WBB conference quarterfinal vs. Rice (3/11/24)

[Jonnyeagle]

What happened.  Goodness gracious 

[MeanGreen22]

6 minutes ago, Shark84 said:

Feel bad for Kernal. Those 2 missed FTs didn't lose the game but her meltdown was surprising from a senior. This team wouldn't have tied for the conference title without her.

100% agreed. She’s been incredible all season. 

[GrandGreen]

This team was not ready to play and that is on the coach.

I can understand the emotions, this team has played well most of the season and is beaten by a weak team in the game that counted the most.  

Look at the positive, this team was not going anywhere in the big Dance, and now they will end up in a tournament they have a much better chance for wins.  

Edited March 12 by GrandGreen

[Glory to the Green]

Despite not playing a good game, we still had a great chance to win it at the end. Hopefully this team gets some type of postseason tournament. They’re too good to end the season this way. 

[UNTLifer]

Karma. Watch the previous game at Rice. Kernal was flexing, posing and talking smack to their student section/football team. Came back to bite her. 
Doesn’t all fall on her though. Too careless with the ball all game and too many mental mistakes. Hats off to Rice. 

Good news, we aren’t done yet. 

[greengal]

Still love my ladies!  They will do good in NCA’s

[Pavlovs Eagle]

We made the trek out to Ft Worth from Plano for the game.   A few thoughts:

• Not my first trip to the arena, but Dickies is a very nice midsized arena.
• I know we weren't supposed to like The Star, but even with the upper levels curtained off, Dickies feels cavernous with no people in it. Takes away the energy in a bit, even more than an empty Super Pit.
• This Mean Green Women's BB team attempts to play a fast-paced offense that we haven't seen in years of watching Mens BBall with Hodge and Mac before that.
• The Mean Green Women's fast-paced offense sometimes feels totally out of control. I am not a BBall savant, but their ball-handling skills cannot keep up with the pace of the offense they are attempting to play.
• The Rice defense appeared to shut down our offense at times, especially when we made sloppy passes through traffic in the middle that lacked power.
• It was clear who could sink 3s from the Rice team. I think it was #11 and #3 (I might have the second number wrong; I think she was a blondish white girl). We frequently left them open at the top of the arc, and they frequently scored from those positions.
• When the pace seems to get out of control, Burton needs to call a Timeout. There were a few times when we were perfectly fine letting the whole game get fast and sideways, but a simple timeout would have brought the pace to zero and given us time to reset. Burton gives Littrell vibes in this regard. You don't get extra points for saving your timeouts or having so many at the end that you just call them one after another in the final seconds.
• I feel for the women's team and understand the gravity of a 3-way tie winning the regular season and looking like you're going to go out in the first game in the Conf Tourney. Still, you GOTTA pull it together in the clutch final seconds of a winnable basketball game.  Burton needs to find a way to bring the mental fortitude of the team up for next season.

Great job, Women's team. I say that sincerely, and I also acknowledge and apologize for how easy it is for all of us to be Monday Morning Quarterbacks. I'm excited for the years ahead!

Regroup, improve, mature, and recruit great in the offseason, and we will only see greater successes next season.

[GrandGreen]

1 hour ago, Pavlovs Eagle said:

We made the trek out to Ft Worth from Plano for the game.   A few thoughts:

• Not my first trip to the arena, but Dickies is a very nice midsized arena.
• I know we weren't supposed to like The Star, but even with the upper levels curtained off, Dickies feels cavernous with no people in it. Takes away the energy in a bit, even more than an empty Super Pit.
• This Mean Green Women's BB team attempts to play a fast-paced offense that we haven't seen in years of watching Mens BBall with Hodge and Mac before that.
• The Mean Green Women's fast-paced offense sometimes feels totally out of control. I am not a BBall savant, but their ball-handling skills cannot keep up with the pace of the offense they are attempting to play.
• The Rice defense appeared to shut down our offense at times, especially when we made sloppy passes through traffic in the middle that lacked power.
• It was clear who could sink 3s from the Rice team. I think it was #11 and #3 (I might have the second number wrong; I think she was a blondish white girl). We frequently left them open at the top of the arc, and they frequently scored from those positions.
• When the pace seems to get out of control, Burton needs to call a Timeout. There were a few times when we were perfectly fine letting the whole game get fast and sideways, but a simple timeout would have brought the pace to zero and given us time to reset. Burton gives Littrell vibes in this regard. You don't get extra points for saving your timeouts or having so many at the end that you just call them one after another in the final seconds.
• I feel for the women's team and understand the gravity of a 3-way tie winning the regular season and looking like you're going to go out in the first game in the Conf Tourney. Still, you GOTTA pull it together in the clutch final seconds of a winnable basketball game.  Burton needs to find a way to bring the mental fortitude of the team up for next season.

Great job, Women's team. I say that sincerely, and I also acknowledge and apologize for how easy it is for all of us to be Monday Morning Quarterbacks. I'm excited for the years ahead!

Regroup, improve, mature, and recruit great in the offseason, and we will only see greater successes next season.

