83-75 with 8.6 Dennis fouled and heading to the line. Not sure what NIU thinks they can do to win this, but fouling isn't going to get it done

No foul afterall Dennis called a time out.

Get it in to Maddox on length of court pass. Dribbles it out.

Toledo wins.83-75

Last couple minutes of cbb games are nearly unwatchable due to the fouling.

I was getting worried, but we got it done. Great game by Farmer - good on him.

Big road win against the defending Missouri Valley Conference champions!

Shumate with 24 points, Dennis with 19 points

Huge game from Farmer off the bench with 14 points!

13/13 from the free throw line

Rockets only trailed for 20 seconds in the game.

Also, 2-0 in the black uniforms.

Solid road win against a Missouri Valley foe leading pretty much wire to wire. Great spacing and movement with our offense which is a winning formula usually for Toledo. Defense also played vey well forcing18 turnovers. With Cochran sitting out again tonight, Farmer stepped up big time with14 points and lots of energy. Hopefully this trend of having different players stepping up each game in support of our core 4 will continue and be a catalyst for success during MAC play and beyond!

(12-06-2022 05:48 PM)eastisbest Wrote:  8:30pm!!!

2am Pono going to be the only one awake at the end.

Some info on their 5-Out offense.
Hooper School

I had to wait until I finished work to watch the replay an hour after the finish.

Pretty good effort. We ran a bit better offense. Defense was kinda mailing it in until the second half when we gradually cranked it up. NIU is a bit dinged up but has a couple good players. If they get to full strength they could compete in the Valley but it sounds like one of their key guys is questionable to return.

Dennis was again a bit inconsistent with his mid range game but played more wthin himself and was clutch in the 2nd half. Farmer had a great game off the bench. I posted in the last offseason how his upside reminds me of rian pearson. an athletic 6-3 lefty with guard skills who came in w decent shooting mechanics but poor results and worked to become good shooter. tonight he looked a lot like vintage pearson.

moss had another mostly poor showing, but turned it on down the stretch w a couple good defensive plays. lorentsson overcame a couple defensive miscues in the 1st half to play an excellent 2nd half. JT is just his typical efficient high scoring self. really spoiled by how good he is.

as far as bench, well, our top sub was out hurt, farmer got 20 productive minutes, AJ got 4 short rotations (he usually get 2 or 3) and lorentsson got key second half PT and played well. I'd say coach is doing a good job building the bench.

NIU not likely to have a big year, but they are a credible mid major w 8 NCAA appearances in the past 30 years and 4 wins. interestingly, we've won our conference more than them over that time but while we have 0 conf tourney title, they have 6 (plus 2 at large bids). root for them. if they can have a winning MVC record this will probably count as a quad 2 game.

a final note, really shocking how college bball attendance has plummeted this season. NIU usually has a very reliable fan base and couldn't have had more than half the announced 2600 fans in actual attendance. Saw on another site a Big5 temple-lasalle rivalry game having less than 1000 fans in actual attendance.

Thanks to MotoRocket for the play by play and all for the analyses. Made for a good read in the morning. Can't get replay off the website I used and had to go to bed.

To pick one set that stood out to me, late in the first half NIU making a run, Toledo pressuring on the perimeter, the quickness in Farmers feet. Looked like a stick figure in a wind-storm. Are we sure that's his hair? Looked like a hood to me. I need a better website. Or a better lap-top. Or get wi-fi instead of this AOL dial-up. Oh wait, I got rid of that last year.

Well, good game and all the runs made for a good balance of yipping and cussing.

It’s amazing what can happen when pretty much anyone off the bench can score or have a good night.

I don’t think this team is anywhere near what their best can be, which is a good thing. Don’t want to peak until 3 months from now.

That 7-5-7-5-7-5 spread for a long stretch of the second half drove me crazy. Farmer was a huge spark off the bench. Starting Maddox was a great move by K. And Farmer showed some great control, missed a shot (finally) and shortly thereafter passed up a decent look to get his only assist. This team is not nearly as good as a lot predicted it would be but they’re fun to watch. And they may get there. Cochran’s return to health could be the “it” factor.

Even if we lose some, winning the non con games hasn't exactly helped, so the battle test part may be what we need. Coach K said he loved that the game was delayed because it's prep for Cleveland... lol.

Kent has played two top 25 teams close. They're also battle tested.

(12-07-2022 07:13 AM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  That 7-5-7-5-7-5 spread for a long stretch of the second half drove me crazy. Farmer was a huge spark off the bench. Starting Maddox was a great move by K. And Farmer showed some great control, missed a shot (finally) and shortly thereafter passed up a decent look to get his only assist. This team is not nearly as good as a lot predicted it would be but they’re fun to watch. And they may get there. Cochran’s return to health could be the “it” factor.

Have they put out a time-frame on his return? Toe injuries, smh. I have one from sliding into 2 basekid's foot on the playground in the 70s, occasionally haunts.

Toe injuries can be an issue. Funny, he played last game and sat this on out. I'm glad, get him healthy.

Doesn't really matter at this point, just get healed. He will get healed, and no doubt help.

