1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

Other than that, I thought it was just one of those games where our shots weren't falling, we missed a ton of open looks. Then, we got down and went into scramble mode. I was actually very confident we would win going into the half.

I don't think this loss is a crusher like some people seem to here. Cincinnati is a good team, they will win a lot of games. We even get a chance at revenge. On to Louisville and their soft interior ... let's not forget to feed the post a little Thursday night, and maybe let's get Austin more than 11 minutes.

(01-04-2014 10:14 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

Other than that, I thought it was just one of those games where our shots weren't falling, we missed a ton of open looks. Then, we got down and went into scramble mode. I was actually very confident we would win going into the half.

I don't think this loss is a crusher like some people seem to here. Cincinnati is a good team, they will win a lot of games. We even get a chance at revenge. On to Louisville and their soft interior ... let's not forget to feed the post a little Thursday night, and maybe let's get Austin more than 11 minutes.

Good points.

Not to be overly critical, but seems as if most of the time that we have lost big games, it is because "our shots weren't falling."

IMHO, they don't fall nearly as often against good defenses, or when you desperately need them to go in.

Good points by OP. My additions:

1) The second half was eerily similar to the curbstomping in Stillwater. Not much of anything went right.
2) MEMPHIS was up early and had a stretch of about 5 possessions where Cincy was unable to score but the TIGERS had TO's (2 in a row by King) and missed shots. MEMPHIS could have been up 16-2 at the 14 minute mark.
3) Yes, the refs blew some calls but the fact is MEMPHIS got frustrated when the shots didn't fall and they could not handle the UC physical nature. The 4 guards collectively panicked as their shooting % dropped; the inside-out game that had worked very well in the Orlando tournament (LSU/OSU) and against Florida was abandoned. The results again were similar to the meltdown on Nov 19.

MEMPHIS can learn from this game. The good news is they have a chance very quickly to show they can recover as they journey up to UL Thursday. Another national ESPN game. Can MEMPHIS win it? Yes...if they shake this one off and play team ball. The individual "look at me" showtime sh!t does NOT work.

I actually want to THANK the Bearcats for doing MEMPHIS the favor of hitting them in the mouth today. Guys, this ain't C-USA where you can play half@ss and still emerge victorious. You can collectively learn today's lesson and emerge a better team...OR...wimper over in the corner about how mean and unfair it is.

Time to step it up; there are about 8-10 games like this one today still on the schedule.

(01-04-2014 10:26 PM)dan o Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:14 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

Other than that, I thought it was just one of those games where our shots weren't falling, we missed a ton of open looks. Then, we got down and went into scramble mode. I was actually very confident we would win going into the half.

I don't think this loss is a crusher like some people seem to here. Cincinnati is a good team, they will win a lot of games. We even get a chance at revenge. On to Louisville and their soft interior ... let's not forget to feed the post a little Thursday night, and maybe let's get Austin more than 11 minutes.

Good points.

Not to be overly critical, but seems as if most of the time that we have lost big games, it is because "our shots weren't falling."

IMHO, they don't fall nearly as often against good defenses, or when you desperately need them to go in.

True enough ... not meant to disrespect the defense played by Cinci, it was stellar; but I felt like we left a lot of points out there on the floor. We shot less than 25% in the second half ... that is beyond horrible.

Yah mannn but ehh we were at home getting blown out by a fkn bearcat aka pomeranian mannn....at home...effn ay

(01-04-2014 10:36 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:26 PM)dan o Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:14 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

Other than that, I thought it was just one of those games where our shots weren't falling, we missed a ton of open looks. Then, we got down and went into scramble mode. I was actually very confident we would win going into the half.

I don't think this loss is a crusher like some people seem to here. Cincinnati is a good team, they will win a lot of games. We even get a chance at revenge. On to Louisville and their soft interior ... let's not forget to feed the post a little Thursday night, and maybe let's get Austin more than 11 minutes.

Good points.

Not to be overly critical, but seems as if most of the time that we have lost big games, it is because "our shots weren't falling."

IMHO, they don't fall nearly as often against good defenses, or when you desperately need them to go in.