Good thoughts, I too have really gotten in to WBB this year because of these coaches and the ladies.

However, that only adds to the disappointment in this game.   Turnover, turnover, turnover, missed free throw, turnover, missed free throw.

Add bad defense and Rice looked like world beaters.  

The physical effort was there for the most part for the Mean Green.  However, they looked like the mental effort was missing.   Bad quick shots, poor defense and rebounding, it looks like they were more interesting in who scored than winning a game in which they were heavily favored in. 

[Salsa_Verde]

I blinked and we got bounced. Jeez 

[Matt from A700]

Morning after and it still hurts. We had a really good path to the NCAA Tournament with Tulsa and Charlotte going down. The only remaining team that had beaten us was UTSA twice, in games we blew.

Women follow the same theme as the men, struggle more against the CUSA refugees (5 of their 6 conference losses) than the AAC teams. Proving we belong in this conference.

[Big Z]

11 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

This team was not ready to play and that is on the coach.

I can understand the emotions, this team has played well most of the season and is beaten by a weak team in the game that counted the most.  

Look at the positive, this team was not going anywhere in the big Dance, and now they will end up in a tournament they have a much better chance for wins.  

 

[UNT Family Man]

Seemed to lack killer focus— too many turnovers and missed free throws. 
 

Great season so far- hope we get a WNIT bid. 
 

Next season needs — replacing the seniors will be a priority and improved defense. 

[meangreenfaninno]

Yes it hurts but still doesn’t take away from a great season.  

[Jonnyeagle]

We will survive from this setback!

[UNTLifer]

Looking at the game again, I place much of the blame on Coach Burton.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of his and what he was done this year, but I question the following moves.

1.  Why insert Kernal for those free throws.  Not sure, as she may have been the best option off the bench at the time, but I would have gone with Robinson.

2.  After Kernal's misses and Rice's turnover on the five second violation, he designed a play for Kernal to redeem herself and she forced a shot trying too hard.  She wasn't in the right frame of mind.

3.  Final shot was set up for Jaaucklyn Moore who was 0-5 on the game and 0-3 from three when Desiree Wooten had hit two earlier threes from that exact spot.  I would have gone with Wooten.

This is easy to call at this point because hindsight is always 20-20.  Like I said, big fan of Burton and the season should not be done.

[MCMLXXX]

Shanice Stephens had to walk from Fort Worth to Denton as a result of this game. Her progress is slow since she is carrying a big notebook.

[BleedingGreen]

6 hours ago, UNTLifer said:

Looking at the game again, I place much of the blame on Coach Burton.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of his and what he was done this year, but I question the following moves.

1.  Why insert Kernal for those free throws.  Not sure, as she may have been the best option off the bench at the time, but I would have gone with Robinson.

2.  After Kernal's misses and Rice's turnover on the five second violation, he designed a play for Kernal to redeem herself and she forced a shot trying too hard.  She wasn't in the right frame of mind.

3.  Final shot was set up for Jaaucklyn Moore who was 0-5 on the game and 0-3 from three when Desiree Wooten had hit two earlier threes from that exact spot.  I would have gone with Wooten.

This is easy to call at this point because hindsight is always 20-20.  Like I said, big fan of Burton and the season should not be done.

Moore was open . She is a senior and a good shooter .  I loved the play call, That shot was clean and as close as can be to going in.

[Big Z]

I feel like either the regular season is overrated or some teams wait for the tournament. 

#9 ECU vs. #10 Rice for the championship 

Edited March 13 by Big Z

[Matt from A700]

I'm more at peace now that UTSA was eliminated.

After giving up only 16 in the first half to Tulane.

[CMJ]

2 hours ago, Big Z said:

I feel like either the regular season is overrated or some teams wait for the tournament. 

#9 ECU vs. #10 Rice for the championship 

Some years chalk prevails and some years it's a free for all.

[UNTLifer]

18 hours ago, BleedingGreen said:

Moore was open . She is a senior and a good shooter .  I loved the play call, That shot was clean and as close as can be to going in.

Sure she was open.  It was designed to go to her, and I agree that she is a senior and shot well all season, but she was 0-fer in this game while Wooten was 2-3 from that exact spot on the floor.  Personally, I would go with the hot hand.

[wardly]

On 3/11/2024 at 9:08 PM, Glory to the Green said:

Despite not playing a good game, we still had a great chance to win it at the end. Hopefully this team gets some type of postseason tournament. They’re too good to end the season this way. 

Tulsa won regular season in tiebreaker so they should be going to WNIT, with AAC tournament winner getting WNCAA  bid.

[Matt from A700]

2 hours ago, wardly said:

Tulsa won regular season in tiebreaker so they should be going to WNIT, with AAC tournament winner getting WNCAA  bid.

We should get a WNIT bid, too. We got one a few years ago at 17-12.

[Matt from A700]

Rice is up 17 with a quarter left in the final. It looks like we are going to be the champion's closest game in their monster conference tournament run. Regardless of the 10 seed, they have had a lot of good women's teams.

[Marty]

Rice women on a roll through the tournament. AAC champs 61-41 over ECU.