense.

A fast break offense is needed when you look at it, mainly against good teams.

GrandGreen · January 3, 2021

NT just played awful tonight, poor shooting and turnovers every other time down the court.

NT had the quicker and I think best guards, but Mac negated all that by playing his usual deliberate style.

I think NT has a very good team that should contend for the CUSA title. I hope this constant beat down on the road doesn't do permanent damage to the team.

NT plays a SWAC away schedule. They don't expect to win; they just collect paychecks.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 3, 2021

9 minutes ago, Gibbz said:

All four losses have been against top 50 BPI teams. I doubt UNT has ever been a top 50 BPI team. Sure getting one or two of those would have been nice, but it's not time to melt down just yet.

If we look similar to this against UTSA, then it'll be time to panic.

Yeah I agree. If we get swept or even lose 1 of the games, it’s time to panic because they are awful.

It’ll be tough since it’s on utsa’s court, but who knows what happens. I hope Hamlet, Zach and everyone are really mad and dominate the rest of the season

greenminer · January 3, 2021

I’ve been chalking a lot up to COVID, but I still have a long term vision for our program.

I dream of UNT and WKU slugging it out year in and out for T20 rankings. I want us to be in the running for S16 appearances. This program has never seen what that kind of tourney run can do to a fan base. It is remarkable, and would trump any of our bowl runs (just a gut feeling). I honestly think that is what CUSA really needs, too. A blood-thirst rivalry that never dulls.

What I’m seeing this year is not on the trajectory that would get us there. WKU has stepped up for 2020-2021 and we don’t look prepared to meet them at the top.

I hope we shake this loss off and right this ship.

Edited January 3, 2021 by greenminer

BillySee58 · January 3, 2021

19 minutes ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

That’s why Rose fell off (minus DUI and injury) because some of these guys aren’t slow paced offense.

A fast break offense is needed when you look at it, mainly against good teams.

I don’t think that was the case with Rose. He had the green light to shoot early in the shot clock even in the two seasons he was not effective. He just wasn’t hitting them.

GrandGreen · January 3, 2021

I wonder if NT had virus issues, only played 8.

The refereeing was horrid. NT got 6 free throws to their 17. Even more telling their slow center did not get called for any fouls. He is supposed to be the best player in their conference and was very good; but he pushed and hacked players all game.

Mc schedules these games to get the team ready for conference. IMO, this LoyChi team was good, but I think NT beats them on a neutral site. It is easy to see why their home record is so good.

They also played ranked Wisconsin tough in Wisconsin.

Green Lantern · January 3, 2021

46 minutes ago, Gibbz said:

All four losses have been against top 50 BPI teams. I doubt UNT has ever been a top 50 BPI team. Sure getting one or two of those would have been nice, but it's not time to melt down just yet.

If we look similar to this against UTSA, then it'll be time to panic.

I wouldn’t call it panic. Just disappointment. Was hoping we could take a step forward by beating a team or two up the proverbial conference food chain this season. Didn’t happen. As @BillySee58pointed out, our offensive style continues to be a challenge in these types of matchups. Especially when we turn the ball over constantly - often unforced - and don’t consistently knock down the open looks that we are getting.

At this point, we don’t look like a top level CUSA team. WKU (even though they lost a close one at Charlotte- is gonna be a problem in league play). That could change. We didn’t look like one last year during OOC play either. Everything changed with Hamlet’s buzzer beater @ La Tech and we were a different, more confident team after that.

ntmeangreen11 · January 3, 2021

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

We were 340th out of 353 division 1 teams in offensive pace last season. Here is what we’ve ranked in possessions per game since Mccasland was hired.

2020-2021 pace: 252nd out of 334 division 1 teams

2019-2020 pace: 340th out of 353 division 1 teams

2018-2019 pace: 257th out of 353 division 1 teams

2017-2018 pace: 161st out of 351 division 1 teams

Mccasland wants to play it slow. We were one of the most efficient offenses in the nation last year, because we executed well in conference play but this is largely how we looked against the good teams we played in non-conference last year.

Thanks, I was somewhat correct in that we played faster but it wasn't Warriors championship era fast pace. I don't know enough about the X's and O's of basketball to say that a faster pace would lead to a better offense. I can see how a more methodical half court approach can wear on the opposing defense. Maybe we just need a little more time to gel.

TX-Rambler · January 3, 2021

Loyola alum and fan living in Texas (The Woodlands) checking in here.
First and foremost - I’m really glad you guys agreed to play this game. It’s not easy scheduling a game on short notice, and the fact that your coach was willing to travel all the way to Chicago is awesome. Going through all the protocols, travel, etc. is no easy task, and your team was already at a disadvantage from the tip because of it. We were equally as happy to get this game as you, given the circumstances.

Second - y’all should know our fans respected your team going into this one. It’s my hope we return the favor since you were gracious enough to come to Chicago during the pandemic. If you guys want it, we should return the favor and come to Denton next year. Our coach (Moser) has struggled to schedule games with quality opponents in the wake of our Final Four appearance and he appreciates anyone willing to give us a game. I suspect you guys have issues getting teams like TCU, Baylor, etc. to play you. We have the exact same problem trying to get DePaul, Northwestern, and Illinois to play us. We, and you, are victims of our own success when it comes to scheduling. Two solid 20+ win averaging teams playing each other is a good thing, and I hope we see you next year.

From a game perspective - despite the outcome, there is a lot of respect from our fans regarding your team’s defense. You guys play as a unit, and your players listen to their coach’s game plan. You did to krutwig what no Missouri Valley team has figured out out how to do - contain him. The biggest issue you had was Uguak, who put up 26 points. For what it’s worth - his game tonight was a phenomenon. He averages about 4 points per game over the last 2+ years. Normally, he is our weakest starter. This was a fluke.

Like you guys though, we pride ourselves on defense. We’ve been the best defensive team in our league the past 3 years. This was exactly the battle we expected, and you held our top 3 scorers under their average tonight. Since our teams don’t know each other that well, you might not realize what an accomplishment that was.

Also - we aren’t idiot fans. We know that you guys can play better offensively, and it didn’t help your cause that Hamlet want 5-17 from the field. It’s obvious from looking at his stats that he’s better than that. Also, the 4th foul on Bell was crap - he went straight up and got tagged with one that shouldn’t have been. Y’all aren’t deep enough to lose him with a lot of time left in the half, and that one hurt.

My only criticism of your team is not adapting a new strategy in the last 10 minutes. If you are going to go all in on defense and try to keep the game in the 50s and slow it down - If you’re losing by 10 at the under 12, you’ve got to change the offensive game plan against a veteran team. Running the shot clock down to 10 each time isn’t going to make up ground when the other team has already bested you by 10 in the first 30 minutes, playing YOUR game.

Offense in college basketball is streaky and can be dependent primarily on individual talent. Defense is more intricate though and is a product is team discipline. Before getting mad at coaching - I’d caution you to remember that you held a top 100 team to 57 points. How many times do you hold a team to 57 points and lose? Not a lot.

Your guys’ future looks bright. We are rooting for you to dominate C-USA. We aren’t any better than you, overall, just a little better tonight. Best of luck to you the rest of the way! Thanks again for making the trip! That was ballsy!