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GREAT start & WIN... BU 57 siu 55
- Thread starter Tulsa Brave
- Start date
Just back from Carbondale.. very foggy drive home. I got to go to the game with some SIU friends.. the outcome seems only fair since I went with them to Peoria for the game January First.
A few observations from courtside. I liked WE's game back in January, but noted he was not finishing strong at the basket. That was not a problem tonight.. he was very powerful going to and finishing at the rim. He also seems to have a nose for the ball, although he turned it right back over twice near the end of the game. The next two years he could become a real force in the Valley, and several SIU fans in my section we saying the same thing.
SM has the heart of a warrior.. if only God had given him a few more inches... I'd rather see him as the off guard. Why you ask? Because defensively I still don't think SM is suited to keep up with guards like Dillard night in and night out.
CR gets to the rim.. but boy he throws up some awkward shots once he gets there. But he seemed to stay focused defensively.
This was my first chance to see DSE.. looks like a keeper. He played hard with skill and attitude. Can't ask for much more.
McCain's minutes were way down again.. I guess to DSE. I did not think the offense suffered when he was in the game last night. He got the ball to the right places but the shots were not falling. And his defense looks very solid.
Eastman also looked much better than back on January First. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he held up defensively. That gives us a little unexpected depth.
Once again.. if SS plays 10 minutes it is 5 too many. But what this really points out.. and this is going to hurt us down the road.. is the lack of depth in the middle. It speaks volumns that AT cannot spell WE for even 1 or 2 minutes/game. And along that same line it's a shame MK didn't red shirt since it appears he is not going to play.
I hope this is just a young man thing and not an attitude deal, but TB's foul/technical almost cost us the game. Before you let me have it, I know it happened early in the game. But I turned to my SIU friends and said this is exactly what you guys need. It killed our momentum and it Brown on the bench for 14 minutes of the 1st half. I love TB's talent, but he needs to get his head in the right place. That was just plain dumb.
Speaking of Dumb--AW's pushing foul. It happened right in front of me. I expect more from a player with his experience. And I'll have to give Freeman credit for taking AW out of the game. I thought Warren hustled all night but he sure didn't have many chances with the ball.
One other positive from the game.. great hustle by the Braves for loose balls. Historically it has been a trademark of SIU that any loose ball belonged to them. That was not the case last night. I can think of 4 great plays where BU players flew out of bounds and threw the ball back in to a teammate. Great to see!
By the way, I don't know if anyone was able to hear it, but there were boos for the SIU team during the game. Just thought I'd throw that out there after the booing controversy from Carver earlier.
This is what I would call an UGLY win. It was UGLY by both teams with poor shooting, some bad turnovers and overall sloppy play. That said, it was first and foremost a win. And any win on the road is a good win. Not to mention for now it gives us a leg up on staying out of Thursday night.
A few observations from courtside. I liked WE's game back in January, but noted he was not finishing strong at the basket. That was not a problem tonight.. he was very powerful going to and finishing at the rim. He also seems to have a nose for the ball, although he turned it right back over twice near the end of the game. The next two years he could become a real force in the Valley, and several SIU fans in my section we saying the same thing.
SM has the heart of a warrior.. if only God had given him a few more inches... I'd rather see him as the off guard. Why you ask? Because defensively I still don't think SM is suited to keep up with guards like Dillard night in and night out.
CR gets to the rim.. but boy he throws up some awkward shots once he gets there. But he seemed to stay focused defensively.
This was my first chance to see DSE.. looks like a keeper. He played hard with skill and attitude. Can't ask for much more.
McCain's minutes were way down again.. I guess to DSE. I did not think the offense suffered when he was in the game last night. He got the ball to the right places but the shots were not falling. And his defense looks very solid.
Eastman also looked much better than back on January First. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he held up defensively. That gives us a little unexpected depth.
Once again.. if SS plays 10 minutes it is 5 too many. But what this really points out.. and this is going to hurt us down the road.. is the lack of depth in the middle. It speaks volumns that AT cannot spell WE for even 1 or 2 minutes/game. And along that same line it's a shame MK didn't red shirt since it appears he is not going to play.
I hope this is just a young man thing and not an attitude deal, but TB's foul/technical almost cost us the game. Before you let me have it, I know it happened early in the game. But I turned to my SIU friends and said this is exactly what you guys need. It killed our momentum and it Brown on the bench for 14 minutes of the 1st half. I love TB's talent, but he needs to get his head in the right place. That was just plain dumb.
Speaking of Dumb--AW's pushing foul. It happened right in front of me. I expect more from a player with his experience. And I'll have to give Freeman credit for taking AW out of the game. I thought Warren hustled all night but he sure didn't have many chances with the ball.
One other positive from the game.. great hustle by the Braves for loose balls. Historically it has been a trademark of SIU that any loose ball belonged to them. That was not the case last night. I can think of 4 great plays where BU players flew out of bounds and threw the ball back in to a teammate. Great to see!
By the way, I don't know if anyone was able to hear it, but there were boos for the SIU team during the game. Just thought I'd throw that out there after the booing controversy from Carver earlier.
