Regarding the Liberty game, I don't blame the Liberty team. They hustled. They played hard. This is on Ritchie McKay for lack of recruiting. Some of us have been groaning when seeing the height and even lack of athleticism of some recruits. You simply can't win with the shortest or 2nd shortest team in NCAA basketball. Lack of a big man and two short guards is not a formula that can win most of the time. When La. Tech needed hoops, they attacked inside.

Exactly half of the Bulldogs’ points came in the paint and most of them were right at the rim. Liberty is definitely too small and lacking in athleticism compared to others. They’re a horrendous FT team and don’t seem to have a go-to guy when they’re slugging it out in these defensive drudges.

They’re still a couple buckets away from beating both WKU and LaTech on the road, though. Need to sweep this week’s homestand, hosting FIU and SHSU. Could easily be 2-3 and in the thick of things this time next week, or could be staring down a last place finish.

Regardless of where they finish the Flames will be a tough out in March.

(01-14-2024 08:16 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 05:36 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-14-2024 05:29 PM)EatEmUp11 Wrote:  LaTech over LU 80-76 (OT)

Crawford fouled out in OT but the Bulldogs close it out.

Liberty in a deep hole early in league play, falling to 0-3.

Gonna get deeper.

Good win La Tech. Looked like a nice basketball arena on TV. Good coverage also.

TV is deceiving...

but its a hard place to win for the visiting team

And why are you dissing the TAC, the Thomas Assembly Center? It's a good arena. Yeah, it is now 40+ years old, but it's the house Karl Malone built! It's loud in there. Even a smallish crowd of 2,500 or so can be VERY loud! I like it. Go complain about others' gyms/arenas. I suppose you have been there in person...

As for our current team, we lack a good point guard. That's our single biggest weakness. Basketball, especially college hoops, is won with great guard play. We ain't got that.

(01-15-2024 12:03 AM)Turtle Power 98 Wrote:  Regarding the Liberty game, I don't blame the Liberty team. They hustled. They played hard. This is on Ritchie McKay for lack of recruiting. Some of us have been groaning when seeing the height and even lack of athleticism of some recruits. You simply can't win with the shortest or 2nd shortest team in NCAA basketball. Lack of a big man and two short guards is not a formula that can win most of the time. When La. Tech needed hoops, they attacked inside.

Agree that this is on McKay and his lack of recruiting better players. Will he move on from his obsession with small guards? I sure hope so. We’ve been clearly out muscled in the paint and out played in general. Watching the games this year is almost like watching a middle school team play against high school teams. The lack of size and athleticism is very evident. McKay is a great guy and a great ambassador for Liberty, but if his recruiting targets don’t change, I’m afraid the results we are seeing aren’t going to change very much. McKay has had great success in the past, but this isn’t the ASUN or the Big South. Hopefully he adapts accordingly. I have no doubt he can be successful if he’s willing to do that.

Although the talent in CUSA isn't what it used to be... for the time being. I do believe CUSA is a bigger, more athletic, more physical conference than the ASUN and present-day WAC. Liberty will probably need to get a little bigger in the paint if they want to compete consistently at the top of this conference. Once every CUSA program finds its groove in this new conference configuration, those who are bigger and stronger will probably win this conference consistently.

(01-13-2024 10:26 PM)Shadow_Son Wrote:  Tops recruited Tandy multiple times, both out of high school and when he left Xavier. Jax State isn’t a one man team, but it’s close. Kyky could be the best player in the league and that will keep the Gamecocks in the hunt. They put up a blazing 43 in the first half but came back to earth a bit in the second with only 26. Big road swing out west on the horizon for WKU to test their regular season championship credentials.

I got a bit excited in the first half, but the second half confirmed what I knew:

Jax State is a good team, doing far better than expected, but is still very, very young and inexperienced.

WKU played the second half like a contender. Don't worry about the scoreboard. Just settle down and play your game. Teams that can do that tend to win. And the Toppers won easily.

(01-14-2024 09:19 PM)WKUYG Wrote:  While the fans of Sam Houston St don't support the program that's a different problem than saying the school doesn't care.....

My guess is they are the only program in CUSA to not have a losing record in the past 10 years. Only one losing season in the last 20. I don't care what conference you play in one losing season in the last 20. Sam Houston St cares about basketball

The biggest issue for the fans at SHSU is that we have been good since Bob Marlin took us to the tournament a couple of times before he left.
But the inability to get back to the tournament has killed the noise around the program and some support.
We had many 20 win seasons and even regular season conference titles only to get our hopes dashed in the conference tournament time and time again.
Add the success that SFA had in those tournaments and against us, along with FCS football success that we had going on.
It all led to a perfect recipe for some fan apathy.
It was frustrating but I saw the big picture and appreciated that Coach Hotten always had us in contention and ran a clean program that an alumni could be proud of.

(01-17-2024 09:03 AM)Kat1990 Wrote:  We had many 20 win seasons and even regular season conference titles only to get our hopes dashed in the conference tournament time and time again.

I believe Tech fans are familiar with this sensation.

(01-15-2024 12:08 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Although the talent in CUSA isn't what it used to be... for the time being. I do believe CUSA is a bigger, more athletic, more physical conference than the ASUN and present-day WAC. Liberty will probably need to get a little bigger in the paint if they want to compete consistently at the top of this conference. Once every CUSA program finds its groove in this new conference configuration, those who are bigger and stronger will probably win this conference consistently.

Bigger and stronger? We playing football or basketball?

(01-15-2024 11:42 AM)3DogNight Wrote:  

(01-15-2024 12:03 AM)Turtle Power 98 Wrote:  Regarding the Liberty game, I don't blame the Liberty team. They hustled. They played hard. This is on Ritchie McKay for lack of recruiting. Some of us have been groaning when seeing the height and even lack of athleticism of some recruits. You simply can't win with the shortest or 2nd shortest team in NCAA basketball. Lack of a big man and two short guards is not a formula that can win most of the time. When La. Tech needed hoops, they attacked inside.

Agree that this is on McKay and his lack of recruiting better players. Will he move on from his obsession with small guards? I sure hope so. We’ve been clearly out muscled in the paint and out played in general. Watching the games this year is almost like watching a middle school team play against high school teams. The lack of size and athleticism is very evident. McKay is a great guy and a great ambassador for Liberty, but if his recruiting targets don’t change, I’m afraid the results we are seeing aren’t going to change very much. McKay has had great success in the past, but this isn’t the ASUN or the Big South. Hopefully he adapts accordingly. I have no doubt he can be successful if he’s willing to do that.

When I watched WKU and LIb, I didnt notice size being a factor. I noticed quickness lacking and could not hit a 3 to save your life. Would be hard pressed to shoot that bad from3 for long strech.