My fiver on WVU's loss in Norman yesterday...
1. For all that happened yesterday, Oklahoma's ability to crash the offensive glass down the stretch was the kill-shot. At the 4-minute mark, it's a 62-60 game, OU leads. We force a missed Austin Reaves three-pointer....and Brady Manek rebounds the ball in traffic. We force an Elijah Harkless missed three-point shot....and Manek once again snags an offensive rebound over Emmitt Matthews Jr. Manek kicks the ball out to Reaves, who of course swishes a three-pointer. 65-60, 3:44 showing on the game clock.
At the 2-minute mark, we trailed 65-62 after a tough Taz Sherman layup. OU comes down, and we force a missed Reaves three-pointer. Once again, Oklahoma snags an offensive rebound off of this miss. Manek is standing all alone on the wing behind the arc, ready to launch. Checkmate.
If we force one-and-dones on those twp possessions, we win the game.
2. It's a new game now. Gone is Quitter-34, gone with him, evidently, is our two-big lineup. And, that is fine by me. However, downsides were evident yesterday. First, the script is now out on how to guard Derek Culver -- double him, pummel him, frustrate him & flop. We're going to see it the rest of the year. Our coaches are going to need to help Derek adjust. There will be open shooters if teams are going to continue to double him. We can make teams pay. I have no idea what Culver's +/- was yesterday, but it had to be at least -17 or worse. Secondly, we're just not used to playing a perimeter-oriented game. During the first half pig vomit yesterday, it got to a point where we actually looked like we didn't know what to do. Turnovers from Miles McBride, Matthews, and Culver looked like we were trying to throw the game. Then, Gabe Osabuohien takes a 17-foot jumper early in the shot clock. We check in Kedrian Johnson, and he immediately turns the ball over. We were a ship without a rudder. Halftime mercifully came and we were extremely fortunate to only be down 18. However, we seemed to figure things out a bit during that second half. We turned up the intensity notch on defense, forcing some turnovers. And, we learned to live by the three-point shot. Sherman caught fire. Jalen Bridges stayed hot. Matthews and McBride both got into it and hit treys. And, we scored 51 second half points. Huggins actually does seem to get it now - by starting Jalen Bridges instead of Gabe, it was a good sign. Now, we've gotta come out each game with the same mindset which we came out of the second half yesterday. Bomb away. Let Culver or Gabe clean up any misses. Stop running our offense through Derek. Midway through the second half yesterday, I sent a text to our Mountaineer Nation group saying "The team who shoots the most threes from here on out, wins". Not "makes", but "shoots". And, inexplicably, we went to Derek late, and Matthews did his odd dribble up, mid-range miss with three minutes to go. We have a formula to win now, and we just need to get used to it. Shoot as many threes as possible, crash the glass and if the opposition sells out to stop our perimeter game, then feed Derek. Keep cycling that, while working in some press to make the game more frenetic.
3. Jalen Bridges. 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 27 minutes on 7 of 9 shooting. Emerging storyline here. This kid could be a player. It's amazing how well you can play when the shackles are off and you know you're getting run. One thing I can say with 100% certainty>>> If #34 was here and started yesterday, his stat line would not have been nearly as good. And, we would not have put together the comeback with 34 on the floor. I'm bullish on the future for Mr. Bridges and while I realize he will now have a target on his back and will have some off nights, he does give us a hell of a space-creator and mis-match at the "3".
4. OU attempted 35 threes, made 11 --- 31.4%. Let's be clear -- this wasn't because our perimeter defense was so bothersome. Instead, the "sure hope they miss" defense actually worked a great deal yesterday. This has got to stop. There's a reason Kansas took 37 threes against us - making 16, and OU took 35. We essentially send these teams written invitations to take them. And, eventually, someone will go off on a heater, like the Gibson kid from Oklahoma yesterday with his 8 treys. I feel like I'm hoping against hope here, but if we simply deny these teams these shots, then we are going to have a decided statistical advantage with our current lineup. Look at what Texas did to Kansas yesterday. They just wouldn't give them open looks from "3", and forced them to dribble drive, which is a lost art with this new Golden State generation. Yes, OU's second looks from "3" are ultimately what did us in, but we don't have to offer them up a buffet line of three-point shots all day long.
5. Big 12. Bottom line with this frustrating league is that, now, you have a clear top 2 with Baylor and Texas. You have a clear bottom 2 with Bruce Weber and Iowa State. Then, you toss the other 6 in a bag, shake it up, and see what comes out. We're now 0-2 vs. that six, but those were on the road. We go to Stillwater tomorrow and face one of those teams. It's high damn time that we go get a road win. We made serious progress in that second half yesterday. Keep that momentum going. Launch as many threes as possible out of the gate, and try to make Cade Cunningham beat you single-handedly. This is a game we could and should win.
