I still think we'll take the regular season. We beat every team remaining on our schedule and two of UNCW's remaining opponents gave the Hawks all they could handle and both are away games for Wilmington.

Despite all the complaints of poor play, we lost by 3 and had a shot to tie at the end. Malinowski and Burchfield missed 3-4 open looks from the corner. 0-4 there is just bad luck. Malinowski has hit that shot repeatedly this year, and Burchfield hit two 3s against Elon. Yeah, Anderson got some open looks, but he ended up with 15 that felt like 30. We played great defense on him in the second half. We outscored Delaware by 12 in the second half, but the early 11 point hole did us in. All in all, it was a bad game for us combined with a great game from Delaware. Nothing tonight changed whether we deserve to be the top team in the CAA.

If we play Delaware again, we need to exploit their switches and attack Anderson with Marcus and Omar. Omar seemed to be doing that in the second half, but I would have liked to have seen fewer screens after we get the matchup we want.

How can anyone in their right mind think we are going to win the tourney in Baltimore? You think this team could actually win three games in a row? They can't even beat freakin Delaware at HOME! Yes, they miss Dixon, but Delaware SUCKS ASS and we lose to them TWICE! Of course this is the same team who lost to Charleston and Elon as well. FOUR horrible losses to garbage teams is ridiculous! This team will never get to the next level because they ALWAYS choke in the clutch when it's all on the line. That last shot today was a joke, and wouldn't have counted even if by some miracle it went in. Maybe call a timeout and set up a damn play for once! **** Kyle Anderson and **** Delaware!!!

(02-15-2015 12:33 AM)Tribester Wrote:  How can anyone in their right mind think we are going to win the tourney in Baltimore? You think this team could actually win three games in a row? They can't even beat freakin Delaware at HOME! Yes, they miss Dixon, but Delaware SUCKS ASS and we lose to them TWICE! Of course this is the same team who lost to Charleston and Elon as well. FOUR horrible losses to garbage teams is ridiculous! This team will never get to the next level because they ALWAYS choke in the clutch when it's all on the line. That last shot today was a joke, and wouldn't have counted even if by some miracle it went in. Maybe call a timeout and set up a damn play for once! **** Kyle Anderson and **** Delaware!!!

My advice. Take some meds. Have a drink. Chill.

(02-15-2015 12:33 AM)Tribester Wrote:  How can anyone in their right mind think we are going to win the tourney in Baltimore? You think this team could actually win three games in a row? They can't even beat freakin Delaware at HOME! Yes, they miss Dixon, but Delaware SUCKS ASS and we lose to them TWICE! Of course this is the same team who lost to Charleston and Elon as well. FOUR horrible losses to garbage teams is ridiculous! This team will never get to the next level because they ALWAYS choke in the clutch when it's all on the line. That last shot today was a joke, and wouldn't have counted even if by some miracle it went in. Maybe call a timeout and set up a damn play for once! **** Kyle Anderson and **** Delaware!!!

4 losses to sub 250 RPI teams... 1 of them I can live with, 2 of them I will grumble but deal with it... But 4 freaking losses is just inexcusable. I don't know if it is lack of preparation, sleepwalking into the games, or what, but there is no way that W&M should be 2-4 against Elon (who has been downright awful since beating W&M), Charleston (a team that got 80 on W&M and probably won't come close to that again this season), and Delaware (a team composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores).

Agree with several earlier posts. Defense in first half wasn't that bad, Delaware players were hot and knocked down shots. Overall I thought our effort was good, especially in the second half.

Greg and Connor going 0-4 on open looks from 3 hurt. The way those two can shoot, the probability of that happening is very low. Marcus struggled offensively in the first half. Tarpey missed some jumpers he's capable of making. Tot needs to look for his shot and find a way to insert himself more into the offense. Schlotman seems to be struggling to find rythmn and confidence on offense. We missed Daniel physical presence and drives today. We had a sub-par day from the line.

Good news, none of the above speaks to a fundamental flaw. We were ahead on every stat except the score. Not claiming a moral victory, but when fully staffed, I think we are the best team in the league and have as good a chance as anyone to win three in a row in Baltimore.

I thought we looked hesitant and lacking emotion in the 1st Half. That cost us. Sheldon was getting squeezed underneath and was no factor.

The game was decided during the last 3-4 minutes of the 1st Half when Delaware stretched a 32-26 lead to 43-28. 15 points was too much to expect we overcome.

The reality is the difference between the top and bottom of this league on the talent side just isn't that wide. You have to be ready to play. The team with some emotion will win the game. We just didn't have it yesterday.

