West Liberty Hilltopper Basketball

[Scrub]

Seeding is going to be very interesting. NWMo is likely the best team in the country and very deserving of a #1 overall Elite 8 seed. However, they weren't even the #1 in their own regional. Furthermore, Daemen was a higher seed than WLU in its region, but does not appear to have had as strong a season. It'll be very interesting to see how the committee weights its own prior seeds and whether they "reward" a Flagler or a WTAM for making it through as a #1 Regional seed. I suspect BuffaloChip's guess is reasonably accurate. But conspiracy theories aside, Boat isn't wrong that the NCAA sometimes does head-scratching things with these seeds. Can't wait to see.

[boatcapt]

I agree about WT vs WL. I think WT should be the 1, but we all know how the NCAA kisses NW's butt till it's raw. Haha!

WT / WL ought to be one of the premierly interesting quarterfinal games in quite a few years. I don't see how our little guard team from the Panhandle of Texas will be able to stay up with the storied coach and WL team.

Mines at the 3, Flagler the 4, Truman the 5, Lincoln the 6. My guess.

I don't see how our little college team nestled in a sleepy little town in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia with a roster consisting of overachieving gym rats who have never won Regonals before could possibly defeat a team from the great state of Texas with a legendary coach that has won National Championships as well as taken multiple teams to the final four.

OK, now that we are finished lying to each other, how do you see the game??

[Columbuseer]

Observations from a Dummy: WLU vs Hillsdale

Hillsdale was a very well-coached team with very talented, unselfish players and the GMAC player of the year.
They were just not built to combat the unique style of WLU (few teams are). Luckily, WLU was at their defensive best.

The outcome of this game was determined by:
1) WLU pace and pressure - they wore out Hillsdale, which affected their shooting and their rebounding. When Hillsdale needed to ratchet up the pressure, there was nothing left in the tank.

2) Inability of Hillsdale to leverage their big men for easy scores.

3) WLU matchup issues

1. Patrick versus Brown - took him to the rack at will and forced him out of the game with 2 fouls
2. Marlon intimidating Cartier without fouling him - Great discipline. Blocked several shots and made him work extremely hard
3. Dalton shooting over Yarian, which forced him away from the boards

As a result of the matchup issues and fatigue

1. WLU controlled the boards, and Hillsdale got few 2nd chance shots. Hillsdale, for all their size is soft on offensive rebounds, ranked 209th versus 6th for WLU. In defensive rebounds, WLU is 12th and Hillsdale is 49th.
2. Both teams average around the same in 3 pt % for the season, around 36-37%. But in this game, WLU made 42% while Hilldale only shot 25%.
3. A telling number indicating fatigue was FT %. WLU hit 82% exceeding their 75% average, while Hillsdale shot only 38%, while their season average was 72%.

Areas for Improvement

1. In the second half, we had about a 4 minute stretch of bad possessions when we were up 17. Guys were taking difficult shots or taking shots out of their "sweet spot" with no one under to rebound. Had we kept rotating the ball, we could have pushed Hillsdale past the tipping point of fatigue and gone up by 30. Instead they cut the lead to 10, which should have been less of a lead if they had not missed some easy chances. We have to stay in the moment and play like the game is tied and try to get the best possible shot. If we don't, Evansville will be a day trip.

2. We have always think team with our emotions. These technical fouls are selfish and indicate that the focus is on "me" rather than team. Opponents will always try to bait players to get an edge.

