Too many missed shots tonight; I know SHU emphasizes defense, but there were lots of uncontested shots that didn’t go down, especially in the first half. The final three minutes was also painful; after grabbing a 53-50 lead the rest of the scoring came from the line. Tough way to end a season, but college basketball is unique in that 99% of teams lose their final game. It stings losing an NIT game at home; I didn’t think they’d ever get a home game. (I actually went to the 3 OT loss at Selland Arena in Fresno in ‘85; I’m hoping somebody on this board remembers that game.)
To get to the next level, this team needs to play better defense. There was some good D tonight, but it was sporadic.
Tilly also needs more minutes, as others have said. He’s really come on strong and is head and shoulders above the other big men. No reason to think we can’t build upon this season but we need to keep adding high-end talent.
The female ref is married or dating someone in that program. She was HORRIFIC.
Tilly should have received POG today.
WHY does Santa Clara NOT pressure the ball on defense? We did in the second half and even managed to get up by 5 at one point.
Has NOBODY noticed that Podz struggles with pressure/double team or is it just me? That may be problematic long term.
After Keyshawn struggled ENTIRE first half to hit his shot - should have deferred to him in the second half when they were sinking, and he was wide open.
I am GRATEFUL for the opposing coach taking the time to come over to Cam and tell him what a great physical player he is. Said he notices Cam hustles/fights for possession on every rebound and is a real nuisance in the paint. Told him "keep doing what you are doing” - because playing off the ball is as important.
When Cam got a second foul and was seated at 11 minutes I could not believe it. We know what happened in the next few minutes. Why worry about 2 fouls with 11 minutes remaining in the biggest game of the year. Every minute he was not out there cost us a lot more than the insurance that he play until the end of the game. For the first time in many years, I found myself yelling at a game, and I was yelling to put him back in. I love to see him play. Too many open shots missed and any of the last few could have kept us in or won. Yikes.
But what a terrific year and the best young men we could every imagine gracing our courts.
Agree on the 1 Ref – in the limited time I spent watching, 3 or 4 really bad calls in a row. Figured we were doomed from that aspect. On one play, Stewart clearly slapped ball off of opponent’s leg, should have been our ball. SH ended up not getting a shot off on that sequence, but on the next play (our possession), another lousy call by same ref (on Justice I think) for an offensive foul that was just basic play. Refs calls need to be reviewed by their governing body.
Another odd call by the female ref was the “closely guarded” call on Podz at the end of the first half. The ref is required to arm count the five seconds (like they have to do on inbounds), but I don’t remember her doing that.
Watched the last six minutes. SCU needs to get better at defense and rebounding. I saw 4 instances of no rebounding in the last few minutes. On the last play, only Podz going for the rebound. Went to JB for a layup twice in the last few minutes. Also, why didn’t Sendek call a time out with 9 seconds left??
Agree w/ Hoops5. Tilly made a nice move, just missed the shot.
A lot of coaches will just let it play out, and trust their players to make a play. Downside of calling a time out is you give the defense a chance to get set, maybe make a defensive substitution, and scheme to keep the ball out of the hands of say Podz.
I just saw that myself. It makes our loss more frustrating though perhaps we would have been humbled by the Mean Green. I’ll have to hold out hope for next year, which seems to be always the case. Go Broncos!