It's a shame. A win yesterday and we would have a full game lead on UNCW (where we own the tie breaker) and 2 up on Northeastern, JMU and likely Drexel. With 4 games left, we were set to be in great shape.

Now, we could end up 4th if not careful.

(02-15-2015 08:15 AM)Sitting bull Wrote:  I thought we looked hesitant and lacking emotion in the 1st Half. That cost us. Sheldon was getting squeezed underneath and was no factor.

The game was decided during the last 3-4 minutes of the 1st Half when Delaware stretched a 32-26 lead to 43-28. 15 points was too much to expect we overcome.

The reality is the difference between the top and bottom of this league on the talent side just isn't that wide. You have to be ready to play. The team with some emotion will win the game. We just didn't have it yesterday.

It's a shame. A win yesterday and we would have a full game lead on UNCW (where we own the tie breaker) and 2 up on Northeastern, JMU and likely Drexel. With 4 games left, we were set to be in great shape.

Now, we could end up 4th if not careful.

This is pretty much how I see it. Tony was beside himself in the first half over the lack of energy from the team. He was particularly displeased with Marcus, who, to his credit, played a fierce and nearly heroic second half.

First half: We were a step slow getting to shooters, leaving Del a small window to get shots off. And Del used those small windows to hit a lot of shots. And we just got destroyed (20-4, as I recall) in the paint.

Second half: We played well, but got a few bad bounces and had a few mental lapses. After the first half debacle, we just didn't have any margin for error.

This team has the tools to be the best W&M team I've ever seen, but they just can't/won't play 40 minutes at full intensity. Told Mrs GR on the way down to Williamsburg yesterday that we're a "Shaka Arnold" away from being great. Shaka wasn't the most gifted athlete the program has ever seen, but he was a warrior, and he made the other guys on the floor warriors too. This isn't a knock on anybody in particular, but at this point in the season, I'm not sure who our emotional leader is. Seems to me that we have a few weeks to figure that out.

Terry Tarpey had an off day from the lay-up line, although otherwise he played his usual outstanding game and had 9 points fro the game, mostly from the free throw line. He was 2 -11 from the floor shooting 18% for the game; usually he shoots 58% from the floor. It was really out of character for Terry to miss so many lay-ups and I have watched every home game since Terry arrived on campus.

This was NOT the reason we lost but, in addition to no Daniel, it surely was a critical factor.

(02-15-2015 12:33 AM)Tribester Wrote:  How can anyone in their right mind think we are going to win the tourney in Baltimore? You think this team could actually win three games in a row? They can't even beat freakin Delaware at HOME! Yes, they miss Dixon, but Delaware SUCKS ASS and we lose to them TWICE! Of course this is the same team who lost to Charleston and Elon as well. FOUR horrible losses to garbage teams is ridiculous! This team will never get to the next level because they ALWAYS choke in the clutch when it's all on the line. That last shot today was a joke, and wouldn't have counted even if by some miracle it went in. Maybe call a timeout and set up a damn play for once! **** Kyle Anderson and **** Delaware!!!

In the tourney Shaver will have all the extra timeouts to use at his disposal. Timeouts are like cell phone minutes, right?

A close loss to a team who has our number and all of a sudden people who were praising this team a week ago are ready to just throw it in. We had a bad game, we can go back and analyze everything that happened. On the last play Marcus got the ball with enough time to get up and get a shot. I disagree with those who say we needed a time out. What would a time out do other than give them time to set up their defense. Everyone knew Marcus was going to be the one to take that shot, and pushing the floor had the idea of their defense not being keyed in. More often than not Marcus gets himself relatively open, and even though they literally threw the whole team on him, he still put up a shot that we've seen him make a lot. Honestly with the chance for a tying shot that is the one to put him over 2,000, I though there was no way that shot couldn't go in. But the bottom line is it sucks to lose, especially at home, and more so to Delaware given our history. Losing to a low RPI team sucks too, but this Delaware team is very young and is starting to jell. RPI is an indicator of team strength, but doesn't reflect teams that improve throughout the season. But it's not the end of the world, if the season ended today we would still have the 1-seed. Keep winning and we're fine.

Very disappointed they buried the first half hole and weren't able to get over the top after clawing their way back yesterday. Team just hasn't been able to sustain high level of play yet for 40 minutes, game to game. Don't think we diss Delaware, though, based on the shell of a team they were in the first 2/3 of the season due to injuries. They are much improved, and a reminder they just beat NU in Boston a week earlier. Hope Dixon is back soon.

