Western Kentucky (1/15/22)

MCMLXXX · January 14, 2022

In the DFW area it is on KTXD 47 a Stadium affiliated TV station.

Andrew · January 15, 2022

6 hours ago, greenminer said:

I'm thinking, there's gotta be a Kramer for this...

The irony of my seeing this right as I watch Seinfeld and Kramer is on screen…. Astonishing.

UNTLifer · January 15, 2022

Speaking of the 8' center, I have seen him play and was not overly impressed. Yes, he will get his blocks, but he isn't quick and we will have to work to pull him out away from the basket.

GreenEggs&Ham™ · January 15, 2022

Since I live in Bowling Green & do watch WKU BB, thought I would give an unofficial GMG.com mini scouting report (survey format).

WKU likes to play zone and force their opponents to drive in on the 7'5" Sharp or take open 3 pointers.
Zone defense allows them to rest as they have some stamina issues with their rotation.
Sharp was not a starter at Hopkinsville H.S. and only averaged < 18 min/game in Junior College.
Sharp can't play 35 minutes...27 minutes or so is all.
But he has 74 blocks this year....so one of the nation's leaders in that category.
...and this will be WKU's first Thu, Sat series of the season.
They could get tired early.
Forcing teams to play from behind in the 2nd half is WKU's strategy.
This is so their opponent will play more aggressive on defense and WKU can draw fouls..
...to get to the foul line.
WKU wants to hit more free-throws than their opponents attempt, if that makes sense.
As of this posting, Keith Williams (6'5" G & Cincy transfer & 4-star recruit) eligibility for the UNT game is unclear.

Other

Diddle Arena is a notoriously difficult place to play for opponents.
Snow won't be an issue. Warren County has 100 snowplows. 7" of snow last week and 12 hours or so to clear.
Hillbillies do not reside in Bowling Green. They live in the Appalachian region of Eastern KY.
I will not attend the game due to the crazy high COVID-19 cases here.

greenminer · January 15, 2022

@GreenEggs&Ham™ appreciate the insight. Stay safe #GMG

BillySee58 · January 15, 2022

11 hours ago, Andrew said:

The irony of my seeing this right as I watch Seinfeld and Kramer is on screen…. Astonishing.

That’s coincidence. Not irony.

97and03 · January 15, 2022

55 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

That’s coincidence. Not irony.

Bruce Campbell Hello GIF

NT80 · January 15, 2022

19 hours ago, MCMLXXX said:

In the DFW area it is on KTXD 47 a Stadium affiliated TV station.

KTXD-TV (texas47.com)

Thanks for that info.

........................................

WKU fan board strategies for today's game:

As a translation: we don't give freebies. We block a LOT of 2s. So, make threes against us or else.

Better teams will be able to come at us inside (Lofton was pretty effective for LA Tech) or exploit the longball (UK, Buffalo). UNT shouldn't be one of those, though. The Green are about 1) defense and 2) 3s. So, we might man them up as well and MAKE them shoot 2s. They don't like them. They shoot 3s and FTs. We may try to force them to take it inside and limit their 3s similar to the Rice game.

A bigger concern is scoring against UNT. They play SUPER slow (#2 slowest nationally) and do EVERYTHING well defensively including rebounding. They will slow us down, frustrate us, and limit our free throw opportunities if they can.

The slow game only works if they can force us into their game with Tenacious D (as Jack Black would say.) But it's pretty hard to slow down a fast break by Davion McKnight or a dunk by Jamarion Sharp. If they are playing from behind, they are welcome to take as much time off the clock as they want.

CMJ · January 15, 2022

Like these games always are - it'll be a street fight. Usually games against the Toppers come down to the last four minutes and who executes better. I'm sure that'll be the case today as well.

Coach Andy Mac · January 15, 2022

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 15, 2022

On 1/14/2022 at 9:39 AM, Shark 64 said:

Our lack of a bench could be the difference on a short turn around. With Western's height, maybe we will see Wright get a chance to earn his way back into the rotation. I think we have learned by now that Grant will play with 5 before he gives in and plays someone who won't play the way he demands. It can be really frustrating for fans but I think Grant knows what is best for his program. He's earned that! We'd all love to win the conference regular season title but it's how you play in the tournament that really counts. Go Mean Green.

Western has absolutely no depth whatsoever, but it’s in Diddle so it’ll be rough.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · January 15, 2022

2 hours ago, NT80 said:

Thanks for that info.

........................................

WKU fan board strategies for today's game:

As a translation: we don't give freebies. We block a LOT of 2s. So, make threes against us or else.

Better teams will be able to come at us inside (Lofton was pretty effective for LA Tech) or exploit the longball (UK, Buffalo). UNT shouldn't be one of those, though. The Green are about 1) defense and 2) 3s. So, we might man them up as well and MAKE them shoot 2s. They don't like them. They shoot 3s and FTs. We may try to force them to take it inside and limit their 3s similar to the Rice game.

A bigger concern is scoring against UNT. They play SUPER slow (#2 slowest nationally) and do EVERYTHING well defensively including rebounding. They will slow us down, frustrate us, and limit our free throw opportunities if they can.

The slow game only works if they can force us into their game with Tenacious D (as Jack Black would say.) But it's pretty hard to slow down a fast break by Davion McKnight or a dunk by Jamarion Sharp. If they are playing from behind, they are welcome to take as much time off the clock as they want.

See we do shoot free throws, but DAMN we aren’t good at it.

This reminds me of 2018-19 with Ryan getting fouled 10 times a game and making 4-10

That's why we lost the UAB game

RiseUNT · January 15, 2022

Bell kicking it out for open 3s will be a game changer.

CMJ · January 15, 2022

NT 11 -------- WKU 8

15:19 to go

Great start. I love playing against the Toppers - even though (except as of late) we usually lose. Games always feel big against them and we play that way.

Edited January 15, 2022 by CMJ

Andrew · January 15, 2022

Maybe this foul trouble early will open up the bench. Could be good for us.

CMJ · January 15, 2022

NT 16 -------- WKU 16

10:57 to go

Sharp is hurting us down low. Thankfully he's now on the bench. Our threes are falling early.

CMJ · January 15, 2022

NT 21 -------- WKU 20

7:54 to go

Pace is slowing down some, which is good for us. I don't wanna play a game in the high 70s against WKU.

CMJ · January 15, 2022

NT 29 -------- WKU 24

3:57 to go

Our defense is really shutting down the Toppers and giving us some opportunities in transition. This is some really good ball we're playing currently.

Andrew · January 15, 2022

Scott keeps hitting threes and he will be a threat for 4 seasons. He, Jones, and Abou all young and all great! Technically three freshman this season if they take the extra Covid year and stay at UNT.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Andrew