OGT-Florida 4-1/0-0 SEC vs. #13 Baylor 5-0/0-0 vs Center (17,732) | Brooklyn, N.Y. NIT Seasom Tipoff

a lot of similarities in the teams, the difference was 3 point shooting. I think our guys are more capable than they have shown. When Golden watches the tape of this game, I think he'll learn a few things about how Baylor got plenty of open looks.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean tonight specifically, more tonight as an example of the future. I think Shimmy will be available well before Michigan.

Kind of crazy, we have a sophomore/freshman/sophomore in the 6'11" or more, and it's 235/250/230. And I bet Condon puts on some more thickness. That's all leaving out Samuel.

 

Fun team to watch and the team is so much better but I have to agree about the defense as we play the exact same defense the whole game. When the other team's offense is in such a rhythm like Baylor's don't you try changing up the defense some to give them a different look. I think Golden will get better with on in game defensive adjustments.

 

Wow, ESPN analytics has 3-3 Wake as solid favorites.

 

Really good game they just killed us from 3. We will get better. Proud of all the guys and happy to see Kugel have a good game.

 

This is what happens when you have lots of player turnover. He said the other day that ball screen coverage was a work in progress. That requires knowing our coverages, communicating, and then actually making the plays. The freshmen definitely struggled there tonight.

We were also terrible there last year to start, then became one of the country's best defensive teams by January-February. Pretty confident that happens this season, too.

 

Good.

 

I’m not normally a fan of moral losses but honestly I think both teams benefitted tonight. We have a great group of competitors, and this loss will build our drive to get better.

 

Agree, and I think with Handlogten and our normal lineup, we might have been a bit more dominant. When the shots aren't falling it's like BD always said, what else can you do to help the team win

 

Overall, a fun game with a good pace (73 possessions). Not sure Handlogten would have been very effective in this game, but Samuel got seriously worn down in that second half, missed lots of switches, couldn't rebound or protect the rim as effectively. Threes are obviously the story when our two best shooters go 2-13 from the arc--which is the same number of misses as Baylor had the whole game.

This is probably the best team we play in the non-conference slate, though, and we played them tough despite not having Handlogten, Clayton clearly playing on weak legs, and the three point disparity. They have shooting, athleticism, physicality, and great coaching. I would be shocked if they aren't a top-10 team and a 2-3 tourney seed this year.

Frankly, losing this game matters more to our tournament bid than beating Oregon State would have, so I can't be too frustrated with a loss. Just get Handlogten back healthy, clean up our ball screen coverages, and figure out the back end of that rotation (are we going 8 or 9, is that 9 Aberdeen or Rishwain).

 

If there is such a thing as a “good” loss, this was it. Fun team to watch, lots of talent, lots of heart. We will get better as we play together more. Certainly top half of the SEC. Good seed, gonna be fun.

 

Kenpom #11 vis #27 on a neutral court, they were +26% on 3FG% and we only lost by 4. Not too bad.

 

Overall, Baylor won that game. It is what it is. I did not think they had WAY open shots but everything basically went in for them. To me, the difference, besides their shooting, was team defense and Richard having a sort of middling game. Obviously it would have been helpful if either he or Aberdeen had a more productive offensive game. I think that having Micah in there for 25+ minutes would have helped with the others' playing and better team defense but in the end, that was as good of a "moral victory" for a team such as this as there is.

It can't do anything but help them for the remainder of the season.

 

A few thoughts:
1. Aberdeen reminds me of a young Tyree Appleby. I think he’s a year away from being an asset against a top tier caliber team like Baylor, but we were forced to play him because we needed to give our guards some rest.
2. I feel like if even a few of Clayton’s shots were makes like the other night we win tonight. All of his misses were close. I hope Golden doesn’t shy away from him. He needs to keep firing away.
3. Pullin is definitely “that guy”. Needs to be starting at PG. I think Richard needs to be the one to swallow his pride and come off the bench. He’s capable of being SEC 6th man of the year and is versatile enough to sub in for Kugel or Clayton.

 

When even their one jacked dude who must be 250 pounds hit his 3 I submitted that it’s their night. And their 46% FT hit 3/4 free throws at critical moments. Sometimes they’re just better and that’s ok.

 

Wouldn’t say Samuel got worn down. They just played better help defense against him and he didn’t have any room to operate. Which he should get used to. Teams are going to figure out that he’s a stud pretty soon so he needs to adjust his game accordingly instead of looking annoyed.

 

Micah could help take some pressure off of that. They cant double everyone

 

Yeah, it was frustrating we had no answer for Dennis in the post, especially late. Got to adjust, even if a guard posting up isn’t something you see often at this level.

Of course they were over 50% from 3 in this game. So if you double or try to zone, Baylor might have punished us anyway.

Anyway, fun game to watch. Just had the feel of two very high quality teams with plenty of firepower.

 

I’m really looking forward to having Micah back. Both for rebounding purposes and just for depth. I’m glad this staff made the right call and we’ll benefit from it later on when Condon has more confidence/experience.

 

I didn’t even know. He looked not quite himself tonight but I didn’t know he’s sick. That explains a lot.