Final score UNI 59 BU 46

[Beninator]

You're more in touch with the program on a daily basis, so I believe it if you say so. I guess I expected a different set of starters as an indicator that the team was adjusting it's style for a game without DR.

Dallas, I agree with your post. A lot of us have been saying this here, but a shake up in the starting lineup is way overdue.

[MacabreMob]

Hey - I am sure you all know I was favoring going BIG and having JC (or AW) run the point and SM coming off the bench. I think SM did a wonderful job today!

But I do wanna say... there was at least 1 time I definitely recall seeing JC bringing the ball up. It was after a time out and I saw JC awaiting the in-bounds after the 2nd horn and I was wondering where SM was.... I scanned down the floor and at first didn't see him, but then I did find him hidden down there near the trees... JC brought up the ball, SM came off a screen and caught the 1st pass.

So there... JC CAN be the point.

[Guinness]

UNI isnt that great of a team and the fact that we lost by this much....at home....has some heartbreak to it. And unfortunately our next four games are against the better of the Valley.

I unfortunately expect to lose them all now....

[Beninator]

Hey - I am sure you all know I was favoring going BIG and having JC (or AW) run the point and SM coming off the bench. I think SM did a wonderful job today!

But I do wanna say... there was at least 1 time I definitely recall seeing JC bringing the ball up. It was after a time out and I saw JC awaiting the in-bounds after the 2nd horn and I was wondering where SM was.... I scanned down the floor and at first didn't see him, but then I did find him hidden down there near the trees... JC brought up the ball, SM came off a screen and caught the 1st pass.

So there... JC CAN be the point.

I was at work today, but I saw on tv what you are talking about a couple of times and thought of your posts on this board.
I like your lineup mob now more than ever... With my guy RA coming off the bench for more minutes.

[longtimelistener]

Am I the only one who saw that the weave was the type of offense that got us back into the game?

[tornado]

Nobody denies it, not even the coach or the players....we played bad.
We missed shots and couldn't execute on offense.
Defense was pretty good and held us in the game so we actually had a shot for most of the 2nd half.
I guess we can either rip the kids and criticize or we can cheer them on as we have done.......I know which I will choose.

[houstonbrave]

OK-I had a three hour drive to St. L to cool down. Boy did we look terrible. There were a couple of good points. Sam M looked good tonight-without him hitting some shots we might have been shut out. Only 3 turnovers in 38 min for a freshman point guard along with 15 points is an impressive outing. It was also nice to see RA get some time-JL went out of his way to compliment him on the radio show. The highlight of the game for me was seeing a big smile come across RA's face when he got a hand for his assist to Theron. The first real contribution (hopefully the first of many).

Everybody else pretty darn bad. Rebounding is about position and desire. Shooting is hot and cold rebounding should be there every single night. We rebounded terribly-really disap-pointing.

Collins-I wanted to see more of him early in the season and now I cringe when he comes on the floor. Only 1 foul today-that was the highlight. Lost on defense, one rebound and looked bad on offense. I don't mind the baby hook but I need to see it go in once in a while. And please take away the baseline on D just once. I really do want to be more positive but he is moving backwards....

Warren-We need you-especially now. Ya gotta show up. 9 points on 25% shooting from the floor is not gonna get it done.

JC had some good looks early but it did not go down. Anybody know what the issue is with his shooting hand/wrist ? It was wrapped. I know JC has difficulty creating his own shot but if we don't have Ruff we have to get more than 9 points.

Salley-Nothing on offense...nothing. He did have 7 rebounds not great but compared to everybody else a good night on the boards.

Wilson- 7 points and only 4 rebounds. After seeing him go after the ball against Iowa I did not believe I would see that poor a line from Theron. Get after it.

TCS-Not much to write home about but the only really quick kid we have. I'd still give him minutes to build some confidence and maybe we can get some production. He and Rashad seem to be the two that need their confidence built up the most. (His left hand was wrapped as well).

Egolf-I did not see much of anything tonight but I'd still give him minutes-we need him in the coming years.

Sam Singh-No minutes. Against the team he matches up well with ???? Is there some issue ? I doubt it-he doesn't seem the type and he was at the near end of the bench. If he was in the doghouse I would expect him to be bannished to the far end of the bench. Everybody else seems to be calling for Collins. I might give Collins minutes to Sam and send David to the end of the bench.

A lot of folks want fewer outside shots and more of an inside game. I'd like that but I really don't know who is going to give us pts inside. Not Salley and now I don't think Collins. RA is basically a rebounder, defender at this point(looked reluctant on his only shot). Our best inside offensive threat is probably SS-wow that is kind of frightening.

The game at Mo State will be better. It has to be...right ?

[MacabreMob]

Nice post houstonbrave - very well said.

[BU ICEMAN]

A lot of folks want fewer outside shots and more of an inside game. I'd like that but I really don't know who is going to give us pts inside. Not Salley and now I don't think Collins. RA is basically a rebounder, defender at this point(looked reluctant on his only shot). Our best inside offensive threat is probably SS-wow that is kind of frightening.