NIU I believe will be in the middle of the pack in their conference when all said and done, not as good as last year's team. Cochran's injury is worrying me, I wonder if it is more than the toe? As far as Edu is concern 7 minutes of action each of the last 2 games, not enough to break a sweat. But I also understand when he is in there, the guards are not looking to pass to him. EDU is still not the same Edu yet, what he showed in his freshman season. I am hoping for this young man to come on strong once the MAC season starts. What can you say about Farmer' s play lately, good for him. As far as this game in concern why was UT fouling very late in the game, plus the fact UT throwing the ball in after NIU baskets and getting trap in the corners. A well design screen to free up somebody going down court would have been a scoring opportunity. C JT was off his 3 point FG pct., but he excels in other parts of his game. Moss took only 3 shots, not looking to be that scorer as he puts in a lot of effort in guarding his man. Getting back to Edu, love to see in the game late in the 2nd half to play that intiminating defense and getting some valuable defensive boards.

(12-07-2022 08:04 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  NIU I believe will be in the middle of the pack in their conference when all said and done, not as good as last year's team. Cochran's injury is worrying me, I wonder if it is more than the toe? As far as Edu is concern 7 minutes of action each of the last 2 games, not enough to break a sweat. But I also understand when he is in there, the guards are not looking to pass to him. EDU is still not the same Edu yet, what he showed in his freshman season. I am hoping for this young man to come on strong once the MAC season starts. What can you say about Farmer' s play lately, good for him. As far as this game in concern why was UT fouling very late in the game, plus the fact UT throwing the ball in after NIU baskets and getting trap in the corners. A well design screen to free up somebody going down court would have been a scoring opportunity. C JT was off his 3 point FG pct., but he excels in other parts of his game. Moss took only 3 shots, not looking to be that scorer as he puts in a lot of effort in guarding his man. Getting back to Edu, love to see in the game late in the 2nd half to play that intiminating defense and getting some valuable defensive boards.

UNI.

Re Edu, takes time to truly get back from an ACL. Look at Kawhi Leonard. He's had a similar recovery timeline and is nowhere near where he was before the injury almost 2 years ago. Obviously, the approach with Edu is to give him short rotations of PT. He came in 4 times for a total of 7 minutes. not sure why that strategy but it seems intentional. You can see that the offense doesn't function as smoothly when he's in there. He doesn't space the floor and there's not much chemistry getting him the ball inside. You'll see him come open for a second or two, but players not really looking to pass to him. I think the hope is that using him in high screens/rolls/slips will gradually become a more effective wrinkle of the offense. He's a smart player and over the course of a season I could see that action being more productive. On defense he's been pretty good. He doesn't play with the same abandon on the boards that he did as a freshman but there's obviously a reason (or 3) for that. College games box scores don't show +- for each player but it seems we usually play well as a team when Edu is in there.

I see Lorentsson as a real key. The switch came on for him a few weeks ago and he's playing with more intensity. If we can get him to be more intuitive with the team defense he'll be a real asset. The kid can shoot and has enough size to hold his own when he plays hard.

(12-08-2022 02:38 AM)pono Wrote:  Re Edu, takes time to truly get back from an ACL. Look at Kawhi Leonard. He's had a similar recovery timeline and is nowhere near where he was before the injury almost 2 years ago. Obviously, the approach with Edu is to give him short rotations of PT. He came in 4 times for a total of 7 minutes. not sure why that strategy but it seems intentional. You can see that the offense doesn't function as smoothly when he's in there. He doesn't space the floor and there's not much chemistry getting him the ball inside. You'll see him come open for a second or two, but players not really looking to pass to him. I think the hope is that using him in high screens/rolls/slips will gradually become a more effective wrinkle of the offense. He's a smart player and over the course of a season I could see that action being more productive. On defense he's been pretty good. He doesn't play with the same abandon on the boards that he did as a freshman but there's obviously a reason (or 3) for that. College games box scores don't show +- for each player but it seems we usually play well as a team when Edu is in there.

I see Lorentsson as a real key. The switch came on for him a few weeks ago and he's playing with more intensity. If we can get him to be more intuitive with the team defense he'll be a real asset. The kid can shoot and has enough size to hold his own when he plays hard.

Lorentsson has to improve his footwork. He's a little clumsy on D at the pace the team plays. That seems like it will come with time and practice. He doesn't look hesitant.

It surprised me they didn't run the last play for him to shoot a three. That's what they did first games as I recall? Or was that preseason?

Hoping to see Cochran on Saturday ?

Hope so, if he is healthy. If not, sit.

2 pm I think, ESPN3.

Canisius should be a W. They aren't bad but we should be able to handle them with or without Cochran. The next game at Marshall is a big one. They just went to 7-1 Duquesne and handled them. 8 game win streak for the herd.

(12-09-2022 02:20 AM)pono Wrote:  Canisius should be a W. They aren't bad but we should be able to handle them with or without Cochran. The next game at Marshall is a big one. They just went to 7-1 Duquesne and handled them. 8 game win streak for the herd.

Wins over Ohio and Akron.