1. For all that happened yesterday, Oklahoma's ability to crash the offensive glass down the stretch was the kill-shot. At the 4-minute mark, it's a 62-60 game, OU leads. We force a missed Austin Reaves three-pointer....and Brady Manek rebounds the ball in traffic. We force an Elijah Harkless missed three-point shot....and Manek once again snags an offensive rebound over Emmitt Matthews Jr. Manek kicks the ball out to Reaves, who of course swishes a three-pointer. 65-60, 3:44 showing on the game clock.
At the 2-minute mark, we trailed 65-62 after a tough Taz Sherman layup. OU comes down, and we force a missed Reaves three-pointer. Once again, Oklahoma snags an offensive rebound off of this miss. Manek is standing all alone on the wing behind the arc, ready to launch. Checkmate.
If we force one-and-dones on those twp possessions, we win the game.
2. It's a new game now. Gone is Quitter-34, gone with him, evidently, is our two-big lineup. And, that is fine by me. However, downsides were evident yesterday. First, the script is now out on how to guard Derek Culver -- double him, pummel him, frustrate him & flop. We're going to see it the rest of the year. Our coaches are going to need to help Derek adjust. There will be open shooters if teams are going to continue to double him. We can make teams pay. I have no idea what Culver's +/- was yesterday, but it had to be at least -17 or worse. Secondly, we're just not used to playing a perimeter-oriented game. During the first half pig vomit yesterday, it got to a point where we actually looked like we didn't know what to do. Turnovers from Miles McBride, Matthews, and Culver looked like we were trying to throw the game. Then, Gabe Osabuohien takes a 17-foot jumper early in the shot clock. We check in Kedrian Johnson, and he immediately turns the ball over. We were a ship without a rudder. Halftime mercifully came and we were extremely fortunate to only be down 18. However, we seemed to figure things out a bit during that second half. We turned up the intensity notch on defense, forcing some turnovers. And, we learned to live by the three-point shot. Sherman caught fire. Jalen Bridges stayed hot. Matthews and McBride both got into it and hit treys. And, we scored 51 second half points. Huggins actually does seem to get it now - by starting Jalen Bridges instead of Gabe, it was a good sign. Now, we've gotta come out each game with the same mindset which we came out of the second half yesterday. Bomb away. Let Culver or Gabe clean up any misses. Stop running our offense through Derek. Midway through the second half yesterday, I sent a text to our Mountaineer Nation group saying "The team who shoots the most threes from here on out, wins". Not "makes", but "shoots". And, inexplicably, we went to Derek late, and Matthews did his odd dribble up, mid-range miss with three minutes to go. We have a formula to win now, and we just need to get used to it. Shoot as many threes as possible, crash the glass and if the opposition sells out to stop our perimeter game, then feed Derek. Keep cycling that, while working in some press to make the game more frenetic.
3. Jalen Bridges. 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 turnover in 27 minutes on 7 of 9 shooting. Emerging storyline here. This kid could be a player. It's amazing how well you can play when the shackles are off and you know you're getting run. One thing I can say with 100% certainty>>> If #34 was here and started yesterday, his stat line would not have been nearly as good. And, we would not have put together the comeback with 34 on the floor. I'm bullish on the future for Mr. Bridges and while I realize he will now have a target on his back and will have some off nights, he does give us a hell of a space-creator and mis-match at the "3".
4. OU attempted 35 threes, made 11 --- 31.4%. Let's be clear -- this wasn't because our perimeter defense was so bothersome. Instead, the "sure hope they miss" defense actually worked a great deal yesterday. This has got to stop. There's a reason Kansas took 37 threes against us - making 16, and OU took 35. We essentially send these teams written invitations to take them. And, eventually, someone will go off on a heater, like the Gibson kid from Oklahoma yesterday with his 8 treys. I feel like I'm hoping against hope here, but if we simply deny these teams these shots, then we are going to have a decided statistical advantage with our current lineup. Look at what Texas did to Kansas yesterday. They just wouldn't give them open looks from "3", and forced them to dribble drive, which is a lost art with this new Golden State generation. Yes, OU's second looks from "3" are ultimately what did us in, but we don't have to offer them up a buffet line of three-point shots all day long.
5. Big 12. Bottom line with this frustrating league is that, now, you have a clear top 2 with Baylor and Texas. You have a clear bottom 2 with Bruce Weber and Iowa State. Then, you toss the other 6 in a bag, shake it up, and see what comes out. We're now 0-2 vs. that six, but those were on the road. We go to Stillwater tomorrow and face one of those teams. It's high damn time that we go get a road win. We made serious progress in that second half yesterday. Keep that momentum going. Launch as many threes as possible out of the gate, and try to make Cade Cunningham beat you single-handedly. This is a game we could and should win.