Agree 100% with ya Houston. We can want and want an inside game, but wanting isn't going to make it happen. Hoping and wanting are not courses of action. I think we've seen so far this year that the personnel we have for "inside" players are sorely lacking in knowledge and skill which makes any desire for an inside game an exercise in futility.

I know I said this in another thread, but for as unpolished as Zach was last year, he found ways to put the ball in the hole and was still a threat to score down low. None of the guys we have now are feared by any opponent. Collins has shown that he can score, but apparently that was a mirage or accidental. Sam knows the offense and what to do, but just doesn't quite have the ability to have his body do what his mind says he should do. Salley is a hole on the floor, he still does not have any post moves whatsoever (partly a coaching issue....). I have no idea about Austin, but with what the guys who have played have(n't) shown, why not see what he can do.....he can't be any worse, right?

I'm glad I wasn't in public when I got the halftime score....many women and children and probably even Navy Master Chiefs wouldn't have been to happy to hear me.....

[MacabreMob]

I think I see a glimmer of hope in RA as far as an inside player for an inside game.

Understand... his time has been limited and I am just an observer that doesn't see it all .... and I am definitely not a professional analyzer of talent.

But so anyway....

I recall in an exhibition... a poster complained of how we never had an entry pass to the post, but I recall 1... and it was to RA, and he tried to do something with it. I came away thinking, "yea, that's something we can work with and with time can be used". Then we hardly saw the guy... hardly!... til today. And I saw it again... he got a rebound and moved offensively like a post player should (IMO) and I think he took a decent shot.... and then again, he got the ball in low and had the vision to see another player going to the hole (TW, I think - and maybe it was when TW got an awesome jam).

But so - I think there is a glimmer of hope. Yes, it is small. But there is hope....

(and I will always cling to my hopes)

[JasonAtBradley]

I didn't know that we only got 9 points in the first half. I'm glad I only caught the last 5 minutes of game time of this travesty. If I had only heard the score at the end of the first half, I would have thought that this was a football game, and an average one at that.

[Bravesfan]

Dallas, I know it's frustrating after such an embarrassing loss, but this isn't true at all. I know for a fact that the team spent a lot of time preparing to play without DR. The weave was put back into the offense because SM couldn't be expected to penetrate like DR, and they thought it would help generate scoring opportunities with DR out. Nothing worked today. Credit UNI with good defense. But if just a couple more of those wide open shots would have fallen, the game could have been much different and we wouldn't be second guessing these things.

I want to pose this question to you or tornado in particular since we tend to be the voices of reason on this board. Just wondering if either of you feel that Les is doing enough to utilize what talent he has, and is he implementing enough offensive play sets to give us the best chance to win. I'm seeing a lot of knee-jerk posts lately, and I just want to see what you have to say about the current situation.

[houstontxbrave]

This is crazy, yes we played poorly and yes Ruffin did not play but we are on average a 44% shooting team from the field and a 35% shooting team from 3. Today we shot 31 and 20%.

We are not this poor of a shooting team with or without Ruffin. It comes down to us being a team today that missed a lot of shots and it is eluminated because we do not have our leading score in our lineup.

But his absence has nothing to do with JC shooting 3-14 or AW shooting 3-12. There is no way anyone can tell me that guys who have been shooters their whole career can become horrible shooters because one player is not playing.

Now Ruffin makes a difference in his penitration and of course his own shooting but his absence has nothing to do with our main shooters missing 20 shots. That is on them, not JL not Collins not Salley or any other person. Both of them have to step up and make the open shots they have been given.

Either it is a mind set or its simply these two are not any good anymore. My guess is they are still good but it is up to them whether or not they want to get past this and lead this team. I am not worried about SM or his leadership, I am worried about JC and AW's leadership and how they take this team and it what direction they will take it.

Today was a direct reflection on their poor shooting. They both need to step up and lead.

Remember no one questions an offense that produces points but everyone questions an offense that produces misses. Today we produced open shots but we question it because of the open misses.

[Lakeview Brave]

In my 15 years as a fan, I haven't seen such an awful team performance as the 1st half of this game. I thought the 16 we put up homecoming against e-ville when Mo was coach was bad....we are so incredibly bad...words can't put into context. 4-24 in the 1st half....we might not win a GAME without Ruffin...this team has NO STONES!!!!!! NONE!!! MATT SALLEY!!! WHY IS HE ON THE TEAM????? WHY IS HE STARTING?????

We cant be so mad with Matt Salley, remember he was the third choice. We lost our first choice to Deleware St in Roy Bright and our second choice to Cincy in Sikes. Salley was choice three hence the results.

[Braves4Life]

We cant be so mad with Matt Salley, remember he was the third choice. We lost our first choice to Deleware St in Roy Bright and our second choice to Cincy in Sikes. Salley was choice three hence the results.

Well said Lakeview. Remember, without Matt Salley where would we be and who would we have recruited if we didn't get him?