Some have already been said or discussed. Some of the observations are obvious, but that doesn't mean they don't need to be corrected. But my 2 cents.
This is a game that we had every opportunity to win.
Our defense, more often than not is not good. To many dribble drive breakdowns for this team to have very much success in conference. Early in the year when playing bad teams and teams not have a true read on what we're trying to do it was easier to get more possessions. But as the talent level, coaching ability and scouting catches up to us it's going to get much more difficult. Especially in away game situations. Lets call a spade a spade, visiting teams aren't going to get calls on the road. You have to be a better team and a better coached team to win on the road imo. We can't continue to give teams 15-25 extra foul shots every game and expect to win games on the road.
I've seen some comments about Evans and him being our best player (imo by a wide margin). But as our "best", and one who has his hands on the ball a majority of the time, and being the PG he needs to be the guy who makes the best decisions. And at the end of the game his decisions become even more impactful. Early in games you have time to overcome bad offensive trips. Late in close games you don't have time to recover. (This is something Eddie preached a bunch, it made so much sense to me.) Evans made some decisions late in the game that he shouldn't have made. It's better to get great looks than quick looks.
I still think this team will be better at the back end of our schedule (most teams are). But I'm not sure that's enough to get us into the tourney, or even place higher than we were picked at the start of the year.
We need a big, big talent infusion. We have about 2.5-3.5 B12 caliber players on the team, imo. I mean ones that can win B12 championships.
This past Saturday vs. Maryland was a game Eddie would have won. Even with the players we have now. I say this not to bring up Eddie, or for criticizing Underwood but just as an observation.
This is a game that we had every opportunity to win.
Our defense, more often than not is not good. To many dribble drive breakdowns for this team to have very much success in conference. Early in the year when playing bad teams and teams not have a true read on what we're trying to do it was easier to get more possessions. But as the talent level, coaching ability and scouting catches up to us it's going to get much more difficult. Especially in away game situations. Lets call a spade a spade, visiting teams aren't going to get calls on the road. You have to be a better team and a better coached team to win on the road imo. We can't continue to give teams 15-25 extra foul shots every game and expect to win games on the road.
I've seen some comments about Evans and him being our best player (imo by a wide margin). But as our "best", and one who has his hands on the ball a majority of the time, and being the PG he needs to be the guy who makes the best decisions. And at the end of the game his decisions become even more impactful. Early in games you have time to overcome bad offensive trips. Late in close games you don't have time to recover. (This is something Eddie preached a bunch, it made so much sense to me.) Evans made some decisions late in the game that he shouldn't have made. It's better to get great looks than quick looks.
I still think this team will be better at the back end of our schedule (most teams are). But I'm not sure that's enough to get us into the tourney, or even place higher than we were picked at the start of the year.
We need a big, big talent infusion. We have about 2.5-3.5 B12 caliber players on the team, imo. I mean ones that can win B12 championships.
This past Saturday vs. Maryland was a game Eddie would have won. Even with the players we have now. I say this not to bring up Eddie, or for criticizing Underwood but just as an observation.
