UAB (3/30/23)

[CMJ]

Biggest game in the History of Western Civilization.

[UNTLifer]

I hate Jelly and Kennedy. Hope we whip their ass. 

[Matt from A700]

 

[Matt from A700]

14 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

 

UVU would have been a tough foe, I believe, but they don't have a dude on their team pissed for losing Conference PoY to TP.

[MeanGreen22]

The team been talking non stop how the UAB loss has been fueling them. They’ll come out ready to play. 

[greenminer]

I think a lot about what Coach Mac said of FAU, when talking about program continuity: that when we beat them at the end of last year, he could tell in the 2nd matchup this season, when they walked out on the court, that they had an attitude about them like, “you took something from us.”

I hope we have that kind of hunger on Thursday. 
 

I actually think one of the bigger storylines going into this final is Aaron Scott. Dude was slaying it in the last matchup until he went out to get stitches. We lost him for appx 10 minutes of game time and MGRN have talked a couple times about that being the difference maker.  Not getting down 22-2. It was not having Scott for 10 minutes that probably cost us the game.

 

getting down by 20 didn’t help, tho

[Texas Stranger]

1 hour ago, CMJ said:

Biggest game in the History of Western Civilization.

If we don't win Johnny Jones will be redefining Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

[TheColonyEagle]

7 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

UVU would have been a tough foe, I believe, but they don't have a dude on their team pissed for losing Conference PoY to TP.

We have a dude that’s pissed for losing to a guy that was pissed for losing POY to him. 

[CMJ]

I still can't believe we're playing in this game.  I knew we had the team that could win the tournament, but it's still a bit surreal.

[golfingomez]

So who's this UAB team? What are they all about?

[MeanGreenTexan]

15 minutes ago, golfingomez said:

So who's this UAB team? What are they all about?

They have some dude nicknamed Jell-O.

[greenminer]

26 minutes ago, golfingomez said:

So who's this UAB team? What are they all about?

A mystery.

 Complete strangers in the infinite roster of NCAA D1 MBB teams.

[CMJ]

I said it a few days ago in another thread.  If we win this, I believe it's a bigger deal than the Purdue win.  As accomplishments go, I feel like winning the NIT Championship and winning a Round of 64 game in the NCAA are roughly equal.  I know beating Purdue was a top 20 win, but this would be five wins over quality opponents in a row, two over Power conference schools, one a true road game, and two at a neutral site.  In a tournament with a storied history.

 

Plus we'd get a nice trophy out of it.

[Matt from A700]

46 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

They have some dude nicknamed Jell-O.

Last name Flopper.

[NT80]

The betting line for this game is UAB -2.0, but the matchup predictor below says 50.7% UNT win...

Line : UAB -2.0

O/U : 127.5

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game/_/gameId/401526932

 

[CMJ]

If we keep UAB under 60, we win.  If they score 60-64...tossup.  If they get over 65, Blazers probably hold up the hardware.  Can't dig a big hole tomorrow.

[emmitt01]

[Christopher Walker]

4 hours ago, TheColonyEagle said:

We have a dude that’s pissed for losing to a guy that was pissed for losing POY to him. 

And the two of them are quite cordial and supportive of each other on Twitter. This is fan projection.

[MeanGreenTexan]

11 minutes ago, CMJ said:

If we keep UAB under 60, we win.  If they score 60-64...tossup.  If they get over 65, Blazers probably hold up the hardware.  Can't dig a big hole tomorrow.

Yeah.   These guys have seen us enough to not be surprised at our defensive tenacity & pace of play.

If we get down double-digits early again (heaven forbid 22-2 again!), I think Coach Kennedy will be able to scheme a way to keep that lead.

[Glory to the Green]

We’re the better team. We just have to go out and show it. If we play UNT basketball, we win. I suspect we play UNT plus on Thursday. 

It’s been a great season and I’ve truly enjoyed watching this team play all year. Grateful for the GMG members to share our celebrations. GMG!

[UNT Five&Dime]

University of Average Basketball?

[greenminer]

It wouldn't surprise me to see this game decided by some fortune:

A player lost for 10 minutes to stitches
A regular contributer that has an awful night
A no-namer that comes out of no where and hits 50% from the arc

These two teams know each other so well, I feel like the winner is going to need some luck.

I have wondered if UAB struggled versus FAU because they had to horse race a day after getting into a rock fight with us.
Will be interesting to see if that swing affects them again.  Certainly having a day off between these two games could play into that.

[greenminer]

long form highlights from UAB's semi.  For anyone that has time and is curious for clues about their most recent play
 

 

[TIgreen01]

2 hours ago, Glory to the Green said:

We’re the better team. We just have to go out and show it. If we play UNT basketball, we win. I suspect we play UNT plus on Thursday. 

It’s been a great season and I’ve truly enjoyed watching this team play all year. Grateful for the GMG members to share our celebrations. GMG!

I agree with the bolded.  UAB has some players who have a higher scoring ceiling when they are on, but they can get loose, sloppy, take bad shots and generally allow teams to hang around and outplay them for stretches.  We are perfectly setup to be a foil to this UAB team.

At some point not having Abou is going to hurt us - if for nothing more than numbers.  I really thought that was yesterday while that first half was playing out.  Fortunately, Sissoko was able to stay out of foul trouble and we eventually figured it out physically down low.  I worry about Sissoko getting fouls on him and how we will back him up.  If I'm UAB I'm trying to get him out of the game as quickly as possible and force us to go deeper into our bench early.  The shocker of this tournament, for me, is the play of Sissoko.  He's getting better every day and has gone from someone who was just contributing to someone making plays.  He's got a bright future.

[Matt from A700]

37 minutes ago, greenminer said:

A no-namer that comes out of no where and hits 50% from the arc

Christian Moore career game incoming?