Disappointed in Sheldon's lack of impact. May be slowed still from the ankle injury, but we need much more out of the post area. We're a better team right now with Schalk in there at the moment.

Next two games make or break where we finish. Will be interesting to see if they can even get to Boston this week.

Agree 100% on the no-timeout on final play. If you listen to Shaver & Thornton on post-game show they already had the final Thornton shot set up...but the block came too late. As it is, watching the replay of the NBC telecast I recorded yesterday, Marcus had very good shot at the basket..one he makes half the time.

A side comment: Marcus had one of his greatest second half yesterday...scored 18 points, had three assists (and lost two more on just-missed corner shots by Tribe freshmen), a great steal and terrific defense. He also got fouled three times, once on a three-point shot, that were never called.

I again say...W&M has never had a player like Marcus before...he is magic to watch.

(02-15-2015 01:36 PM)hktribefan Wrote:  A close loss to a team who has our number and all of a sudden people who were praising this team a week ago are ready to just throw it in. We had a bad game, we can go back and analyze everything that happened. On the last play Marcus got the ball with enough time to get up and get a shot. I disagree with those who say we needed a time out. What would a time out do other than give them time to set up their defense. Everyone knew Marcus was going to be the one to take that shot, and pushing the floor had the idea of their defense not being keyed in. More often than not Marcus gets himself relatively open, and even though they literally threw the whole team on him, he still put up a shot that we've seen him make a lot. Honestly with the chance for a tying shot that is the one to put him over 2,000, I though there was no way that shot couldn't go in. But the bottom line is it sucks to lose, especially at home, and more so to Delaware given our history. Losing to a low RPI team sucks too, but this Delaware team is very young and is starting to jell. RPI is an indicator of team strength, but doesn't reflect teams that improve throughout the season. But it's not the end of the world, if the season ended today we would still have the 1-seed. Keep winning and we're fine.

Delaware's defense was set up. They knew what was coming, and Thornton couldn't get himself free. They tried screening him open and the shot wasn't there. There was enough time to call timeout and set up a play. If he wasn't going to use his timeouts to set up a play, he could have called them to ice the Delaware free throw shooter.

(02-15-2015 12:47 PM)Rocco Wrote:  

(02-15-2015 12:33 AM)Tribester Wrote:  How can anyone in their right mind think we are going to win the tourney in Baltimore? You think this team could actually win three games in a row? They can't even beat freakin Delaware at HOME! Yes, they miss Dixon, but Delaware SUCKS ASS and we lose to them TWICE! Of course this is the same team who lost to Charleston and Elon as well. FOUR horrible losses to garbage teams is ridiculous! This team will never get to the next level because they ALWAYS choke in the clutch when it's all on the line. That last shot today was a joke, and wouldn't have counted even if by some miracle it went in. Maybe call a timeout and set up a damn play for once! **** Kyle Anderson and **** Delaware!!!

In the tourney Shaver will have all the extra timeouts to use at his disposal. Timeouts are like cell phone minutes, right?

Haha, if it only that were the case...

I just wish Shaver would use the timeouts earlier in games to give Marcus a breather if he plans on leaving 3-4 timeouts unused each game.

WHY do you guys think Tony doesn't use his timeouts? Does he get too caught up in the excitement? It just doesn't make any sense to me. It's a glaring weakness in his coaching

(02-15-2015 02:32 PM)Big Tribe Wrote:  Agree 100% on the no-timeout on final play.

Same here, but we all make tactical decisions and sometimes they just backfire. Like I decided to spend $30 on a car wash on my way home. It looked great until we hit a snowstorm east of C'ville.


At least Tony's decision had a chance of working! We would all be saying how smart he was if that shot had gone in.

If you took our responses the day of and the day after a loss, you would think we are in last place in the league. Then, after we beat Northeastern on the road, we will see posts indicating who our projected ncaa opponent is. Lots of overreacting, but we can all agree we do not want to see Delaware again until football season. We need to hope they are on the opposite side of the draw from us.

(02-15-2015 03:11 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  WHY do you guys think Tony doesn't use his timeouts? Does he get too caught up in the excitement? It just doesn't make any sense to me. It's a glaring weakness in his coaching

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A Time Out allows both teams to take a breather and to set-up the next play - it doesn't always work to the advantage of the team that calls the Time Out.

We could easily play Delaware in a 1-8 or 2-7 game on Saturday and be one and done in Baltimore. Maybe Elon or Charleston will beat them on Friday, because we sure as hell can't!