True enough ... not meant to disrespect the defense played by Cinci, it was stellar; but I felt like we left a lot of points out there on the floor. We shot less than 25% in the second half ... that is beyond horrible.

Maybe it was our butts that got puckered up. LOL

There's a reason those shots don't fall in games like this. Several actually. It's not an aberration.

We sucked a$$

(01-05-2014 09:51 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  There's a reason those shots don't fall in games like this. Several actually. It's not an aberration.

My point exactly

We played poorly and Cincy had a lot to do with that.

I do not understand the Austin thing. He was playing pretty good, sans defensive rebounding.

(01-05-2014 10:31 AM)BIGGESTTIGERJLB Wrote:  We played poorly and Cincy had a lot to do with that.

I do not understand the Austin thing. He was playing pretty good, sans defensive rebounding.

Intimidation by Cincy players from the opening bell.

(01-04-2014 10:35 PM)boss man Wrote:  Good points by OP. My additions:

1) The second half was eerily similar to the curbstomping in Stillwater. Not much of anything went right.
2) MEMPHIS was up early and had a stretch of about 5 possessions where Cincy was unable to score but the TIGERS had TO's (2 in a row by King) and missed shots. MEMPHIS could have been up 16-2 at the 14 minute mark.
3) Yes, the refs blew some calls but the fact is MEMPHIS got frustrated when the shots didn't fall and they could not handle the UC physical nature. The 4 guards collectively panicked as their shooting % dropped; the inside-out game that had worked very well in the Orlando tournament (LSU/OSU) and against Florida was abandoned. The results again were similar to the meltdown on Nov 19.

MEMPHIS can learn from this game. The good news is they have a chance very quickly to show they can recover as they journey up to UL Thursday. Another national ESPN game. Can MEMPHIS win it? Yes...if they shake this one off and play team ball. The individual "look at me" showtime sh!t does NOT work.

I actually want to THANK the Bearcats for doing MEMPHIS the favor of hitting them in the mouth today. Guys, this ain't C-USA where you can play half@ss and still emerge victorious. You can collectively learn today's lesson and emerge a better team...OR...wimper over in the corner about how mean and unfair it is.

Time to step it up; there are about 8-10 games like this one today still on the schedule.

If this ain't CUSA and the AAC is big boy league why is Houston 2-0 and SMU very close to 2-0 and UConn 0-2? I'm not buying into this crap about this league being so physical.

Also, go back and look at tape of Shaq's defense and effort yesterday-he looked like his arms were stuck in upright position as to keep from fouling-did not contest shots at the basket at all. He looked gassed in the first half.

(01-05-2014 10:40 AM)tigers1125 Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:35 PM)boss man Wrote:  Good points by OP. My additions:

1) The second half was eerily similar to the curbstomping in Stillwater. Not much of anything went right.
2) MEMPHIS was up early and had a stretch of about 5 possessions where Cincy was unable to score but the TIGERS had TO's (2 in a row by King) and missed shots. MEMPHIS could have been up 16-2 at the 14 minute mark.
3) Yes, the refs blew some calls but the fact is MEMPHIS got frustrated when the shots didn't fall and they could not handle the UC physical nature. The 4 guards collectively panicked as their shooting % dropped; the inside-out game that had worked very well in the Orlando tournament (LSU/OSU) and against Florida was abandoned. The results again were similar to the meltdown on Nov 19.

MEMPHIS can learn from this game. The good news is they have a chance very quickly to show they can recover as they journey up to UL Thursday. Another national ESPN game. Can MEMPHIS win it? Yes...if they shake this one off and play team ball. The individual "look at me" showtime sh!t does NOT work.

I actually want to THANK the Bearcats for doing MEMPHIS the favor of hitting them in the mouth today. Guys, this ain't C-USA where you can play half@ss and still emerge victorious. You can collectively learn today's lesson and emerge a better team...OR...wimper over in the corner about how mean and unfair it is.

Time to step it up; there are about 8-10 games like this one today still on the schedule.

