BonaCommenter
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The loss isn't too bad for our tournament chances. In fact, boosting VCU gets our home win over them very close to being Q1. They are 34 in the NET and Q1 home wins are over teams 1-31 in the NET. Also, Drake just got pounded at home by Loyola Chicago and they'll lose to the Ramblers again tomorrow (Drake does have one of their best players out for a month with an injury), so there's another non-P6 team essentially eliminated from the at-large conversation. We're also still ahead in the NET of teams like Seton Hall, Colorado State, UCLA, Indiana, Syracuse, Oregon, UNC and UConn. I think anyone peeking in on us at the end of last night's game will see a nailbiter between two teams that probably deserve to be in. A loss by VCU last night would have hurt them more than this loss hurts us.
As for on the court, I see two places where this game was lost. First, there was absolutely no offense in the first half at all outside of Adaway. He is a tremendous talent with an incredible mid-range jumper. I'm not taking away anything from him personally. The problem is that since he is likely our 4th or 5th offensive option, our offense is usually inefficient when he's getting the bulk of the usage. It's likely because Lofton wasn't getting to the rim enough, Welch/Holmes/Vasquez weren't getting open from 3 enough and Osun wasn't getting open in the paint. We were in total control of the first 15 or so minutes of the game, but even though we kept it close, we were at VCU's mercy for the last 25.
Second, there was an early second half stretch where we played matador defense. Yes, this was likely because of the terrible foul calls, but guards should be able to play tight on the perimeter with 3 fouls at least. The refs were nearly as bad as the Rhody game, but that is not why we lost. The fact that we still had a fairly good Welch 3 at the end to push it to OT tells me we had every opportunity earlier on to pull ahead. We cut the deficit to 2 with like 9 minutes left, but VCU immediately stretched it to 10. I'm not saying if we see them again at A10s that we'll see a re-enactment of the Reilly Center game last month, but I have no doubt in my mind that we're the more well-rounded and more talented team, so I wouldn't be scared seeing them again (in the Robins Center, of course).
As for on the court, I see two places where this game was lost. First, there was absolutely no offense in the first half at all outside of Adaway. He is a tremendous talent with an incredible mid-range jumper. I'm not taking away anything from him personally. The problem is that since he is likely our 4th or 5th offensive option, our offense is usually inefficient when he's getting the bulk of the usage. It's likely because Lofton wasn't getting to the rim enough, Welch/Holmes/Vasquez weren't getting open from 3 enough and Osun wasn't getting open in the paint. We were in total control of the first 15 or so minutes of the game, but even though we kept it close, we were at VCU's mercy for the last 25.
Second, there was an early second half stretch where we played matador defense. Yes, this was likely because of the terrible foul calls, but guards should be able to play tight on the perimeter with 3 fouls at least. The refs were nearly as bad as the Rhody game, but that is not why we lost. The fact that we still had a fairly good Welch 3 at the end to push it to OT tells me we had every opportunity earlier on to pull ahead. We cut the deficit to 2 with like 9 minutes left, but VCU immediately stretched it to 10. I'm not saying if we see them again at A10s that we'll see a re-enactment of the Reilly Center game last month, but I have no doubt in my mind that we're the more well-rounded and more talented team, so I wouldn't be scared seeing them again (in the Robins Center, of course).
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