This is what I would call an UGLY win. It was UGLY by both teams with poor shooting, some bad turnovers and overall sloppy play. That said, it was first and foremost a win. And any win on the road is a good win. Not to mention for now it gives us a leg up on staying out of Thursday night.
Sam did not start playing well early this year. Jim called him his BEST player at the Smoker. Could have been the ankle....maybe its healing. Our recent better play has paralleled Sams improvement.
CAN'T win without god pg play.
Welcome back Sam M.
Next to return, hopefully, CR and AW.
Chucky T's
New member
Braves4Life
New member
I think it is clear that SM is FINALLY healthy. He is quicker on offense and defense and can now drive all the way to the rim. I'll admit, I was having my doubts about ol' Sammy this year because he really looked inadequate as a major college PG. But watching him the last few games reminds me of just how good he was before he got all of his assorted injuries.
I'm sorry I doubted you Sam. You're a warrior!!
Bradleyguy10
New member
In this situation a win is a win is a win....
and I'm happy about it. I think that game actually qualified as one of those things where "good teams find a way to win". Three of our top scorers did close to nothing on offense and we still somehow won. If UNI does that everyone says just that, "good teams find a way to win". I think even if we could've played better it's a good sign that if a few of our offensive options go cold we can rely on a few others. It's nice having about 3 or 4 people out there that can go off for 20+ pts any given night and all 5 starters can go off for 10+. This distribution is refreshing.
and I'm happy about it. I think that game actually qualified as one of those things where "good teams find a way to win". Three of our top scorers did close to nothing on offense and we still somehow won. If UNI does that everyone says just that, "good teams find a way to win". I think even if we could've played better it's a good sign that if a few of our offensive options go cold we can rely on a few others. It's nice having about 3 or 4 people out there that can go off for 20+ pts any given night and all 5 starters can go off for 10+. This distribution is refreshing.
Totally agree here. Great to have SM back to normal! He's the difference over the last 3-4 games.
tornado
New member
Hey - I'll post my feelings on a couple of the other players elsewhere --
but don't discount the contributions of Andrew Warren and Chris Roberts..
both had horrible offensive games, but both had fine defensive games
(except for the silly pushing foul on AW...but seriously, Fay committed the exact same foul a few minutes later on Sammy and it was called a regular foul not a flagrant..so I think the refs screwed up that call too)
THEN NOBODY HAS MENTIONED THE PLAY I THINK WAS THE SINGLE BEST PLAY I HAVE ENJOYED ALL SEASON!
The 2nd half block by Chris Roberts, then Sammy's quick work to chase in down inbounds in the far corner,
and go diving over the out-of-bounds line into the crowd to save it in and lead to a basket on the other end!
Way to go Chris & Sammy!
And Will Egolf with FOUR dunks....are keeping count Dave Snell??
but don't discount the contributions of Andrew Warren and Chris Roberts..
both had horrible offensive games, but both had fine defensive games
(except for the silly pushing foul on AW...but seriously, Fay committed the exact same foul a few minutes later on Sammy and it was called a regular foul not a flagrant..so I think the refs screwed up that call too)
THEN NOBODY HAS MENTIONED THE PLAY I THINK WAS THE SINGLE BEST PLAY I HAVE ENJOYED ALL SEASON!
The 2nd half block by Chris Roberts, then Sammy's quick work to chase in down inbounds in the far corner,
and go diving over the out-of-bounds line into the crowd to save it in and lead to a basket on the other end!
Way to go Chris & Sammy!
And Will Egolf with FOUR dunks....are keeping count Dave Snell??
it's boogie time
Active member
BU will win a lot of games only having 10 turnovers on the road.
I think any BU fan will take an ugly win in Carbondale. I wish the Creighton game was next.
BU is getting some good pg play all around lately by SM, DSE & EM. It drives this team.
I think any BU fan will take an ugly win in Carbondale. I wish the Creighton game was next.
BU is getting some good pg play all around lately by SM, DSE & EM. It drives this team.
Well in my case, in the preseason, based only on last season I thought of EM as the primary PG with SM getting more minutes split between the 1 and 2 positions. My reasoning for this is that EM is a better defender/rebounder and I think a little better distrubtor. SM is clearly a better offensie player and so depending on matchups and game situations you use both...
Unfortunately EM got himself into a big sophomore slump and SM got himself hurt and so we ended up with a PG crisis of sorts. Thankfully SM is healthier now and playing great and EM seems to be emerging from his slump and adjusted to a roll of playing around 10 mpg-- with DSE taking up slack at the 2 guard leaving EM fewer minutes.
houstontxbrave
New member
This is a game 2 weeks ago we fold tents and lose.
Today we fight through, overcome bad decisions and win.
Didnt hurt to have timeouts at the end of the game to help control the situation, environment and communicate.
When you play physical you often get the benefit of the doubt on calls. SM got that on his drive on the push late in the 2nd half, touch foul on the road but we get the call because SM played hard and is physical by holding his ground on contact. That call though was huge.
Today we fight through, overcome bad decisions and win.
Didnt hurt to have timeouts at the end of the game to help control the situation, environment and communicate.
When you play physical you often get the benefit of the doubt on calls. SM got that on his drive on the push late in the 2nd half, touch foul on the road but we get the call because SM played hard and is physical by holding his ground on contact. That call though was huge.