1. We had better draw up plays and practice inbounding the ball because we will see plenty of inbounding pressure throughout the game. I'm thinking this will be a close game and a few turnovers here could be the difference. 2. We can afford giving up 2's but not 3's to Houston. It's imperative we stick on their guards like white on rice the entire game. 3. Houston will limit Clayton's scoring unlike Auburn, they will make sure he doesn't beat them which means others will have to pick up the slack if we are to win. 4. This game lends itself to lots of turnovers on our part as we seek to feed our bigs in the paint, we have to be careful and limit turnovers. 5. Our bigs have to far out rebound Houston and get lots of put back points. I think Houston for the most part will neutralize our guards which means our bigs have to produce to win. Houston will force more of a half court game. 6. I see a low scoring tight game where no lead is safe, little things may decide the game as in making free throws, fighting for rebounds, relentless effort and fewer mistakes. 7. I think our depth will be a big factor in winning this game.
Everybody we play try to stop Clayton’s scoring. It ain’t easy. Auburn tried to take his three pointers away. They forced him to take tough shots but he still made them. And he took advantage of the pressure by driving to the basket. He’ll do the same to Houston. I hope to see lots of Clayton drives and dishes to Will, Tommy, and Air Martin for wide open 3s.
Take care of the ball, rebound & defend the perimeter. Offensively, they rebound incredibly well and shoot the heck out of the ball from 3. Those factors will likely go hand in hand - as allowing offensive rebounds will provide more open looks than they're likely to get in their normal sets. While their bigs are all listed at 6'8, I believe they have low-to-mid 7-foot wingspans. I could see our young bigs struggling to compete (especially in the 1st half). Defensively, they're metrically the #1 team in the country. They really turn you over. As we can be turnover prone, and their glacial pace makes each possession more important, this is my biggest worry.
I really like the football routes concept at the end of game we deployed against Auburn. Think that was very creative and difficult to defend. Would think we continue with more of that if we are up again down the stretch…
Until someone proves me wrong, the metrics are all skewed by who you play. We have played elite teams all season that havent stopped us. We have played multiple common opponents and we have dominated while they have been very poor. They have to play US. Not the other way around. Thats is and has been my position until someone proves me wrong
Play tough Def Limit Turnovers Hit our FTs I hear they like to run....that's good because it's been a while since the other teams didn't want to.
I think the key will be offensive contributions from our bench. Denzel particularly when he’s giving Walt some rest. We can’t have any long stretches of offensive lulls. Duke was pretty much in control of the whole game until they got a bit fatigued at the end and Scheyer couldn’t find an offensive answer with this rotations.
Didn't see a good offensive team last night in Houston. Thought they were more physical than Duke though. Was pulling for Duke cause I was thinking I'd rather play a team that plays more of a half court game. AnyWay: 1. We had better draw up plays and practice inbounding the ball because we will see plenty of inbounding pressure throughout the game. I'm thinking this will be a close game and a few turnovers here could be the difference. Amen, Amen & AMEN!
Doubling Clayton is a dangerous proposition. Florida has so many weapons. If they play him one on one, he will get his. Right now he is unguardable in a one on one scenario.
Also, we just have to rebound like we’re capable of. Duke’s 7’2” starting center had ZERO rebounds in 20+ minutes of play. No way Chin or Condo would ever give that lack of effort.
Three keys to the game: Rebounding, Rebounding and Rebounding. The team that controls the glass can control the tempo.
I think the keys are the same as always - 3 point defense and offensive rebounding. The two teams Houston reminds me of are UT and Texas Tech. They play D like UT, only a little better. They have two big forwards and no real center, like TT, but better 3 point shooters than TT. Uzan, Sharp and Cryer are all incredible shooters. Our advantage is the depth of our bigs (who need to play better, especially Condo and Handy) and WCJ. They held 7'-2" Maluach to 0 rebounds and 1 bucket, so our bigs better play BIG. On another note, no Doug Shows or Pat Adams. I think I heard it was 3 guys who weren't in either game yesterday. Hopefully they don't let Houston get away with the muggings they were doing yesterday.
#1, 2 and 4...especially #2. Here are their 3 point shooters: Points/game 1) LJ Cryer 119 of 279 = 42.7% 15.6 2) Emmanuel Sharp 86 of 207 = 41.5% 12.8 3) Milos Uzan 62 of 141 = 44.0% 11.5 Our 3 point shooters: Points/game 1) Walter Clayton Jr 116 of 296 = 39.2% 18.5 2) Alijah Martin 78 of 220 = 35.5% 14.6 3) Will Richard 76 of 216 = 35.2% 13.2 Against Duke (similar team to UF), Cryer had 26 points (6-9 3% = 67%), Sharp had 16 (3-7 3% = 43%) and Uzan 7 (1-4 3% = 25%). Overall, they shot 10-22 3% = 45.5%. We cannot let them shoot this percentage with limited possessions (they're going to slow it down & muck it up). Again, we cannot let them shoot 3's. If their bigs can beat us 1 vs 1 down low, so be it (didn't work for Auburn). BTW, their 2 big guys are 6'8" but have huge wing spans. They had 3 guys play off the bench yesterday against Duke (15, 14 and 9 minutes...they played more minutes during the season)...so their starters play lots of minutes. Side note: They probably have the "home court" crowd/advantage with the game in Texas. They average 74.2 points/game...we average 85.4 points/game. If we shut down their 3s and DON"T TURN THE BALL OVER, I don't think they can keep up (assuming the game is called fairly).
And don't get cocky. This team never looked haggard against Auburn. They are focused and ready for the big game. And again, this is in OSU football fan territory, but it would not surprise me if we look like Secretariat at the Belmont. I expect a close game because Houston is as mentally tough as we are, but we have THE best player in the tourney on our side. And he wants it BAD.
Not sure why the original poster has decided Florida will play to Houstons game. I think Florida can get out and run and take Houston out of their style of play.
And, nobody seems to be saying it, but nobody can match our depth. It is the place where we are unmatched amd we have seen over and over how it wins us games.
