NW v. WL

[NWFanatic]

So sad for Byron! NW is a different team with him out there. What a damn shame for such a good kid. He plays more like a Jr/Sr than a true frosh. I fear that hard foul may cost us the title. Too bad for both teams that the refs were so inconsistent-touch fouls called but getting hammered let go on both sides. Refs never seem to stay consistent
Congrats to WL on a great season.

[Alfred33]

So sad for Byron! NW is a different team with him out there. What a damn shame for such a good kid. He plays more like a Jr/Sr than a true frosh. I fear that hard foul may cost us the title. Too bad for both teams that the refs were so inconsistent-touch fouls called but getting hammered let go on both sides. Refs never seem to stay consistent
Congrats to WL on a great season.

[Columbuseer]

You know, WLU fans, we've often talked about the fact that the local D1s won't play WLU in an exhibition. We've always wondered what it would look like for WLU to play a D1. I hate to say it, but for all intents and purposes, I think we just watched it.

We just watched a team that is better than many D1 teams.


How many bad shots did nwmsu take? 0
How many heat check shots? 0
how many good d1 teams average 1.3 points per possession for a season? 0
only 7% of d1 teams even reach 1.0 ppp.
How many d1 teams shoot 42.6% from three for a season? 0

In ncaa d1 tourney there are probably 10 bad shots a game. It is hard to watch.

many times Hudgens had a decent shot within 5 feet and he kicked it out for an open three.

I really, really like how they play with one mind. Great interior passing, suffocating defense. Beautiful basketball.

[NWFanatic]

[NWFanatic]

We just watched a team that is better than many D1 teams.


How many bad shots did nwmsu take? 0
How many heat check shots? 0
how many good d1 teams average 1.3 points per possession for a season? 0
only 7% of d1 teams even reach 1.0 ppp.
How many d1 teams shoot 42.6% from three for a season? 0

In ncaa d1 tourney there are probably 10 bad shots a game. It is hard to watch.

many times Hudgens had a decent shot within 5 feet and he kicked it out for an open three.

I really, really like how they play with one mind. Great interior passing, suffocating defense. Beautiful basketball.

[NWFanatic]

[Scrub]

If I had to guess, Howlett's thought process was this: He knew the press wasn't working, but he also knew that there was no way to make up a 25+ point deficit just trying to get stops on such an offensively efficient team in the half court. So his only hope (Hail Mary prayer, really) was to stay with the press and hope NW got sloppy with the ball. That's why I suspect he stuck with it. Kinda a do or die situation. Once you're down on an offensively efficient team, there's virtually no way to get enough stops playing straight-up D.

[Scrub]

Despite the fact that it was my team they were throttling, I would have to totally agree with you. That's some dang pretty basketball to watch. Count yourselves lucky that it's what you get to see night in and night out.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'd agree it wasn't a hard or dirty play. Those long passes in press-break unfortunately sometimes lead to collisions, jump balls and unfortunate landings.

The thing I had to question was still having all the starters in with 3 minutes left in a 30-point game. I don't care about wide margins ... I get so nervous in those type of blowouts about injuries in then-meaningless minutes.

[Columbuseer]

I'd agree it wasn't a hard or dirty play. Those long passes in press-break unfortunately sometimes lead to collisions, jump balls and unfortunate landings.

The thing I had to question was still having all the starters in with 3 minutes left in a 30-point game. I don't care about wide margins ... I get so nervous in those type of blowouts about injuries in then-meaningless minutes.

I want nwmsu to win it all, but there is a risk of fatigue from the extended minutes catching up with them tomorrow. Flagler likes to run, but luckily they have an affinity for the knucklehead shot.

[Alfred33]

I'd agree it wasn't a hard or dirty play. Those long passes in press-break unfortunately sometimes lead to collisions, jump balls and unfortunate landings.

The thing I had to question was still having all the starters in with 3 minutes left in a 30-point game. I don't care about wide margins ... I get so nervous in those type of blowouts about injuries in then-meaningless minutes.

He's technically not a starter, but to your point, I would agree that he could've have gotten all of those guys out of there earlier. That thought was in my head prior to the injury as well. Then I was questioning why they all came back out after the injury. You hate to come out of what is basically a blow out down a man, especially this time of year. Hopefully, they survive it, but as well Byron has played the last month, you just feel bad for him... he definitely deserves to be out there.

[Scrub]

I'd agree it wasn't a hard or dirty play. Those long passes in press-break unfortunately sometimes lead to collisions, jump balls and unfortunate landings.

The thing I had to question was still having all the starters in with 3 minutes left in a 30-point game. I don't care about wide margins ... I get so nervous in those type of blowouts about injuries in then-meaningless minutes.

The play-by-play guy commented on the key players still being on the floor in a blowout about 45 seconds before Alexander's awkward landing. It was clearly on the minds of everyone watching. Unfortunately for Mac, he waited just a minute too long to pull the trigger.

[NWHoops]

I want nwmsu to win it all, but there is a risk of fatigue from the extended minutes catching up with them tomorrow. Flagler likes to run, but luckily they have an affinity for the knucklehead shot.

Down a man and foul trouble could create problems for NW but I don't think fatigue will be a factor. They've essentially played a 6.5 man rotation all year as that's pretty typical for Mac teams. They're used to the heavy minutes.

[Columbuseer]

I am really curious how NW teaches its players its style and gets their total buy in. Also no obvious trash talking or mugging to the crowd.

Given how AAU has polluted the game and tv is filled with pros and d1 taking bad shots and making bad decisions, How do you exorcise those tendencies?

mass hypnosis?
classical conditioning?
sleep deprivation and brainwashing?
:-)

Despite our best efforts and pleadings, wlu still has guys who insist on taking shots that are not their game.

[Alfred33]

Down a man and foul trouble could create problems for NW but I don't think fatigue will be a factor. They've essentially played a 6.5 man rotation all year as that's pretty typical for Mac teams. They're used to the heavy minutes.

I tend to agree... these guys don't get tired. With all the timeouts you get along with the media timeouts, it doesn't really seem like an issue anymore. Foul trouble could definitely cause problems for us.