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good 2nd half but the first half is what beat us. I hope I am wrong, but it might take a little luck to win another game the rest of the season. I don't expect next year to be so disappointing but coach miller has to find some inside players with some toughness and some skills. It's brutal watching out biggies not showing a lot of offense.

Can't say I'm crazy about getting beat at home on the regular. It used to be a big deal when an opposing team won at 5/3. now they don't even look excited

Dug ourselves too big of a hole by not playing defense for the first 8 minutes or so. Nice to see the fight, just need to do it for an entire game. We've had too many games this season where we've gotten down big to start and had to fight our way back into it.

We ended up beating them in rebounding, TO's and fouls, took 6 more shots and 13 more FT's. But they shot 53.4% overall and 41.2% from three. We shot 35.9% overall and 24.1% from three. For the most part we didn't take worse shots than Memphis, but they have guys who can knock them down and we don't.

When was the last time UC gave up 80 in back to back games?

And 3 of the past 4.

(02-15-2022 09:17 PM)BcatMatt13 Wrote:  When was the last time UC gave up 80 in back to back games?

And 3 of the past 4.

That's the most disappointing thing to me.....We don't have anybody that can or will set down and guard. It's not just poor rotations or dudes hitting tough shots, it's constantly getting beat off the dribble. Allowing dribblers to get to any spot they want to, usually the paint. Memphis has quality offensive players, but we could not stay Infront of those dudes from Tulsa.

The Bearcats almost lost me ,but just barely pulled me back in the second half.

I had to vacuum the house either tonight or tomorrow morning. Watching the first half, I decided I would rather do it during the game than miss the Olympics tonight or awaken earlier in the morning.

After vacuuming was done, was going to switch to the Olympic (fortunately the men's biathlon relay did not start until 10:05), but saw something of a comeback was happening. We were still outplayed all the way, but managed to make enough wild three pointers to keep the game interesting.

Will miss the next game, but will probably give the Cats a try again after that.

(02-15-2022 09:17 PM)BcatMatt13 Wrote:  When was the last time UC gave up 80 in back to back games?

And 3 of the past 4.

Last back to back games giving up 80+ points:

Jan 30, 2010 - Providence W (92-88)
Feb 4, 2010 - @ Notre Dame L (83-65)

Last time giving up 80+ in 3 of 4 games:

Dec 13, 1994 - @ Minnesota (11) W (91-88 OT)
Dec 17, 1994 - @ Wyoming W (81-80)
Dec 19, 1994 - Cal State Northridge W (116-54)
Dec 21, 1994 - California (24) L (89-76)

I get exactly what I expect from this team most nights. Today was no exception. Been a long time since I just accepted the L without getting too out of sorts.

(02-15-2022 11:38 AM)doss2 Wrote:  Memphis Tigers (14-8) vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (16-8) February 15, 2022 7:00 pm EDT The Line: Cincinnati Bearcats +3 / Memphis Tigers -3; Over/Under: -139.5

Take Memphis give the points, bet the house.

I bet a whopping $110 on Memphis. That basically covered 5 of my 6 rounds of beers (2 beers, $22 with tip,) at the game.

The crowd still tried to get the players going-- they just couldn't get that 1 extra stop and bucket when they pulled somewhat close.

I still support Wes and the players-- things will get better, even if it's next year.

I had to miss the first half and was surprised when I was finally able to tune in that a 17 point UC deficit was cut to single digits. But Memphis was red hot coming in after winning in Houston and with the Tigers' size and talent, it was a tall order. It's still disappointing at home. And really, both Memphis games seemed winnable this year but for a few key stops on defense or want of a basket by someone at a certain critical point.

To me, the real test now is knocking off WSU, Temple, and USF to climb toward twenty wins and gain some renewed confidence. This team seems capable of playing its way out of the NIT the next few weeks and I hope that doesn't happen.

Finally, I had high hopes that Madsen could be that three point specialist off the bench that UC has needed for years. It's not all on him; there just isn't anyone capable of coming in and giving the offense a lift at critical times in these games and I'm not sure that's a talent that can be procured in the portal as a reserve player.

(02-16-2022 08:20 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  I had to miss the first half and was surprised when I was finally able to tune in that a 17 point UC deficit was cut to single digits. But Memphis was red hot coming in after winning in Houston and with the Tigers' size and talent, it was a tall order. It's still disappointing at home. And really, both Memphis games seemed winnable this year but for a few key stops on defense or want of a basket by someone at a certain critical point.