If this ain't CUSA and the AAC is big boy league why is Houston 2-0 and SMU very close to 2-0 and UConn 0-2? I'm not buying into this crap about this league being so physical.

Also, go back and look at tape of Shaq's defense and effort yesterday-he looked like his arms were stuck in upright position as to keep from fouling-did not contest shots at the basket at all. He looked gassed in the first half.

Sometimes it appears that Shaq is playing just to not foul. Has he been told to do that?

(01-05-2014 10:40 AM)tigers1125 Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:35 PM)boss man Wrote:  Good points by OP. My additions:

1) The second half was eerily similar to the curbstomping in Stillwater. Not much of anything went right.
2) MEMPHIS was up early and had a stretch of about 5 possessions where Cincy was unable to score but the TIGERS had TO's (2 in a row by King) and missed shots. MEMPHIS could have been up 16-2 at the 14 minute mark.
3) Yes, the refs blew some calls but the fact is MEMPHIS got frustrated when the shots didn't fall and they could not handle the UC physical nature. The 4 guards collectively panicked as their shooting % dropped; the inside-out game that had worked very well in the Orlando tournament (LSU/OSU) and against Florida was abandoned. The results again were similar to the meltdown on Nov 19.

MEMPHIS can learn from this game. The good news is they have a chance very quickly to show they can recover as they journey up to UL Thursday. Another national ESPN game. Can MEMPHIS win it? Yes...if they shake this one off and play team ball. The individual "look at me" showtime sh!t does NOT work.

I actually want to THANK the Bearcats for doing MEMPHIS the favor of hitting them in the mouth today. Guys, this ain't C-USA where you can play half@ss and still emerge victorious. You can collectively learn today's lesson and emerge a better team...OR...wimper over in the corner about how mean and unfair it is.

Time to step it up; there are about 8-10 games like this one today still on the schedule.

If this ain't CUSA and the AAC is big boy league why is Houston 2-0 and SMU very close to 2-0 and UConn 0-2? I'm not buying into this crap about this league being so physical.

Also, go back and look at tape of Shaq's defense and effort yesterday-he looked like his arms were stuck in upright position as to keep from fouling-did not contest shots at the basket at all. He looked gassed in the first half.

Something wasn't right with Shaq from the get go. No energy, no smile. Maybe he had the crud that half of Memphis is down with. Not an excuse, just wondering what was up.

(01-05-2014 10:54 AM)dan o Wrote:  Sometimes it appears that Shaq is playing just to not foul.

It seems that way to me too.

(01-05-2014 10:54 AM)dan o Wrote:  Has he been told to do that?

I assume he has. It only makes sense after he struggled with foul trouble in the early games. Plus, after one of those instances where he stood with his hands up and didn't attempt to jump and block it, the camera switched to Pastner and he clapped and I thought I could lip-read "Good job, no foul."

(01-05-2014 11:22 AM)Herff Tiger Wrote:  

(01-05-2014 10:54 AM)dan o Wrote:  Sometimes it appears that Shaq is playing just to not foul.

It seems that way to me too.

(01-05-2014 10:54 AM)dan o Wrote:  Has he been told to do that?

I assume he has. It only makes sense after he struggled with foul trouble in the early games. Plus, after one of those instances where he stood with his hands up and didn't attempt to jump and block it, the camera switched to Pastner and he clapped and I thought I could lip-read "Good job, no foul."

Playing like he already has 4 fouls.

I dunno, maybe it is the best approach. But, surely it will appear in future scouting reports.

(01-04-2014 10:14 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

It seemed to me we had quite a bit of effort early, but:
- several passes were forced or were dangerous and we had turnovers
- Cincy blocked a couple of shots and we gave up
- Shaq passed several times when I thought he should have shot it, several passes were turnovers
- we need some "old man moves" offense down low, i.e., hook shots, bank it off the glass, etc. Austin has a pretty good skillset, but needs something to use against leaping shot blockers. Shaq and Pellom need to shoot and get comfortable with it.

