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Post by irimi on Mar 30, 2021 11:51:57 GMT -8
I don't see us getting faster or quicker at half. Yet somehow we did. One of many posts on this thread that did not age well. I'm disappointed but not crushed. You don't get to 28-3 like Houston is without being very good. Houston destroyed Syracuse on Saturday, and also won its first-round game by 31. We shocked the basketball world and made the Elite 8 by beating a 5, a 3, and an 8 and then had to play a 2. That's an awfully big ask for a 12 seed; there's a good reason only two #12 seeds have made it to the Elite 8 since the tournament went to a full four rounds before the Final Four. It's pretty freaking hard. Too many things had to go absolutely perfectly for us to win. Houston rebounded well and it seemed like most 50-50 balls bounced their way. Their defense made us expend a lot of energy and I think we were just gassed at the end. It's a game we could have won, but one Houston fully deserved to win. My congrats to the team and staff for a spectacular, memorable season. There are 357 NCAA Division I teams and 349 of them were watching us play tonight. Now let's build on this so it's not another 5-6 years between tournament appearances. There's no way it takes this team another 5 years to get back to the tournament. Most are returning. And the bench got a lot of playing time. They bought in to what Tinkle is selling and saw what it can do. And they have the tourney run as experience to build on. Next year is going to be fun!
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Post by wilkyisdashiznit on Mar 30, 2021 12:21:57 GMT -8
My way too late additions to the board: -regarding the free throw shooting, this game was played in Lucas Oil Stadium, which is easily the largest building we've played in. I've heard that playing in those giant stadiums with tons of empty space behind the basket can really mess with your depth perception. Maybe wilkyisdashiznit or someone else with more time can look at free throw percentages in every venue used during this tourney. My guess is that Lucas Oil will have the lowest, but I can't confirm that. -On the rebounding, a zone is always going to make rebounding tough, especially when you're playing only one guy down low. Hard to fault Tinkle for playing a 1-3-1, as it really slowed down Houston in the second half and allowed us to get back in the game. Bottom line is that top to bottom Houston was far more talented than we were, so I think we had to live with giving up something, and in this game it was rebounds. Grimes hit just some backbreaking 3's on second chances. -Looking forward, Houston vs. Baylor should be a great game. Jarreau vs. Mitchell will be an excellent matchup, as those have been maybe the two most impactful players I've seen in this entire tournament. -Looking farther forward, I can't wait for next year. Gianni has has big shoes to fill moving into the starting lineup for Ethan, but I think we have an advantage in the paint vs. most teams with Silva, Andela, Alatishe. Lucas is not a perfect player, but teams have to respect his shooting. Tariq Silver looks like he has the tools to be an upgrade over Reichle, I'm excited to see him get more minutes. Since I was tagged, two things about free throws. First is that the Elite Eight was Houston's second visit to Lucas Oil Stadium. The first was against Rutgers. Houston shot 11/18 on free throws against Rutgers. Against Oregon State, Houston shot 16/24. The second thing about free throws is that Oregon State was 1/6 from free throws in the first half. Houston was 5/7. In the second half, Oregon State was 10/14, and Houston was 11/17. It seemed like the right (when looking at the benches) side of the basketball court was the better basket for whatever reason. Looking back at the Rutgers-Houston game, Rutgers led 30-27 at halftime going the same direction that Houston went in the first half of the Elite Eight. (It was the South Court, so it is roughly a mirror image of the North Court, where Houston and Oregon State played.) Houston outscored Rutgers 36-30 in the second half for the win. Small sample size, but the teams going to the right (in the Elite Eight, left in Second Round) had the advantage in all four halves.
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