To me, the real test now is knocking off WSU, Temple, and USF to climb toward twenty wins and gain some renewed confidence. This team seems capable of playing its way out of the NIT the next few weeks and I hope that doesn't happen.

Finally, I had high hopes that Madsen could be that three point specialist off the bench that UC has needed for years. It's not all on him; there just isn't anyone capable of coming in and giving the offense a lift at critical times in these games and I'm not sure that's a talent that can be procured in the portal as a reserve player.

With no one respecting our inside game the 3 points are seldom really open. Or big either have small hands, weak hands or hands of stone.

No one respects our inside game, no one respects our outside game and no one respects our guards ability to pass. The other team double teams the ball and more often than not we still try to throw up a wild shot instead of finding the open man. There were a number of times we had a wide open shooter in the corner and didn't find him because we were more concerned about throwing up a highly contested layup.

The solution is better decision making, better (and quicker) passing, improved bigs. There are a lot of problems that need solving, so much so that they most likely won't be solved this year. One thing that seems to have potential is Lakhin at center (or playing with Koval), not having Ody/Ado in clogging the lane created some opportunities for Lakhin (though he didn't finish consistently).

Mason despite going 1-7 ended up -2 in +/-. His defense has really improved, even when he's not knocking down shots he can still play. He is a good shooter, but he needs open shots which he doesn't usually get. Shooting tough threes usually results in misses. He does get open at times, but when he does our passing usually leaves much to be desired. The main thing that frustrates me about Mason is his complete lack of interest in offensive rebounding. He's 6'5" and can jump, but as soon as the shot is released he's racing back on defense. Get in there fight.

Speaking of offensive rebounding, Davenport had a great night. Despite being undersized and less athletic he did get in there and fight for the ball and it created good results a number of times.

Despite all the offensive issues, we lost tonight on the defensive end. Can't allow a team to shoot over 50% and expect to win.

I noticed Davenport grabbing rebounds with both hands are securing them. Our big guys have a tendency to always tip the ball around with one hand.

Posted this on the AAC board, but from courtside last night I thought there were a few encouraging things from my perspective:
1. I thought Saunders had his best game in a while and did actually open things up with his speed. He still only had 1 assist, but I thought his decision making was better and when UC ran good offense he was often key to it.
2. The guards really handled Memphis's relentless pressure well.
3. Davenport had an exceptional game...not just from scoring, but he was huge on the glass...getting 5 offensive rebounds and 6 on the defensive glass. I felt like he was everywhere.
4. Lahkin didn't look lost, which he generally has in conference play. He struggled through contact but didn't turn it over and mostly held his own when he was in the game.

The negatives:
1. The defense has really fallen off the last few games. I thought part was Memphis has dudes that just made tough shots, but it's disappointing that we can't even turn them over when that is an area they tend to struggle.
2. Newman has been a complete nonfactor since his injury. When UC had its best stretch of the season after the Tulane game, Newman was essential. He gave them some offense and was our best defender. He did a ton of little things that he's not doing anymore. He didn't have any assists, he only 3 points, he turned over twice and fouled like crazy.
3. Koval/Oguama were completely overmatched in the post against the Memphis bigs. Ado plays a ton despite being limited offensively because he's the one guy that can hold up against legit post players (I think Lahkin will get there).

(02-16-2022 09:41 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I noticed Davenport grabbing rebounds with both hands are securing them. Our big guys have a tendency to always tip the ball around with one hand.

Yes! Koval hardly ever grabs an offensive rebound. He is content to try and hit the ball to the outside.

(02-16-2022 10:11 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Posted this on the AAC board, but from courtside last night I thought there were a few encouraging things from my perspective:
1. I thought Saunders had his best game in a while and did actually open things up with his speed. He still only had 1 assist, but I thought his decision making was better and when UC ran good offense he was often key to it.
2. The guards really handled Memphis's relentless pressure well.
3. Davenport had an exceptional game...not just from scoring, but he was huge on the glass...getting 5 offensive rebounds and 6 on the defensive glass. I felt like he was everywhere.
4. Lahkin didn't look lost, which he generally has in conference play. He struggled through contact but didn't turn it over and mostly held his own when he was in the game.

