the best way to break the press is to spread the floor, keep moving bodies and PASS out of it
at least we aren’t dribbling to a a corner to only get trapped haha
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USF with a very small 4 guard lineup at the moment.
At least our coaches noticed and countered with a guard heavy lineup of our own.
Geez we’re shaky against the press or any defensive pressure…even when we don’t turn it over it looks like we’re on the verge of disaster.
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Crap…doesn’t look good for Knapper.
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Happy the seniors got a win. Marshall with some clutch shots and 16pts. Caffaro and Benjamin also played well.
Hard to have much confidence in this team’s ability to play consistent from game to game but maybe this gives us a little momentum heading in to the tourney.
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The production value of the broadcast is SO AMATEUR HOUR that when they showed the final score right before the cutaway it still showed the pregame records for each team.
Really nice to get this win— the last couple of games against USF have been agonizing losses.
The defense tonight was as good as it looked all year; I just wonder if they gave that kind of effort regularly how many more games they could have won. I was especially impressed with the job Caffaro did on Mogbo. Rebounding was also outstanding.
Not to dwell too long on the low points, but the way they handled USF’s pressure defense was simply atrocious; they looked like they’d never seen anything like that before. What should have been a 15-20 point rout ended up a lot closer than it should have been.
Onto Las Vegas and see what happens.
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Observations from todays game inside Leavey:
Good crowd, which was not bolstered by a USF contingent. I think we traveled much better to SF than they did today. Lets blame the rain.
Strong defense overall, particularly on Mogbo, as he was only 4-13. Caffaro in particular hampered him, and Tilly did too. Tilly not getting in foul trouble early was a big factor. Mogbo did have 14 boards, so he was a factor.
Tilly was banged up all afternoon. He was clutching his chest often. I’m hoping he does not have a bruised rib. Knapper wemt down late, seemingly without much contact. He pounded the floor in frustration so I hope this isn’t a recurrance of his injury on the Hilltop.
The Broncos maintained control throughout the game, even during that awfull run of not being able to inbound the ball. Better get that fixed before Vegas.
On to the tournament!
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@Midwestbronco14 is a big part of the reason why SCU travels well to War Memorial. So lots of credit to him in reigniting this rivalry. The student section looked pretty full and engaged. It has been a long, long time since that happened for any team in conference other than Gonzaga and sometimes SMC.
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You give me too much credit nowadays as the AD handles most of it. But I do love a good USF beating, I think it’s our most natural rival along with SMC.
Was at the game yesterday and was really pleased with the crowd - and usf did not bring the contingent i was expecting.
Thought our bigs had their best games of the year.
Was completely losing it when we completely forgot how to pass the ball during a press. It’s not difficult, just don’t get stuck in a corner, don’t leave you feet, and don’t try to dribble through four guys.
We rely on a lot of individual shake and bake to get open, would love to see a screen or wall setup to get a guy open on the in bounds.
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THIS.
Seriously, they taught this in my 8th grade basketball team.
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watching the Broncos in person succumb to the press possession after possession was excruciating. It was as if they never practice it.
And while i am at it, have they won a jump ball all year long? Or is it a brilliant scheme to defer the kickoff to the second half?
.
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I’ve wondered the same thing…it seems O’Neil is often our guy on jump balls to start the game, I’d think Tilly would be better. But I can definitely see a coach desiring to have the ball first in the second half.
It’s not quite apples to apples with football though because it just gives us the first possession. So if there’s an uneven jump balls throughout the game we would get one less possession. Not to mention potentially one less possession to end the half.
Back of the napkin math says we lose between 0.5-1.5 possessions per game from it.
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We won our first jump ball on Sat - it was either Tilly or Caffaro. I’m going with Caffaro because it was tipped pretty hard.
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The possession arrow determines which team gets the ball to start the second half. Losing the opening tip does not guarantee getting the ball to start the second half. Next game, watch the scorers table as soon as the ball is inbounded to start the second half. You’ll see the arrow flip as soon as the inbound pass is completed.
Don’t ask me what happens to the arrow if the Bronco’s are inbounding against a press and throw it to an opposing player. It’s too painful to contemplate!
Caffaro won the tip against USF. Remember that he got the start as it was senior day. And yes, it may have been our first “won” tip of the season.
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I think we are all aware of this, however, I think it is fairly rare to have a tie-up, especially in the first half of a game. I’d venture a guess and say it has perhaps happened twice this season.
Our guys played hard and in a number of stops - physical, Caffaro set a tone. There were a few occasions when we moved the ball well and got easy layups. IMHO this game was won with points in the paint and 2nd chance points.
Both teams shot poorly but USF was way off.
I just don’t get:
5 straight Turnovers up 13 against a so-so press with 7 minutes left?
3 TO’s just trying to get the ball in bounds giving away 7 points.
Three - 3 pt shots, not open looks, with 20+ seconds on the clock at under 5 minutes left? We were owning the paint. Pound it.
9 missed Ft’s - 4 under 4 minutes.
This team has experience but doesn’t seem to play like they have it. Adjustments just don’t seem to take hold or executed.
Hope for their best in Las Vegas…
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I would like to see O’Neill inbound the ball when we throw it in anywhere near the corner. The angles are tough for the inbounder, so it’s nice to have the option to simply throw the ball over the defender. Absolutely no reason to turn it over on an inbounds play. I saw enough of that with KK.
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And good teams attack the press aggressively. It’s an opportunity for an easy bucket.
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