WKU fan board on NT loss

[Tom McKrackin]

Grant McCasland teaches DEFENSE with a capitol D.  That's why he has a ring and a shot at another one.

Statistically we play good defense.  We do.  But with the length, athleticsm, and talent we have we should be playing lights out, knock out, suffocating defense.  Championship caliber defense.

3's are the whole story of this game.  I wanted to be at the game but an illness in the family has me on "covid protocol" so I had to watch this one from home.  The TV announcers commented on how open North Texas was from 3.  UNT does not let you get a good look and we gave them plenty.  They shot 43.5% from three, we shot 16.7%.  That's the ballgame.
 

read more:  http://hilltopperhaven.com/board/index.php/topic,12646.0.html

Edited January 16, 2022 by Tom McKrackin

[Tom McKrackin]

 

[Tom McKrackin]

 

[flyonthewall]

12 minutes ago, Tom McKrackin said:

 

Like I said on the glorious drive home from wichita kansas....."did you scout us? Did you win a game in the NnnnCccccAaaaAaaa tournament last year?"

Wah.....wah....wah.....cry me a river!

[BillySee58]

11 hours ago, flyonthewall said:

Like I said on the glorious drive home from wichita kansas....."did you scout us? Did you win a game in the NnnnCccccAaaaAaaa tournament last year?"

Wah.....wah....wah.....cry me a river!

One of the best unexpected treats of the Mccasland era has been watching opposing fan bases go into meltdown mode after we beat them. Very rarely is it “well, we lost to a good team who made it to the round of 32 last year” but very often we get stuff like what you’re referencing.

Bonus points for how many fans are insistent that they coincidentally had an off shooting day against us. Nothing to do with going against a top defense. Just bad luck teams always seem to find against us.

 

[akriesman]

JJ was a great coach for us.    But, Grant is special.    I am just going to enjoy the ride for as long as I can and hope that Grant wants to take this school to the next level (AAC) in basketball.

Edited January 16, 2022 by akriesman

[greenminer]

21 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

 

 

We hold nearly every team we play 15+ (20+?) points below their season average.  How long until people put 2+2 together?

[BillySee58]

5 minutes ago, greenminer said:

We hold nearly every team we play 15+ (20+?) points below their season average.  How long until people put 2+2 together?

I don’t know. Before last year I probably would’ve said “after we win a game in the NCAA tournament.” Usually that puts you on the map to people who follow college basketball whereas just winning conference games alone does not. I’m sure it has to some, but apparently it has not to a lot of these vocal fans on opposing boards and such.

Edited January 16, 2022 by BillySee58

[MeanGreen2019]

2 minutes ago, BillySee58 said:

I don’t know. Before last year I probably would’ve said “after we win a game in the NCAA tournament.” Usually that puts you on the map to people who follow college basketball whereas just winning conference games alone does not. I’m sure it has to some, but apparently it has not to a lot of these vocal fans on opposing boards and such.

Just keep winning and the respect will be there.

This is Grant’s best team that he has had since he’s been at UNT. He’s built a heck of a program by utilizing JUCO players and high school recruits. Our team is still relatively young with core players like: Rubin Jones, Aaron Scott,  and Abou Ousmane. McBride could come back next year too if he desires. This team has me really excited this year and for the future.

[UNTFan23]

15 minutes ago, MeanGreen2019 said:

Just keep winning and the respect will be there.

This is Grant’s best team that he has had since he’s been at UNT. He’s built a heck of a program by utilizing JUCO players and high school recruits. Our team is still relatively young with core players like: Rubin Jones, Aaron Scott,  and Abou Ousmane. McBride could come back next year too if he desires. This team has me really excited this year and for the future.

This year's team is still a work in progress. Let's compare this season versus last season after we've played our last minute of basketball. No doubt this is a really good team, but I can't say we're just as good (or better) as last year's team at this particular point in time.

[Big Z]

First win at WKU in 10 years 

Edited January 16, 2022 by Big Z

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

15 minutes ago, Big Z said:

First win at WKU in 10 years 

I’ve already rewatched Last night, time to do it again…

[UNTLifer]

1 hour ago, BillySee58 said:

One of the best unexpected treats of the Mccasland era has been watching opposing fan bases go into meltdown mode after we beat them. Very rarely is it “well, we lost to a good team who made it to the round of 32 last year” but very often we get stuff like what you’re referencing.

