So yeah, last night I pulled an all night marathon session watching season 3 of The Wire, and thanks to that screwing up the old sleep schedule again, I'm wide awake and itching to keep this season moving. Unfortunately, I want it moving to get it over with as much as anything right now
I should probably want to try a lot harder to make this team compete at a higher level, but I really just want to not have my season bomb too badly, and add some more depth for next year and see how the progression goes for my guys.
Anyway, my next two games are against Bowling Green and Akron, two teams I had some heated contests with last year. I'll probably start simming out half my games the rest of the way after I play those two.
January 21, 2012
Bowling Green (10-7, 3-2 MAC) at Ohio (7-12, 2-3 MAC)
Rated 80 OVR, Bowling Green is the second highest rated team in the conference. 82 Off/80 Def/84 Sht/83 Reb and they look a good deal stronger than us as a whole. We split our games against them last year, and it looks like they return 4 starters from last year's team, but they did graduate their point guard.
Scouting
PG Clinton Moya – FR – 71 OVR – Moya is actually listed as a SF, and he isn't a great ball handler or passer or speedster. He's a decent shooter (84 close/73 med/70 from 3), but not a great defender or a good guy to have at PG. 6.2 ppg.
SG Wallace Mason – SR – 84 OVR – Mason is projected as a 2
nd round pick in the NBA, the only guy I've seen so far in the MAC that is considered NBA material. With great speed and quickness(90/88), great defense(87), and great shooting (88 3 point rating, 86 offf the dribble, 85 in traffic, 83 clutch), this guy is truly special. He's averaging 17 points/7 boards/4 assists a game this year.
SF Anil Akins – JR – 77 OVR – Akins is a 6'7” junior, overshadowed a bit by Mason but very dangerous. An outstanding rebounder(83 o/81 d) and a very good scorer(84 close/82 med/71 3), he's their 3
rd leading scorer with 11.1 points per game.
PF Clif Ahvenniemi – JR – 71 OVR – 6'8”, a decent rebounder(78 o/81 d), a good post defender(83) but not a huge offensive threat. Not that they need another offensive threat. 3.8 ppg/4.1 rpg.
C Tarick Minter – SR – 77 OVR – only 6'9”. Average on the boards, above average in the post, 81 post offense rating worries me. He's strong and a decent scorer, scoring almost as much as Mason this year at 16.6 ppg.
They don't have a deep bench but their top 8 are WAY more talented than our top 8. We really need to just hope that Mason doesn't have too great a day and that we can take advantage of Moya playing out of position. Also, to pile on, their team unity is 60 with 4 returning starters. Ours is up to 42 now.
Half
| Time
| OHIO
| BGU
| Notes
|
1
| 15:00
| 8
| 6
| We're trying to keep this game slowed to a crawl, if I can break I will but I haven't seen any chances to run so far. After they score I'm letting 3-4 seconds run off before inbounding, and running the shot clock down to 25 or so before starting my offense, just to try to make sure this one stays as close as possible. Cooper has all 8 of our points, 2 3's and a drive to the bucket leading to 2 free throws.
|
1
| 8:45
| 14
| 11
| We've done a great job on the offensive boards, I've been passing the ball out on most of the offensive rebounds and stretching our possession times out over a minute in some cases. Delic and Cooper aren't exactly guys I want going up with it in the trees anyway. Turner has missed 3 open shots, but Massey has scored our last 5.
|
1
| 7:45
| 16
| 11
| Timeout Bowling Green. So far so good. Massey missed a 3, they tried to run on the long rebound, which is usually a smart idea, but Turner blocked Akins shot off the drive and we got the ball back, an impressive display of defense!
|
1
| 4:45
| 17
| 18
| Mason has 8 for them and has hit his first 3. We've been failing to score the past few times down, Sessoms and Dahi both getting some good post looks but not converting, and we trail. I call a time out.
|
| HALF
| 29
| 18
| WOW. Heck of a time out I guess. We end the half on a 12-0 run in the final 4:45. Rebounding and 3 point shooting. We're shooting 40% from the field, they are shooting 35%(I'm extremely proud of my defense). But we are 5-10 from 3, while they are just 1-4. We also have a huge 18-9 edge on the boards.
Its our inside defense that has been espicialy impressive. Akins is 1-5 and Minter is 2-7, most of those shots coming in or near the paint, lots of little close in, but defended looks that often go in against us, they're all missing right now.
Mason has 10 for them. Cooper has 13 for us and has been incredible. Massey has 7.
|
2
| 16:30
| 31
| 20
| A 3 point play opportunity (missed FT) for Bowling Green gives them their first points since the 4:45 mark of the first half. We held them scoreless for 8 minutes and 15 seconds of game time!
|
2
| 15:50
| 34
| 20
| Bowling Green burns a timeout as we get a 3 from Turner to go up 14!
|
2
| 10:15
| 43
| 24
| We're actually extending our lead here. This is just a defensive masterpiece. Another Bowling Green timeout.
|
2
| 3:45
| 48
| 33
| They've cut down on the lead some but there is no way they're scoring 15 more points this game.
|
We run out the clock with ease.
Ohio 56
Bowling Green 36
Well that was just an extremely satisfying win. I've won many games against even rated teams simply because I have more depth, better shooters, or better athletes with which to run the fast break. With the right team I can do all those things with some frequency. This is the first time that I've won a game against a team that has more talent than me based on defense and execution of a game plan.
Of course, we shot very well.
Very well when it counted. If we had gotten behind by 7 or 8 early this game probably goes a completely different direction. But it didn't, and we executed to perfection.
We shot 42% for the game, they shot 35%. They were 3/14 from 3, while we were 10/23. We also had a big 31-21 edge on the boards.
Their two most talented players scored 75% of their points. Mason scored 15, Minter scored 12. Both had plays where their talent showed big time, but neither could get in a groove and really kill us.
Turner: 6 points/4 assists (2-12 from the field, 2-10 from 3)
Cooper: 16 points (3-4 from 3)
House: 11 points/5 assists
Delic: 2 points/11 boards
Dahi: 4 points/6 boards
Massey: 17 points (4-7 from 3)
I continue to enjoy having Wendell House on my team quite a bit. If he gets his man in the air, he is getting to the basket. He may get a charge, he might not make his shot, but if the man guarding him out on the perimeter gets up in the air, there is nothing that can happen to prevent House from driving very aggressively to the hoop. I really, really love his athleticism.