I looked up the stats after I got home, and I would never have guessed the rebounding was so lopsided in their favor. Stories of the game felt like Pitt blistering the nets from outside (they had some open looks but they also buried a LOT of contested 3s) and the refs refusing to call travels on Pitt. UVA losing the boards badly didnāt register at all.
1 Like
Agree. Have been watching fitfully lately, including tonight, but the few possessions I watched tonight, I was surprised to see us do so much switching. I saw like 3 or 4 guys guarding Hinson on switches.
1 Like
What have we been doing between the second NC state game and FSU, though? Tonight seemed to be a full change of approach back the dark ages (mid December to mid January) but I may be misremembering more recent games.
I guess what Iām getting at is: was this game a new attempt at retrying our āoldā defense (old in quotes because itās just an adapted version of packline)? Or have we been retrying it in recent games with more success?
The answer would tell me more about Pitt or us depending on which way it goes.
2 Likes
Fine, but the difference between the 31% they were shooting on the season and the % they made tonight was worth ~10 points based on their attempts. Iād spot you a couple points for a āmasterful game planā but they also missed a few late when the game was probably out of reach so letās call it a wash. Also, they had so many guys make 3s above their averages, and at times that killed our momentum. Point being, they shoot closer to 35% in the first 3/4 of the game and itās a totally different contest.
Yeah, I donāt think it was our best game from a coaching perspective. Lots of stuff you can question. Iām just not the kind of message board genius that expects perfection from coaches, or players, 100% of the time and will blather on about it to no end when I donāt get it.
We got beat. It sucks. Good teams lose games all the time. Iām just not reverting to panic mode because of one game.
11 Likes
Part of me does have a lingering concern about this, because it seems like we run into a team who does this to us every time in March. You can be sound with your closeouts within the packline and win a lot of games, but it would also help if we had a tested adjustment to chase teams completely off the 3 point line and force them to work inside the arc when they go unconscious like Pitt did tonight. Gotta have at least one or two other pitches to throw at teams when the heater is getting knocked around the field.
6 Likes
Yep. I do think a large factor was Pitt hitting everything. But it also felt like the rotations and defensive strategy on screens was largely the same to when we were getting beat by 20+.
2 Likes
Did Ohio and Furman shoot the 3 well? Iāve tried to block both from my memory but I remember those games as neither playing that well and we somehow found a way to lose both
Someone on reddit made a great point. Kihei was at practice yesterday and was at the game tonight. Really makes sense when you think about it
2 Likes
Agree. I will say we kept our composure waaaay better in spite of it. Thatās a 25 point trouncing if we play that game on January 3.
To the point @WFS_HOO is making, thatās cause for not panicking as much.
3 Likes
Had the same thought as yāall. with 5 minutes to go I was like āThis is our march madness game vs Mid major. Slicing and dicing and spacing the packline. And we look rattled offensivelyā.
1 Like
Another D for you. Exactly wrong
1 Like
Ohio didnāt, Furman went 10-28 and got hot in the 2nd half. Thereās been others where our first round opponents shot well, but the main point is generally weāve played a lot of teams who hang their entire gameplan on perimeter shooting and we could serve to make them prove they can score in the paint sometimes.
2 Likes
The biggest thing is that the other teams weāre playing are mostly initiating their offense much closer to the basket.
What N.C. State and Pitt have done much more extremely that has been intentional and very effective is set that ball screen well away from the three-point line. In the first N.C. State contest we hard hedged and chased it like in this one and it had a similar result. In the second game we played it a lot more conservatively. It was a 23-point difference in their scoring output.
I was very surprised/disappointed we didnāt turn to the defensive tactics used in that game here - we even doubled down at times having Groves show early near the logo, having him linger and double the ball handler out there while the post rolled, etc.
10 Likes
It always surprises me that the players dont do exactly that. Be aware of the what when and why
Jayden Gardner became very good at that on D
1 Like
Elijah Gertrude has made exactly one 3 on the year. Hell, even Dante has made 2.
2 Likes
HGN can you email this to the coaches or something? Feel like we need to go ahead and take some initiative here
1 Like
State media minister of propaganda jeff white in the press conference frames reeces benching as āof course Reece had to come out with 3 foulsā 
2 Likes
Itās crazy what you can show when you get the PT and a long leash. Harris is not the future, Eli very well could be. TB needs to play the kid
5 Likes
Yeah I think I am on the play elijah train now, just becaues the Dante minutes have been consistently awful. If we are going to be awful in those minutes just gamble on Gertrudeās flashes.
Rohde actually had 6 assists, but we needed 9 pts from him, not 3. Too rattled.
I do wish we had guards with bigger personalities. I do think Bliss and Gertrude will be that. And Leon will bring an edge once comfortable. Chance Mallory is a dawg .
12 Likes
You said it best right there. Finally
9 Likes