3. Saw some lack of situational awareness in terms of taking shots instead of running clock.

Statistic	West Liberty Regular Season	HILLSDALE COLLEGE
POINTS	78	61
FGM	27	25
FGA	61	58
FGPCT	44.3%	43.1%
3FGM	10	4
3FGA	24	16
3FGPCT	41.7%	25.0%
FTM	14	7
FTA	17	18
FTPCT	82.4%	38.9%
REBOUND OFFENSIVE	8	5
REBOUND DEFENSIVE	36	29
REBOUND TOTAL	44	34
ASSISTS	13	15
TURNOVERS	13	13
BLOCKS	7	3
STEALS	9	9
Num Possessions	73	74
Points per Possession	1.07	0.82
Assists per 100 Possessions	17.8	20.3
Assists / FG Made %	48.15%	60.00%
Assist to Turnover Ratio	1.00	1.15
Turnovers per 100 Possessions (< better)	17.8	17.6
Opponent Defensive Rebounds	29	36
Offensive Rebound Efficiency %	21.6%	12.2%
Effective FG %	52.5%	46.6%
Effective FG% Difference (team- Opp.)	5.9%	-5.9%
FGA % Diff ((team FGA-Opp.FGA)/Opp.)	5.2%	-4.9%
Forced Turnovers	13	13
Opponent Possessions	74	73
Forced Turnovers % of Opp. Possession	17.6%	17.8%

[BuffaloChip]

Can only speculate for now, but now that we know who is moving on to Evansville for the Elite 8, it looks like WL may end up with the #7 seed against #2 West Texas A&M. NW Missouri St with the #1 Seed against #8 Daemen; following their upset of St. Thomas Aquinas. The #3 through #6 seeds may be a little more up in the air. Thoughts?

I agree about WT vs WL. I think WT should be the 1, but we all know how the NCAA kisses NW's butt till it's raw. Haha!

WT / WL ought to be one of the premierly interesting quarterfinal games in quite a few years. I don't see how our little guard team from the Panhandle of Texas will be able to stay up with the storied coach and WL team.

Mines at the 3, Flagler the 4, Truman the 5, Lincoln the 6. My guess.

[boatcapt]

Can only speculate for now, but now that we know who is moving on to Evansville for the Elite 8, it looks like WL may end up with the #7 seed against #2 West Texas A&M. NW Missouri St with the #1 Seed against #8 Daemen; following their upset of St. Thomas Aquinas. The #3 through #6 seeds may be a little more up in the air. Thoughts?

NCAA gonna do what the NCAA gonna do...With no explanation given!

[TopperAlum2015]

Can only speculate for now, but now that we know who is moving on to Evansville for the Elite 8, it looks like WL may end up with the #7 seed against #2 West Texas A&M. NW Missouri St with the #1 Seed against #8 Daemen; following their upset of St. Thomas Aquinas. The #3 through #6 seeds may be a little more up in the air. Thoughts?

[boatcapt]

WTF happened to your football team? 70-7?

We have a HC who doesn't seem to be particularly concerned with winning. Hard to believe that there was a time when WLU's football offense was the equivalent of WLU's basketball offense.

[Layton]

[TopperAlum2015]

Headed up in a little bit, hope we leave with a big W!

[Layton]

Headed up in a little bit, hope we leave with a big W!

[Columbuseer]

WTF happened to your football team? 70-7?

I don't follow WLU football. Maybe they were trying to lull NDC into a false sense of complacency?
:-)

IMHO, if you cannot beat teams at their game, then change the game.
WLU needs to bring Kevin Kelly from Pulaski Academy (PA) in Little Rock, Arkansas to WLU as a consultant to teach them his style. They are the football equivalent of the WLU style in basketball.
What do they have to lose?

PA played a private VA school near Richmond who had at least 7 D1 players (it is a football magnet high school) and destroyed them, with only two players over 220 lbs. They are playing two classifications above their enrollment and have won 8 state championships with their style.

The had a 150 lb linebacker from Japan, who was a destroyer on defense, both in the run and pass. Amazing player who is probably better than anyone on WLU's defense today.
"Futa Shinkawa finishes his career 7th in state history with 392 tackles. In his career, he had 61 tackles for loss, 23 sacks, and 11 QB hurries. Also, 3 interceptions, 13 pass breakups, and 11 QB hurries, Also he forced 5 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles, and blocked a field goal"

Plus, PA does not recruit. Like WLU basketball, data analytics support the efficacy of the Pulaski Academy style.

Their games can be watched on demand on youtube.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

WTF happened to your football team? 70-7?

