You’re gonna leave us all wondering if we count as “the more objective folks on this board!” 
4 Likes
I’m on pins and needles
Trying to be diplomatic and kind during the holiday season.
Years ago I heard there was a survey asking people to rate their driving skills/ability and something like 80% rated themselves as above average drivers. I imagine there’s a similar incongruity with sports fandom…..most believe they’re objective.
While I’m typically in the Realist column, I appreciate that this board leans to the cautiously optimistic side rather than toxic pessimism.
2 Likes
I used ChatGPT this morning and asked how SCU might address many of the defensive weaknesses that were exposed and especially Bukky’s foul troubles. I inputted a lot of info about the Lobos as well and how Albury burned us with drives/layups in the key, and that the refs were calling a tight game. I asked what else could’ve been done to limit New Mexico.
ChatGPT strongly recommended SCU employ a diamond-and-one hybrid that anchors Bukky in front of the rim (box-and-one wouldn’t really work because of the Lobos had a couple of perimeter shooters who were hitting). I mentioned that Sendek almost never employs anything besides M2M. It said the Broncos should at least try a matchup zone as it still employs many M2M principles.
After two days this loss still stings. I’m not mad about losses (the SLU defeat was a hard loss against a worthy quality opponent), but I’m certainly mad that all of the shortcomings we’ve discussed since the beginning of this season were still not addressed. New Mexico literally just wrote the playbook for ASU.
We’d better get our sh*t together before Saturday in Henderson.
3 Likes
Right on target Bronc… my question is, where are the adjustments? Defense, Zone offense schemes etc… Our two losses had season low assists due to poor shooting, but most of our 44 threes weren’t good looks.
We have a full time analytics person. Is the recommendation “shoot more” hoping for a reversion to the mean? What mean?
It seems that Bukky and Graves have abandoned the low block post option . They are catching the ball either at the high post or 15 ft from the bucket where it’s easier to defend.
I know the guys are young, but this is not complicated. Move the ball, stop the ball, rebound…
Frustrating…
1 Like
Yeah, I take back what I said. The research is solid.
Apparently, the explanation for me personally “feeling better” after the second night’s rest when visiting friends in Denver is because at-rest heart rate is elevated a bit, conveying a sense of an uplifted mood. I certainly haven’t tried running 10 miles!
I’ve been speechless about our game since Saturday—not because we lost, but because of how we lost. We keep getting blown out by teams that should be peers or only slightly above us, while struggling to convincingly handle the Utah Techs and North Dakota States of the world. It makes everyone’s belief that SCU is ready to “take the next step” feel misplaced. It’s triggering because it looks like the same old Broncos again.
What’s most frustrating is that it looked like the team quit. That quitter mentality is something I can’t get behind. Winning at The Pit is always tough, but we’d played well enough early to at least compete. The first half wasn’t terrible—until around the 12-minute mark, when New Mexico’s aggressive defense completely rattled us. Possession after possession turned into fumbles and easy Lobo fast-break layups. They finished with a 29–3 fast-break advantage and a 50–28 edge in points in the paint. That tells the whole story. Once Broncos got to an 18-14 lead they somehow spotted the Lobos about 20 points. It was as if they forgot how to execute.
What makes it worse is our roster is built around guards, yet none of them handled ball pressure well. This is a major concern because now every opponent is going to game-plan to press and trap us, even if it’s not something they usually do. We somehow had only 15 turnovers, but it felt like way more because the bad shots and missed threes functioned like turnovers themselves.
Defensively, we were porous—but especially in transition. Offense is the bigger issue, though. New Mexico pushed us around and took the ball whenever they wanted. The constant fouling only added to the chaos, because Herb ends up juggling lineups all game, making it harder to build rhythm or chemistry.
What happened cannot happen again.
I’m really curious to see how the guys respond. Historically, we tend to come out slow after long breaks, but hopefully this time it gives the team a chance to heal up because a few players are clearly banged up. I want to see grit, intensity, and focus the next time they take the floor. And honestly, I’m tired of us turning good quality teams into elite-looking teams—just like we did with Nevada last year and New Mexico this year.
It would be great to see us play several statement games for once.
4 Likes
Spot on ‘Kev.
Our guards’ struggles handling on-ball defensive pressure has been evident in small doses throughout the season, as has the poor transition D. This game laid all our warts to bear. The roadmap to beating us is pretty to clear to any coach who bothers to watch film of a game or two.
Also agree w/ ‘musings. The notion that shooting more and more 3’s is the answer to our struggles is frustrating. For the past several years we seem to have few if any set plays. When teams are going on runs (as the Lobos did several times) and we’re struggling, you need a few set plays to get an easy bucket or just to take advantage of matchup advantage…..ie- there are times when both Darlan and Mahi are on the floor at the same time as wings (2 and 3 spots); that often means that one or both have a significant size advantage….why not isolate them in the post occasionally to get an easy bucket and give the opposing defense a different look to defend.