Bonus points for how many fans are insistent that they coincidentally had an off shooting day against us. Nothing to do with going against a top defense. Just bad luck teams always seem to find against us.

 

100% agree. I love how we create all of these coincidences. 😂. 
 

Now, I can see people overlooking us early in the year considering we were having to replace Hamlet, Reese and Simmons, but not now. 

[BillySee58]

1 hour ago, UNTFan23 said:

This year's team is still a work in progress. Let's compare this season versus last season after we've played our last minute of basketball. No doubt this is a really good team, but I can't say we're just as good (or better) as last year's team at this particular point in time.

I half agree here. On one hand, this year’s team has been noticeably better as a regular season team than last year’s team. Our current NET is better, our KenPom is better, our Simple Rating System is better, and our record is better. This year’s team has taken a step forward thus far.

The odds of replicating last year’s end result are very low, and they always have been. The margin for error is so razor thin in March. If McBride misses that three at the end of regulation against WKU there is no round of 32 finish. 

If we are in a similar situation this year and that three doesn’t go in, does that mean we weren’t better this year even with a better record/ratings? You could make the case either way. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

2 hours ago, BillySee58 said:

I don’t know. Before last year I probably would’ve said “after we win a game in the NCAA tournament.” Usually that puts you on the map to people who follow college basketball whereas just winning conference games alone does not. I’m sure it has to some, but apparently it has not to a lot of these vocal fans on opposing boards and such.

I think a lot of non-NT fans (especially WKU fans) still see us as Javion-less, and he was the motor of last year’s team, so we should be struggling… but we’re not.

[BillySee58]

30 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I think a lot of non-NT fans (especially WKU fans) still see us as Javion-less, and he was the motor of last year’s team, so we should be struggling… but we’re not.

Maybe CUSA opponents but what I’m talking about has been more from these non-conference teams we beat like UMass, Wichita State, Drake, etc. I remember seeing those message board threads posted on here.

Honestly I doubt most of those fans even know who Javion Hamlet is, outside of any research they did leading up to our game. Definitely applicable to WKU though. They know Hamlet very well.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

Here's a more active fan board for Western that has some... interesting ... takes

https://247sports.com/college/western-kentucky/board/104580/Contents/wku-vs-north-texas-efficiency-breakdown-180737998/?page=1

[MeanGreenHoops]

Most fans/media are pretty clueless except for the team they watch/cover. And when they play us they see a team that has no superstar and doesn't really fill it up, so they can't figure out how they are losing.

[Greendylan]

2 hours ago, MeanGreenHoops said:

Most fans/media are pretty clueless except for the team they watch/cover. And when they play us they see a team that has no superstar and doesn't really fill it up, so they can't figure out how they are losing.

I think that's pretty accurate.  It reminds me of the old Sun Belt days when we would frequently struggle against some exceptionally unathletic Denver teams and their version of the Princeton offense.  It was frustrating to say the least.  On the other hand, I guess the difference is that we've been winning way more than those Denver teams ever did.  And . . . we do have some athletes.  So, we'll see, but I suspect that outside attitudes will eventually catch up to the reality on the court if we keep winning. 

[Caw Caw]

This team is defensively the best in a long time around these parts. My concerns are on the offensive side. Tylor has the tool set to be the guy to take over these games, he just isn't always that guy yet. Javion would straight take over games. And if we could get a little bit of that magic with the incredible defense and effort this team puts in they would be problematic for anyone.

I would say also, I know basketball recruiting is different, but I would love to see grant land a big fish or two in that area these would be the next steps for the roster as it exists as I see it.

[NorthTexasSportsNetwork]

35 minutes ago, Caw Caw said:

This team is defensively the best in a long time around these parts. My concerns are on the offensive side. Tylor has the tool set to be the guy to take over these games, he just isn't always that guy yet. Javion would straight take over games. And if we could get a little bit of that magic with the incredible defense and effort this team puts in they would be problematic for anyone.

I would say also, I know basketball recruiting is different, but I would love to see grant land a big fish or two in that area these would be the next steps for the roster as it exists as I see it.

It took Javion some time to step into the huge role, I think we see Bell and Perry do the same come February