Horrible perimeter defense. Not sure what went through Banks' head on the chop/slap/pound or whatever you want to call it. The dude on the ground must have said something to piss him off. We're going to have problems with tall teams if one of our bigs isn't playing well. I wish Osetkowski had eligibility because people didn't mess with him on defense. NU attacked Allen really well, forcing some bad turnovers and ugly shots. I also don't know what has happened to Shaq Cleare. He spent all this time in the offseason working on his weight, but his little floating hook has been way off so far this year. Like, way off. Also, just go ahead and foul everyone on our team. No one's going to make a FT. I'll never understand how a team can go 5+ minutes without scoring. They looked like a Barnes team at points... no one moving around and hoping that Roach would create a shot. Davis still hasn't found his stroke. Jones doesn't quite have "it" yet, either. McIntosh, Pardon, and Lindsey looked damn good. They'll keep NU in some good Big Ten games.
Yeah, the Horns definitely are not tough down low and you just made me feel a little better about next year's team with Osetkowski down low. He doesn't look like he would take crap from anyone. Allen definitely needs to come back for another year. All the underclassmen need to!
Was at the game, although I missed the last six minutes or so. Eric Davis really needs to get his head in the game. I get he thinks he's the best player on the court, but he's not. By a long shot. He has to stop determining that he's going to be the guy to take the shot, dribbling around and then heaving something up in traffic when nothing falls into his lap. Right now offensively he is a liability, and not just because he's not hitting his threes. Shaq is the same. At this point, he's a warm body. He reminds me of the big guy at the gym that's stronger than everyone and is convinced he's Michael Jordan, and so when he gets the ball it's "OK everyone, stand there and watch me do this." There was one play in the first half where he caught the pass about 8 feet from the bucket with one guy on him, and literally faked and hesitated for five seconds without even trying to make a move. Maybe he was trying to wait for a defender to adjust, and the defense just said "nah you're not gonna make it, go ahead." And so he ended up turning it over, because if he holds the ball long enough, eventually he will travel. I don't understand why he plays the way he does, because he has the tools to be a nice offensive option inside. Other than Mack, no one looked like they were ready for this game. I guess that's not that big a surprise because it's the first road game and the freshmen were no doubt feeling like this was just going to be easy based on those first three games. Last night was a really good wakeup call for them to realize how tough it's going to be at this level night after night. There were stretches where we really got it rolling in the first half, but we just kept giving up the threes and eventually I think we lost all that energy and pretty much wilted up. We'll see how the Colorado game goes. I thought Notre Dame was really good (particularly their PG Farrell), and they would have beaten us by 30 last night. Colorado made it a game somehow, but I thought they weren't as disciplined and seemed more about just trying to make athletic plays. So that might be a better matchup for this team. We'll see!
We are in a rebuilding year with all freshmen and sophomores. Making the tournament would be overachieving. I think that is the reason traffic will probably be slow this year when it comes to basketball and there was not a thread. I am not getting worked up over any losses this year. Next year, I will though. Also, hope to see improvement by the end of this year and a competitive showing in the Big 12 Tournament. I do not expect to beat Colorado today, but it would be great if we do.
The scary thing about saying we are in a rebuilding year is that in the era of one and done, you don't have that luxury. The blue bloods plug 'em in and compete at the highest level. I'm not expecting this that but Northwestern? By 20? If Jarrett and Brandon go pro next year then you get my drift here. Shaka has to be able to crank it up right away. That is the game these days.
Doris Burk was an excellent color commentator. Her remarks about the talent on our team, and the youth that screws up frequently on our team, were very good. I think we finish in the top half of the B12 and make the tourney. We will be much tougher by February.
