How good is Penn? Not good enough

[TSU88 1,077]

Penn came out hot & jumped to an early double digit lead, but we withstood their early punch & wore them down. Some shaky free throw shooting almost bit us in the end, but we held on.

Despite ZM not having a great night, some other guys picked up the slack-pretty even scoring distribution with Morsell, EK, Starr & Gorham picking up the slack.

Sparse crowd again, but we’re on to the championship game of the tournament tomorrow night vs Georgia Southern. 

[mat1992 2,259]

Didn't think defense or offense was very good but our depth and strength wore them down. Morsell still hunts some bad shots but overall had a nice game with 18 points. Morman had some terrible turnovers, but his defense is what keeps him on the floor. Once again, when Al Thomas can't stay on the floor due to fouls or bad offensive play, we are small. That's why we aren't dominating guys on the glass like we used to. EK might be bigger than JD but Davis knew how to rebound. Same with Moto. That's where we miss those guys along with inside scoring, which is still rough. Gorham is getting better, I'd like to see Morsell post a bit more. Same with Zane, who is bigger than most 2's. Al loves to fadeaway when he gets under the basket. I'd just love to see him go up strong and either dunk or lay it in. He forgets he's 6-9, 260.

 

Also playing a lot of small lineups. EK got the early tech and played just five minutes though I think we played better without him late in the half when were built it to a 9-point lead. Then we threw it away late as it just kills me that we can't get a last second shot off. Starr for some reason gave it up to Morman, who should never touch the ball in those situations. He tries some crazy drive with 10 seconds left and loses the ball. They score a layup on other end. We had the last shot up 6 but instead were up 4.

MIssed FTs let them hang around. That might be a bit of fatigue and nerves though guys like Starr, Morsell and Morman are all seniors. They've been there before.  I think Brian Starr is turning the corner. Had 10pts, 5 assists and no turnovers. His passing has been very strong. Same with Zane, who had 2 assists. At times, when he's willing, he's a great passer. He just coudn't finish tonight until the last 10 minutes. Still our best player though Starr is becoming our most important player because we don't have a backup point guard. 

Nice to see EK rebound after that tech and have a strong second half. When you can get 24 points from your bench, that's strong. We'll need that bench on Wednesday night again.

[TSU88 1,077]

Agree with you about our ineptitude when it comes to getting a last shot before the end of the 1st half. Maddening.

i feel like we’ve given up a lot of offensive rebounds in this tournament, notwithstanding that we’re 2-0. I thought the big loss with JD & Moto would be replacing their 25ppg, but it’s really more so their rebounding. Thomas is a liability as I see it-he’s not scoring & he’s in constant foul trouble.  Agree with you on Starr. He’s scoring, dishing & not many TO’s. 

I was really impressed with Ingram in the 1st half tonight, even though he only scored 2 points. Was a bit surprised he didn’t see floor in the 2nd half. 

We wear teams down with our depth & defensive tenacity. And with ZM, Morsell, and, to a lesser degree, Starr, Morman, EK, Gorham & McNeill, we have really balanced scoring. So, if one guy is off on a given night, it seems like someone else will fill the void.

Looking forward to the matchup vs Georgia Southern 

 

 

[mat1992 2,259]

I think Ingram is going to be like Zane, not in terms of size, but of growth throughout the year. Right now, he's probably ahead of where Zane was last season. Once he gets confident, he'll be pretty darn good by the end of this season. Next season, with Betrand coming in and Dottin, he will need to get bigger, stronger, improve his handle and shot. That will be a fun group and hopefully Prophete will join them.

If he can get a pet move like a cross over, to create separation where he can drive, he's scary athletic as a finisher. Better than anybody we have, even Morman, who's just awkward at times due to lack of handle. Same thing with Zane. That right-handed finish tonight late in the game was fantastic. Teams are giving him the right side and if he can do that more often with a off-hand finish, he'll get more and-1 opportunities.