Beat down UT by 16 points at home. Same team that barely squeaked by us by 1 point. UT handled us pretty easily, so there's that.I'm not into transitive property discussions, so I'll try to refrain from drawing any conclusions. Point is, TAMU can play good basketball when they are focused.
I tried to point that out when we played them but no one wanted to hear it. They were a 7-seed in the NCAAT last year and had almost everyone back. Every SEC road game is a test. We played tentatively late in that game and paid for it, but still had a pair of open looks in the final seconds.
Agree. Except for the 2nd half crash and burn at aTm, UF would be on a 6-game win streak. A more tired legged team at UF I can't recall. They just stood around the whole 2nd half and almost completely lost their shooting touch. What makes aTm so good is they play defense well and rebound with the best of the best. Their offense isn't bad either when they are focused. They are certainly an NCAA tournament team. The NCAA tournament prognosticators who have UF or aTm as first 4 out or in are dumber than a box of rocks.
Maaan... I guess that's the topic of the morning. Unfortunately, I'm the odd man out saying it wasn't tired legs. Spoiler But unlike all of you couch potatoes, I'm a real hooper so I know what's up
Then it's coaching. The bench is there for a reason. If the players were not playing as instructed, that's what the bench is for and that's coaching. If coach played the 2nd half bleeding clock and playing not to lose instead of playing to win, that's coaching too. In either case, coach had best get it corrected now before a loss that ends the season prematurely. I'm sticking with what I saw was a tired legged team after having played 2 consecutive road games against very good teams. UF has won 5 of the last 6 games so I'm content with what is going on with the team. Our mercenaries have bonded and are forming a good team that can play with anyone.
Do we have concrete evidence that Coach did that? Let me tell you... it sometimes looks like that is what's going on but what is really happening is that the other team is just beating you.
It blew my mind that people thought losing at TAMU was anything other than it’s tough to win on the road in the SEC. After we beat Kentucky people pretended it meant we can’t lose on the road to good teams. TAMU isn’t elite, but far from bad. That being said, a lot contributed to that loss. TAMU had a week to prepare. We had 2 nights at best. TAMU didn’t have to travel that week. We traveled twice. TAMU didn’t have to play 3 days before. We did. TAMU wasn’t coming off an emotional win. We were.
It's easy to defend and beat the other team when there is no ball or player movement. Middling teams will beat UF if our players stand around with the PG standing still beyond the top of the key bleeding the clock and then UF settles for one and done shots which blows leads when the shots aren't falling. I was disappointed with UF's lack of play in the 2nd half whether it was intended or not. It's losing basketball and UF deserved the loss, but in my mind, we gave the game to aTm more than they won the game.
Check out Planet Gator Basketball on YouTube. The site has the full game without interruption. I'm going to fast forward to the 2nd half and count the number of times UF didn't have ball or player movement while the shot clock was bled down. The aTm defense didn't have to do much guarding of the basket or the players is my contention. However many times it was, it was way too soon and not a large enough lead to play the clock instead of your opponent.
I don’t know why some media & fans are sleeping on them. They were a tough out last year. Buzz can coach….period. His players can execute his schemes, on both ends….period. Heck, they don’t hide what they’re trying to do to you. They show their hand early in a game. Then….they dare you to out-execute them. They’re also relentless….they just keep coming until the clock expires. It may not work all the time, but they’re often in a position to win. They’ve earned my respect, over the last two seasons. Buzz knows the X’s and O’s of the game. He knows and communicates what he wants done, to his players. I say all of this based on JUST the on- court performance. Not any of the other stuff off the court.
