Originally posted by IUP24
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You mostly ignored everything I said and then cherry picked what you wanted to send me advanced analytics in hopes of me saying that IUP was fatigued by West Liberty.
When you hold a team significantly below their season average, which IUP did, and that team plays and scores the way West Liberty does, you should find a way to win that game. IUP didn't. Not because "West Liberty is chaotic." Not because "their lungs and legs just didn't have it anymore." Not because "the system mentally frazzled them, eventually leading to physical fatigue and desperation." IUP wasn't fatigued. They just weren't good enough offensively. And regardless what any analytical metrics show, that's been the story for a very solid 7-8 weeks.
Much of IUP's offense in the 2nd half was Shawndale Jones throwing up running layups from terrible angles, or trying to back guys down in the low post as a guard. That had absolutely nothing to do with West Liberty's system. That's been their offense since about mid-January. IUP posters have been talking about this for 2 months. That eventually, they would play a team that was offensively efficient and they wouldn't be able to score enough. And that's what happened.
So revisiting my original point, IUP lost because West Liberty had better players that were more efficient and gifted offensively. The script of that game played out how it should go for any team who wants to beat West Liberty. The pace was to IUP's liking. West Liberty had to play offense deep into the shot clock many possessions. There wasn't a ton of buckets in transition. IUP simply could not score the basketball. Which was opposite of how the script went in 2015. IUP implemented the same approach in both games. In the 2015 game, West Liberty played perfect offensively. They shot it at 52% from the field and 61% from beyond the arc. The problem was, IUP was damn good offensively too. They were 58% from the field and 52% from beyond the arc. So again, why did West Liberty win on Tuesday? Because they had a team who was far superior offensively. Better players, not a better system. IUP's defense controlled pace and limited possessions and offensive output in both games. However, in 2015 they had skilled offensive players who could score the basketball. In 2023, they didn't. Goes back to my point.. West Liberty won because of better players, not because of system. The system can be beaten by anyone, but you need good enough players to do it.
And if you're still not sold on what I'm saying, look at IUP's last 5 games... 53, 60, 52, 54, 67. Do you think that's even close to good enough? Or perhaps they were simply fatigued in the four games prior thinking about a likely matchup with West Liberty. IUP shot over 35% from beyond the arc just 3 times since the calendar turned to 2023. They were often shooting it from deep in the mid 20s%. That's not nearly good enough. They only had a field goal % above 45% 9 times in since January 1st. That's not nearly good enough. They were an abysmal jump shooting team most of the year. And when the calendar turned to January, their offense, to put it bluntly, was average at best most nights. I'll take holding West Liberty to 70 points every time. But when your squad is unable to hit 70, it's nearly impossible to win against any team who regularly shoots it at a good %.
Edit...
I will add... I will buy that IUP could have been fatigued, but that had nothing to do with West Liberty. They were likely fatigued before they even walked into the building on Tuesday. Hindsight being 20/20, IUP probably would have been far better off playing a finesse and undermanned UPJ team and a small Mercyhurst lineup. The football games against Winston Salem and Virginia Union on consecutive days in no way helped their chances entering Tuesday night. But that's how tournament basketball goes. It's more about matchups than anything else. And you could argue that they had a tougher road than anybody. Not saying that those teams were more talented than others, but because when you play them, they take a pound of flesh.
wlu was lucky they had tough prior games.
Coaches from other teams (concord in tourney, etc.) have admitted fatigue in post game press conf, so IUP is just probably unique. Did you watch Lombardi press conference? He alluded to guys playing a lot of minutes but not giving up.
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