YSU Oakland MBB game 1

[mudclods]

Another disappointing loss.  I really liked how the game was going in the first half.  YSU was playing very good defensive and was making shots...felt like a recipe for a win as it was much like the gritty wins from last year. 

YSU was leading 34-26 was under 3 to go then all hell broke loose.  Oakland closes the half on a 12-2 run and that coupled with a 15-0 run in the 2nd half was all she wrote.  It really was inexplicable that YSU was trailing at the half even as bad as they played in the closing mins.  YSU was still up 6 with 40 some seconds to go, and then was up 2 with the ball and the shot clock turned off; they took a quick 3 followed up by a turnover and they are trailing by 2 at the half.  That ending seemed to suck the life out of YSU. 

Oakland out-hustled YSU, got the loose balls, made shots, and looked way more athletic in the 2nd half.  Too many 3's by YSU and then played frustrated and not good defense.  The Oakland-YSU games always come down to the wire and never turned into what happened tonight even back to the end of the Slocum era.

Myles Hunter made the most of his start as he was tremendous in the first half and I think all of his 18 came in the first half.  I really like this kid.  He definitely needs to start.  Akuchie was out of sync and as usual when he doesn't get to double figures YSU usually loses.

YSU is really missing that spark DQ gave them last year.  Even without DQ, I thought this team would improve as the games went on, but there's just no consistency.  I feel like Saturday is pretty much a must win now or 3-7 is going to be very difficult to dig out of even with an easier 2nd half schedule. 

I'm shocked CSU is now 9-0 after beating Wright St., who has dropped 3 of their last 4.   Those are clearly the best 2 teams in the league.  It's hard to get a good read on a lot of the teams as they've played 3-5 less games other than Oakland and Fort Wayne, who are both 1 up on YSU at 4-5.   

[ucfpengbuck]

You're spot on mud.   Coach Kampe of Oakland said after the game that they keyed on Naz but were not prepared for Myles Hunter but made adjustments for him in the 2nd half and he said YSU will counter to what Oakland did to Naz for todays game.
Kampe has that Bobby Knight intimidation factor with the officals.  He acts like his team never fouls and the opponet is guilty of all infractions.   

We had no inside scoring at all and if shooting goes cold this team is going to struggle.  Very excited About Miles and his upside but he's still only a 1st year player so he'll probably shine one night and struggle another.  Hope I'm wrong. 

[Double ET]

You two guys pretty much summed it all up.
With DQ being out, we didn’t have a point guard when Mays got into foul troubles. At that point, were doomed.
Our guys just dribbled way too much into traffic and without penetration towards the basket.
I don’t expect much until DQ gets back. Other teams have figured out how to defend Naz down low.we all knew that was just a matter of time. He needs better 10 foot jump shots.

[ucfpengbuck]

A common theme in our loses in league play is that we're beat by a guard.
Oakland Jalen Moore 31 points.
Wright State Tanner Holden 24 points
Green Bay PJ Pipes 30 points
 NKU Warrick/Faulkner
CSU Tre Gomillion 23 points.

You can argue it's a guard oriented Leauge and they're are the top players but I wish one night we would take them out of their game while our best guard/player is back in Dayton rehabilitating his ankle.
Tough season so far with injuries and playing almost exclusively on the road.

With 8 of the next 10 at home,hopefully they can get this season turned around.

[Penquin68]

Without DQ we are not good enough in the league.  Without him last year we would have been significantly below 500. He took the heat off of the rest of the team and could score when it was needed.  Also Mays is not as tall as the guards he needs to play against and that hurts on offense and defense.  They stole the ball a few times by trapping him with taller players, especially in the corner right past the time line. And they took advantage on the defensive end at times in the paint. Hopefully with experience he can avoid those problems for the most part. He has potential to be a good player and a difference maker. Our defensive scheme could help him also. The other teams seem to be able to penetrate almost at will and we end up passing the ball around beyond the 3 point line and taking a contested 3.  They get mostly uncontested 3's or drive to the basket. Tough to win that way.

[ytownchief22]

No DQ, no chance. Simple as that.

[guinpen]

Very telling that missing one player could possibly affect our chances of competing with a very mediocre 5-12 team. 

[Double ET]

Very telling that missing one player could possibly affect our chances of competing with a very mediocre 5-12 team.

Look at what LBJ has done for Cavs & the Lakers (as one player).
I think DQ could make a 10 points difference in a game. We could lose lots of game without DQ and that 10 points. He is even more important when the league has figured out how to play Naz in the low post.
Just my opinion.

[YSU1]

someone has to tell YSU they are not a 3 point shooting team

[goodnews]

The only thing I would compare with YSU and other Horizon league teams is scheduling.  Oakland stacked there OOC schedule with the best competition they could find so that later in the year they be prepared and the team would grow from the experience.  You cant say the same for YSU.  Let the excuses that have plagued this program for decades begin.

[guinpen]

Very telling that missing one player could possibly affect our chances of competing with a very mediocre 5-12 team.

Look at what LBJ has done for Cavs & the Lakers (as one player).
I think DQ could make a 10 points difference in a game. We could lose lots of game without DQ and that 10 points. He is even more important when the league has figured out how to play Naz in the low post.
Just my opinion.

I wish our program was to the point where missing any one player would not cause that big of a drop off. I understand Oaklands schedule, I understand DQ' value.

[mudclods]

Thought YSU played good enough to give themselves a chance to win on Saturday, but Oakland hit some huge shots and killed YSU at the line nailing 22-24.

Myles Hunter had another tremendous game.  He's definitely been a bright spot.  Thought Covington reminded me of the player he was in years past, but him getting in foul trouble really hurt YSU down the stretch.

I've said it all year, but Akuchie not getting into double figures = a loss.  I just can't believe he can't find his shot.  He's shooting just 21% from 3.  As a team YSU is just 28% compared to their opponents at 36%. 

YSU has really dug themselves a huge hole in league play.  4-6 would have felt so much different than 3-7 with 8 of the final 10 at home.  I think YSU will better the 2nd half but it's hard to imagine many sweeps with the inconsistent play that's taken place all year unless they can get a health DQ back.

Overall it's just very disappointing for year 4 under Calhoun.   

[mudclods]

In the latest NCAA Net rankings, YSU is 291 out of 347 D1 schools.  The only Horizon League school worse is Green Bay at 300