[Columbuseer]

Observations from a Dummy: WLU vs Charleston

Sheer tenacity and effort won the game for WLU. We got most 50-50 balls, and we had guys getting put-backs on their teammates' misses. Case in point: Patrick intercepts a pass and takes off down the court. If there was ever a time for someone to take a breather, it would be to watch Patrick sprint down the court to finish at the rim in transition. Instead, there were not one, but two teammates sprinting with him. Patrick missed the highly contested shot, but WLU was there to get the rebound. Impressive! We got most 50-50 balls too.

Our half court defense was outstanding:

1. We had an offensive rebounding % of almost 40% to only 17% for UC, who is a much bigger team. WLU was willing to mix it up on the glass, regardless of their size disadvantage. Some of UC's more athletic players appear to feel more comfortable standing out around the 3 point line.
2. We held UC to 0.98 PPP. WLU had an incredible 1.26 PPP against a top 20 team.
3. WLU had 1.11 assist to turnover ratio to 0.92 for UC, who normally takes very good care of the ball.
4. WLU held UC to 20% from three while we shot a typical 37%. Owen's threes forced McManus to leave the paint which opened the lane for drives and offensive rebounds.

This game really illustrated how effort and teamwork can overcome size and athletic disparities.
Great win!

Statistic	West Liberty Regular Season	CHARLESTON (WV)
POINTS	82	63
FGM	32	22
FGA	64	48
FGPCT	50.0%	45.8%
3FGM	9	4
3FGA	24	20
3FGPCT	37.5%	20.0%
FTM	9	15
FTA	11	21
FTPCT	81.8%	71.4%
REBOUND OFFENSIVE	13	5
REBOUND DEFENSIVE	24	20
REBOUND TOTAL	37	25
ASSISTS	10	11
TURNOVERS	9	12
BLOCKS	2	2
STEALS	7	5
Num Possessions	65	64
Points per Possession	1.26	0.98
Assists per 100 Possessions	15.4	17.2
Assists / FG Made %	31.25%	50.00%
Assist to Turnover Ratio	1.11	0.92
Turnovers per 100 Possessions (< better)	13.8	18.8
Opponent Defensive Rebounds	20	24
Offensive Rebound Efficiency %	39.4%	17.2%
Effective FG %	57.0%	50.0%
Effective FG% Difference (team- Opp.)	7.0%	-7.0%
FGA % Diff ((team FGA-Opp.FGA)/Opp.)	33.3%	-25.0%
Forced Turnovers	12	9
Opponent Possessions	65	64
Forced Turnovers % of Opp. Possession	18.8%	13.8%

[Columbuseer]

Be interesting to see if hillsdale plays zone. If they do, rasile may play a pivotal role. Patrick at top, Dalton on wing, Zach in corner. Can't guard all three.
Rumors of curry like accuracy and range for zach. We have seen glimpses in past games, such as 6 for 6. You don't become 2nd highest scorer in ohio history at >3000 points without good mechanics.

[boatcapt]

Imho Keys for wlu

-push, push, push the ball in transition. We must run them until they drop. Bigs tend to foul when you make them move in open court
- make guards work hard and keep them from throwing over us in the trap
- rotate the ball and get a great shot
- shoot over 40% from three
- our bigs must avoid foul trouble
- hit the glass hard. Position more important than height
- be ready to pass the ball on a drive when bigs defend the shot. Malones butler hurt them doing that.

Remember Malone beat them.

+1

We have to "stick with the plan" and remember that the game is 40 minutes long. Keep "choppin' wood" so to speak. Against a good rebounding team like Hillsdale, shooting % is sooo very important. That said, our inside players need to fight and scrap for every rebound they can get. The temptation when you get an offensive rebound is to put it back up...probably a better idea against Hillsdale to kick it back outside for a new play. If/when we drive inside, got to fight the temptation to finish with some sort of highlight reel layup. Hillsdale collapses their D well and with those tall trees inside, you are probably going to get blocked...drive, pull the D to you and kick to the open man.

This game is tailor made for trading 2 for 3. When Hillsdale makes a 2, get the ball in quickly, and attack in transition looking to get an open 3. To make this work effectively, we need to shoot 40+% from 3...for some unknown reason, we seem to struggle doing that sometimes.

An additional potentially critical metric...Free Throw shooting! We need to shoot at least 70% from the charity stripe. Those "free" points could be the difference between moving on and going home.