54 points given up in the 2nd half to Baylor -Lost 95-91 50 points given up in the 2nd half to Wake Forest- Lost 82-71 50 points give up in the 2nd half to Kentucky- Lost 87-85 59 points given up in the 2nd half to Ole Miss- Lost 103-85 That's 4 of our 5 losses where the team played absolutely 0 defense in the 2nd half.
In this game especially, it appeared that the team got easily discouraged (the exceptions being Clayton and Pullin). I think there should be (and maybe there is) disclosure as to how much each player gets in NIL. I can't imagine the letdowns that we have seen in the second half in the losses with players getting compensated for their effort and full scholarships.
Obviously playing fast means more possessions for both teams. So giving up a high PPG is sort of expected. But giving up 103 in conference? That’s just bad and unacceptable. Our transition D is *abysmal*. 3pt D abysmal. Whether you play fast or slow you need to do it better than the opponent. We really don’t. I think offensive rebounding bailed us out in a couple games or it would be even worse. But that might not be a thing to count on in conference play.
Maybe we need to slow it down. We aren’t bad in the half court offensively so we should still score. Slow it down and pray our defense is better. Do something different for the love of all things holy.
It appears the other teams are better conditioned to play throughout the game with the same effort and intensity. Like football, you need to question S&C program when losing the second half. Can’t imagine other teams are making half time adjustments that our coaches are unable to adjust to during the game.
Ole Miss shot 75% from the field in the second half. Sure, they were making nearly every tough shot they took, but they also got a lot of easy looks that they also made. I thought we were a deep team and could outlast most other teams, but when you her nothing out of Riley in terms of minutes, it really hurts depth and defense. I fear he has checked out for the season at this point.
