Utah State (11/29/24)

[Censored by Laurie]

3 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Wish I knew why Vice wasn’t getting a few minutes. Still would like to see Cotton and Mason more, but this wasn’t the game. Maybe playing them last night in them last night in the blowout would have saved some legs for today. 

they were never gonna play this trip. a Stone cameo would've been all that we'd see v. UNI but even Hodge seems done with him now. 

the same 8 v. High Point, then maybe a few minutes experience against the soft December calendar. 

[Censored by Laurie]

1 minute ago, NT80 said:

?  Falslev has been their best player.

Martinez was averaging almost 20ppg...Falsev around 15. 

[NT80]

Just now, Censored by Laurie said:

Martinez was averaging almost 20ppg...Falsev around 15. 

Falslev was high scorer their last two games and he was obviously hot tonight.  Gotta take it away from the hot scorer.

[Jonnyeagle]

We were close.

[Censored by Laurie]

Just now, NT80 said:

Falslev was high scorer their last two games and he was obviously hot tonight.  Gotta take it away from the hot scorer.

maybe OSU thought to only guard the hot man against us too. 

Falslev just careered. tip the hat and move on. 

[GrandGreen]

21 fouls called on NT, versus 9 on Utah St.

I think the refereeing was much in favor of USU in the second half.  

Discounting the stop the clock fouls in the last few minutes, the calls still seemed to me to be very tilted toward USU.  USU's much slower bigs seemed to get by with a lot more pushing than the Green.  I know losers often blame the refereeing, but sometimes there is merit to the allegation. 

Despite that, NT lost the game because of their inability to hit threes.  

This game should help NT continue to develop.  

[NT80]

7 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

21 fouls called on NT, versus 9 on Utah St.

I think the refereeing was much in favor of USU in the second half.  

Discounting the stop the clock fouls in the last few minutes, the calls still seemed to me to be very tilted toward USU.  USU's much slower bigs seemed to get by with a lot more pushing than the Green.  I know losers often blame the refereeing, but sometimes there is merit to the allegation. 

Despite that, NT lost the game because of their inability to hit threes.  

This game should help NT continue to develop.  

Even the announcers commented that the refs were calling the game closer in the second half.   They let them play in the first half, only like 5 total fouls.   They should keep it consistent. 

[GMG_Dallas]

16 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

21 fouls called on NT, versus 9 on Utah St.

I think the refereeing was much in favor of USU in the second half.  

Discounting the stop the clock fouls in the last few minutes, the calls still seemed to me to be very tilted toward USU.  USU's much slower bigs seemed to get by with a lot more pushing than the Green.  I know losers often blame the refereeing, but sometimes there is merit to the allegation. 

Despite that, NT lost the game because of their inability to hit threes.  

This game should help NT continue to develop.  

Hard to blame the refs when we forced 16 turnovers and took 15 more shots. Just couldn't hit our shots. Sometimes you're cold. I'm going to agree with @UNTLiferwho said we should have played bench guys against UNI considering it was a blowout. Have to give your starters rest when you can, especially on the first of a back-to-back.

[Censored by Laurie]

Just now, GMG_Dallas said:

Hard to blame the refs when we forced 16 turnovers and took 15 more shots. Just couldn't hit our shots. Sometimes you're cold. I'm going to agree with @UNTLiferwho said we should have played bench guys against UNI considering it was a blowout. Have to give your starters rest when you can, especially on the first of a back-to-back.

the UNI game was a 9 point game with 3:30 to play. 57-48. we shut them out from there to push it to 20, but at no point short of the last minute or so was it even possible to clear the bench. 

everybody needs stop over-analyzing tonight's loss. it was a toss up...they made a few more plays than we did. play the game ten times and it's 5/5 with a top 30 team that might sneak into the top 25 by Christmas. 

[GMG_Dallas]

20 minutes ago, Censored by Laurie said:

the UNI game was a 9 point game with 3:30 to play. 57-48. we shut them out from there to push it to 20, but at no point short of the last minute or so was it even possible to clear the bench. 

everybody needs stop over-analyzing tonight's loss. it was a toss up...they made a few more plays than we did. play the game ten times and it's 5/5 with a top 30 team that might sneak into the top 25 by Christmas. 

Giving a few guys some rest and clearing the bench are two different things. We were up 17 against UNI with a couple minutes left in the first half and again early in the second half. Those are prime opportunities to sub in your 9th and 10th guys and give a couple of your main rotation guys a few minutes of rest. We actually had a double digit lead most of the second half against UNI. It was never really threatened.

Edit to add it's kind of funny to suggest we were never in a position to clear the bench against UNI yet Utah State played 11 guys against us and 10 against St Bonaventure. Some get on for less than 10 minutes but I promise you a starter gets needed rest for those few minutes they get to sit. Maybe we should do as the top 30 team does?