(01-05-2014 11:30 AM)Herff Tiger Wrote:  

(01-04-2014 10:14 PM)NigelTufnel Wrote:  1. No Nichols at all in the 2nd half ... huh?
2. At a crucial juncture in the game, they came out of a time out with a designed play for Chris (a double screen), who was struggling mightily with his shot the entire game ... why run that for a guy who is not hitting anything?
3. Why take Joe out of the game at crunch time?
4. No effort at all to get the ball into the post.

It seemed to me we had quite a bit of effort early, but:
- several passes were forced or were dangerous and we had turnovers
- Cincy blocked a couple of shots and we gave up
- Shaq passed several times when I thought he should have shot it, several passes were turnovers
- we need some "old man moves" offense down low, i.e., hook shots, bank it off the glass, etc. Austin has a pretty good skillset, but needs something to use against leaping shot blockers. Shaq and Pellom need to shoot and get comfortable with it.

Our bigs have got to learn to pump fake shot blockers-works 80% of time.

Cincy makes you play ugly. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country inside the arc and the trade off is they will give up some 3s.

It's hard to play "inside out" when they don't have to guard five players. Right now there is no reason to guard GJ or DP. When DP is in the game the trade off is that the high post action they like to run for Austin and Shaq isn't going to get easy buckets.

Bottom line is this team didn't just shoot bad yesterday it has shot poorly all season. Not just bad but flat awful. There is no legitimate reason for it and there are no easy fixes unless it changes.

Joe is shooting 24% from 3, Dixon 31%, Crawford 35% and Johnson 18%. As a team they are 315th in the country in 3 point shooting as of today. That is pathetic. And it's especially pathetic considering those guys have all been solid to very good shooters percentage-wise over their careers.

There is no way to strategize around that level of shooting.

They have to step up and make some shots. No teams excel in college basketball without making some threes. And especially against a team like Cincy, if you only make 2 the entire game you will lose. Most of the 17 looks they got were good enough to hit 5 or 6 at least. If that happens, the entire game changes. Cincy made three very timely 3s between the 18 minute mark and 10 minute mark. That totally changed how the game was played and allowed them to dictate terms. They stepped up and made shots they needed to win on the road.

There is no excuse for Memphis not to be around 36% as a team this season from the 3-point line at the low end. Even the 2008 team was 35% and the 2009 team was 33% and those were not good shooting teams. This bunch sits here on Jan 6 at 29% after shooting 37% last year.

If those percentages come back up to what they should be, there won't be any issues going forward. If they don't, this team will not like its seed in March

(01-05-2014 12:42 PM)Time4Reason Wrote:  Cincy makes you play ugly. They are one of the best defensive teams in the country inside the arc and the trade off is they will give up some 3s.

It's hard to play "inside out" when they don't have to guard five players. Right now there is no reason to guard GJ or DP. When DP is in the game the trade off is that the high post action they like to run for Austin and Shaq isn't going to get easy buckets.

Bottom line is this team didn't just shoot bad yesterday it has shot poorly all season. Not just bad but flat awful. There is no legitimate reason for it and there are no easy fixes unless it changes.

Joe is shooting 24% from 3, Dixon 31%, Crawford 35% and Johnson 18%. As a team they are 315th in the country in 3 point shooting as of today. That is pathetic. And it's especially pathetic considering those guys have all been solid to very good shooters percentage-wise over their careers.

There is no way to strategize around that level of shooting.

They have to step up and make some shots. No teams excel in college basketball without making some threes. And especially against a team like Cincy, if you only make 2 the entire game you will lose. Most of the 17 looks they got were good enough to hit 5 or 6 at least. If that happens, the entire game changes. Cincy made three very timely 3s between the 18 minute mark and 10 minute mark. That totally changed how the game was played and allowed them to dictate terms. They stepped up and made shots they needed to win on the road.

There is no excuse for Memphis not to be around 36% as a team this season from the 3-point line at the low end. Even the 2008 team was 35% and the 2009 team was 33% and those were not good shooting teams. This bunch sits here on Jan 6 at 29% after shooting 37% last year.

If those percentages come back up to what they should be, there won't be any issues going forward. If they don't, this team will not like its seed in March

Excellent post