The negatives:
1. The defense has really fallen off the last few games. I thought part was Memphis has dudes that just made tough shots, but it's disappointing that we can't even turn them over when that is an area they tend to struggle.
2. Newman has been a complete nonfactor since his injury. When UC had its best stretch of the season after the Tulane game, Newman was essential. He gave them some offense and was our best defender. He did a ton of little things that he's not doing anymore. He didn't have any assists, he only 3 points, he turned over twice and fouled like crazy.
3. Koval/Oguama were completely overmatched in the post against the Memphis bigs. Ado plays a ton despite being limited offensively because he's the one guy that can hold up against legit post players (I think Lahkin will get there).

Saunders has definitely been improving his decision making, he still needs work, but he is getting there. His speed was definitely a major against the Memphis press.

Newman's downturn is reflected in the stats as well. He's gone from being neck-and-neck with MAW as our best player/defender to being lumped with Davenport/Ado in second - Davenport has also improved - but far behind MAW. To have fallen that far that quickly indicated just how poorly he has played in the last few games. Mason's increase in minutes also likely reflects that. If it is the result of injury it may be worth sitting Newman for a bit to let him recover.

Davenport hit a bunch of tough shots and played really hard. He forces bad shots at times, and he's limited athletically, but he's basically our only guy who can shoot.

I thought Saunders was great. Memphis didn't turn us over a lot with their press in the first half, but they slowed us down so much and forced us into bad half court offense. Saunders came in and shot right up the floor. He had at least one hockey assist. Should have made them pay more. He hit some big 3s too. Good to see him play well.

It was great that the team stormed back. I haven't looked at the numbers, but I thought our offensive rebounding was good, particularly in the second half and especially against a big, athletic group like Memphis. The energy was there. The game got fun for much of the second half. I actually thought we might come all the way back.

Our offensive rebounding percentage was 34.7%, theirs was 17.8%. It was probably one of our best games of the season in terms of disparity between our OR% and theirs. Especially impressive given that in our game @Memphis their OR% was 41.6% and ours was 27.7%. We did a great jobs on the boards, despite the lack of Ado and Newman - as BearcatMark noted - contributing less than normal since his injury (he had only 2 rebounds). Davenport was the driver, with 11 total rebounds and 5 on the offensive end.

(02-16-2022 10:21 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  

(02-16-2022 09:41 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I noticed Davenport grabbing rebounds with both hands are securing them. Our big guys have a tendency to always tip the ball around with one hand.

Yes! Koval hardly ever grabs an offensive rebound. He is content to try and hit the ball to the outside.

This drives me nuts. At 7 ft tall, all he has to do is go up with both hands and barely leave the floor he’s going to get the ball most of the time or get fouled. Instead he keeps tipping the ball out like he’s a 5’6” guard. “Somebody else grab the ball, I’m skeered!”

Ado is good defensively but has some of the worst hands I have ever seen. Needs to spend some time with the Jugs machine on the football field.

Ody has great energy but that’s half the problem. Plays like a spaz 75% of the time, takes out of control shots, fouls egregiously, and can’t stay on the court.

Lahkin you can see glimpses but just inconsistent. I think you need to suffer short term and just give him the minutes.

(02-16-2022 12:20 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  

(02-16-2022 10:21 AM)bearcatfan Wrote:  

(02-16-2022 09:41 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  I noticed Davenport grabbing rebounds with both hands are securing them. Our big guys have a tendency to always tip the ball around with one hand.

Yes! Koval hardly ever grabs an offensive rebound. He is content to try and hit the ball to the outside.

This drives me nuts. At 7 ft tall, all he has to do is go up with both hands and barely leave the floor he’s going to get the ball most of the time or get fouled. Instead he keeps tipping the ball out like he’s a 5’6” guard. “Somebody else grab the ball, I’m skeered!”

Ado is good defensively but has some of the worst hands I have ever seen. Needs to spend some time with the Jugs machine on the football field.

Ody has great energy but that’s half the problem. Plays like a spaz 75% of the time, takes out of control shots, fouls egregiously, and can’t stay on the court.

Lahkin you can see glimpses but just inconsistent. I think you need to suffer short term and just give him the minutes.

Ody was worst on the team in +/- last night (-13), just in front of DDJ (-12). Lakhin was -9. Koval (and Ado) plays because he doesn't make egregious mistakes that hurt the team, especially on the defensive end (he was -1 last night). Ody is one of the (if not the) worst defensive players on the team.

I tend to agree that at this point it's probably worth just throwing Ody/Lakhin out there and living with their mistakes. But how will the locker room feel if you lose the game because your best players weren't on the floor. It's a dilemma between winning games now and getting guys experience so you can win games in future seasons.