Edited 14 hours ago by GMG_Dallas

[NT80]

16 minutes ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Giving a few guys some rest and clearing the bench are two different things. We were up 17 against UNI with a couple minutes left in the first half and again early in the second half. Those are prime opportunities to sub in your 9th and 10th guys and give a couple of your main rotation guys a few minutes of rest. We actually had a double digit lead most of the second half against UNI. It was never really threatened.

Edit to add it's kind of funny to suggest we were never in a position to clear the bench against UNI yet Utah State played 11 guys against us and 10 against St Bonaventure. Some get on for less than 10 minutes but I promise you a starter gets needed rest for those few minutes they get to sit. Maybe we should do as the top 30 team does?

I agree.  Injuries are bound to happen.  They almost did tonight.   They did last season.  Utah State played without a starter tonight and last night due to food poisoning.   You never know.   

We need more than 8 guys prepared to play effectively.

[NT80]

7/30 from 3 = 23%

Shoot 9/30 and we're 7-1.

Edited 12 hours ago by NT80

[NT80]

• 
  St. Bonaventure = 68

   
• 
  Northern Iowa = 56

   

[3_n_out]

1 hour ago, Censored by Laurie said:

the UNI game was a 9 point game with 3:30 to play. 57-48. we shut them out from there to push it to 20, but at no point short of the last minute or so was it even possible to clear the bench. 

everybody needs stop over-analyzing tonight's loss. it was a toss up...they made a few more plays than we did. play the game ten times and it's 5/5 with a top 30 team that might sneak into the top 25 by Christmas. 

When we play good teams, i expect it to be similar in style to tonight and McNeese. However, I don’t want to go .500 against the tough teams. I want more.  If games are going to be close til the end, coaching needs to get us over the hump. Ross has done a good job, but I believe he can do a bit more to help us offensively. I believe we’re missing sets at certain situations to help us offensively. 

[NT80]

From the USU board:

Re: North Texas

• Quote

Post by ineptimusprime » Today, 7:28 pm

I was super impressed with UNT on the defensive side. I think they are a top 4 finisher in the AAC. They already have some impressive wins.

Hope they are in the PAC-12 when Memphis comes.

 

Re: North Texas

• Quote

Post by Aggie84025 » Today, 7:31 pm

2nd half the team did a lot better at limiting turnovers. UNT is really scrappy and very good mucking up the middle. The first half the Aggies tried to force things in the paint or try and slip in tight passes in the lane that they deflected. Much better job in the 2nd half. UNT is a good team.

[southsideguy]

big game same story

[Censored by Laurie]

10 hours ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Giving a few guys some rest and clearing the bench are two different things. We were up 17 against UNI with a couple minutes left in the first half and again early in the second half. Those are prime opportunities to sub in your 9th and 10th guys and give a couple of your main rotation guys a few minutes of rest. We actually had a double digit lead most of the second half against UNI. It was never really threatened.

Edit to add it's kind of funny to suggest we were never in a position to clear the bench against UNI yet Utah State played 11 guys against us and 10 against St Bonaventure. Some get on for less than 10 minutes but I promise you a starter gets needed rest for those few minutes they get to sit. Maybe we should do as the top 30 team does?

I'll reiterate...I want to see what the freshmen can bring. I really do. hell, I've already said that if Vice can't already do more the Sissoko, then I don't really care if he transfers out after this season.

but to try to back-fill that personal want into an explanation for why we lost to a very good team last night is just completely irrational. we didn't lose to USU because Mason and Vice didn't play against UNI.

yes USU played a couple more guys. at the same time, Falslev played 35 against us, 37 against St. Bonnie...Martinez 32-34, so both logged more minutes than any of our players across two games (Dello and Atin both played a combined 61) and they seemed fresh enough to hit buckets and free throws late.  

we saw this from Hodge last season and McCaslund before him...it's gonna be a tight rotation and once it's set only injuries will change it. I don't necessarily agree, but it is what it is. 

we'll see the same thing against High Point. hopefully we pull away in those three home games and they get run (and then they'll play well in the last 3 minutes against Houston Christian and everyone can get all upset when they're not in the conference game rotation and we can keep this asinine circle going strong)

[Big Z]

The reason we lost is because we had two Utah State game threads going..

[GMG_Dallas]

28 minutes ago, Censored by Laurie said:

I'll reiterate...I want to see what the freshmen can bring. I really do. hell, I've already said that if Vice can't already do more the Sissoko, then I don't really care if he transfers out after this season.

but to try to back-fill that personal want into an explanation for why we lost to a very good team last night is just completely irrational. we didn't lose to USU because Mason and Vice didn't play against UNI.

yes USU played a couple more guys. at the same time, Falslev played 35 against us, 37 against St. Bonnie...Martinez 32-34, so both logged more minutes than any of our players across two games (Dello and Atin both played a combined 61) and they seemed fresh enough to hit buckets and free throws late.  

we saw this from Hodge last season and McCaslund before him...it's gonna be a tight rotation and once it's set only injuries will change it. I don't necessarily agree, but it is what it is. 

we'll see the same thing against High Point. hopefully we pull away in those three home games and they get run (and then they'll play well in the last 3 minutes against Houston Christian and everyone can get all upset when they're not in the conference game rotation and we can keep this asinine circle going strong)

I certainly don't think we lost because we didn't play a few bench players against UNI. We lost because we didn't hit enough of the 15 more shots we took and most importantly Falslev continued his early season shooting clinic. I am, however, concerned by how we'll look late in the season if we don't get more bench guys involved. Sometimes there's a mismatch you need to figure out and that needed skill set is on the bench. We had no answer for Falslev all night. Nobody has all season. Maybe throw in a lengthy Cotton or Mason to stick to Falslev like glue knowing if they take a couple fouls for being too physical, it doesn't affect your main guys' foul count? Maybe they figure something out that frustrates Falslev? Problem is our only deep bench guy with experience is Stone because nobody else really plays. There's a bunch of benefits to playing bench guys throughout the season.

Like you said, it's going to be a tight rotation again. I fear we'll have a good year and flame-out in the conference tournament again.

[BigWillie]

I think the difference in the game was the last 3 minutes. It pretty much came down to Utah hitting big shots. We couldn't stop them. Overall, outside that last bit, the defense played really well.

[Censored by Laurie]

1 hour ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I certainly don't think we lost because we didn't play a few bench players against UNI. We lost because we didn't hit enough of the 15 more shots we took and most importantly Falslev continued his early season shooting clinic. I am, however, concerned by how we'll look late in the season if we don't get more bench guys involved. Sometimes there's a mismatch you need to figure out and that needed skill set is on the bench. We had no answer for Falslev all night. Nobody has all season. Maybe throw in a lengthy Cotton or Mason to stick to Falslev like glue knowing if they take a couple fouls for being too physical, it doesn't affect your main guys' foul count? Maybe they figure something out that frustrates Falslev? Problem is our only deep bench guy with experience is Stone because nobody else really plays. There's a bunch of benefits to playing bench guys throughout the season.

Like you said, it's going to be a tight rotation again. I fear we'll have a good year and flame-out in the conference tournament again.

I hear you...and don't fully disagree with anything here...I just knew it was going to be those 8 dudes baring something crazy and it felt like a pointless addition to a conversation surrounding a good game by a good team last night. let's also keep in mind of our 8-man rotation, 2 players were here last year so they need as much court time together as possible. and despite all that, no one is averaging more than 30 min/game. I don't love the sub pattern, but it is clearly keeping minutes down

I would expect the same thing against High Point. now...if we do what we should in the home-stand and none of these three players get any run...well, it's cause for complaint in one of two directions: 1. Hodge doesn't trust freshmen 2. our freshmen aren't good enough. 

[NT80]

11 hours ago, southsideguy said:

big game same story

These guys would like a word with you...

Edited 1 hour ago by NT80

[Censored by Laurie]

1 hour ago, GMG_Dallas said:

I certainly don't think we lost because we didn't play a few bench players against UNI. We lost because we didn't hit enough of the 15 more shots we took and most importantly Falslev continued his early season shooting clinic. I am, however, concerned by how we'll look late in the season if we don't get more bench guys involved. Sometimes there's a mismatch you need to figure out and that needed skill set is on the bench. We had no answer for Falslev all night. Nobody has all season. Maybe throw in a lengthy Cotton or Mason to stick to Falslev like glue knowing if they take a couple fouls for being too physical, it doesn't affect your main guys' foul count? Maybe they figure something out that frustrates Falslev? Problem is our only deep bench guy with experience is Stone because nobody else really plays. There's a bunch of benefits to playing bench guys throughout the season.

Like you said, it's going to be a tight rotation again. I fear we'll have a good year and flame-out in the conference tournament again.

I'll add too...more under GM than RH, but there were some seasons we were pretty slow out of the gate in the non-conference trying to find the right fit building into conference play. would you trade, say, the win against Minnesota or Oregon State for a conference win later in the season or finding out that Mason is a 15 minute/game contributor? 

[NT80]

1 minute ago, Censored by Laurie said:

I'll add too...more under GM than RH, but there were some seasons we were pretty slow out of the gate in the non-conference trying to find the right fit building into conference play. would you trade, say, the win against Minnesota or Oregon State for a conference win later in the season or finding out that Mason is a 15 minute/game contributor? 

I do think Ross is still tweaking the minutes and situations to find who his clutch players are in his "Group of 8".   He has started subbing Lorient in late in games for Sissoko.   

I still say it's almost impossible to make it through a long season, the way we play hustle defense, with only 8 guys.  

[Green Lantern]

11 hours ago, southsideguy said:

big game same story

Not a fair criticism of the basketball program. This isn’t our crap football team.

Our two losses this season are to a team that’s won something like 22 games in a row on their home court and USU who, as a mid-major this early in the season, is already getting Top 25 votes. Very possible both end up in the NCAA Tournament.