Post by Commissioner on Feb 14, 2016 22:25:26 GMT -5
Northern Kentucky
When: Tuesday, February 16, 7:00 p.m.
Where: BB&T Center, Highland Heights, Ky.
TV: ESPN 3
Radio: AM 1270
If... That seems to be the history of Titan basketball, and perhaps why, once people get hooked, they stay hooked. There is a certain breed of people attracted to the struggles of Sisyphus. If the Titans really won, how happy would we be? We'd probably all be filled with Catholic guilt and figuring we must not deserve such blessings. If... The Titans are 13-12 overall, 7-7 in the Horizon. We've lost to Oakland by 4, Milwaukee by 3, Wright State and Green Bay by 1, and Green Bay in OT, plus a loss to Northern Kentucky that shouldn't have happened. Just give us 2 of those, say Wright State and one of the Green Bay games, and we'd be 9-5 in the Horizon, in third place and well in the fight for the double bye. We'd be 15-10 overall, not fabulous but solid for a young team. And if wishes were horses...
I just do this to indicate how close is the world of sport. I think that's one reason people like sports--in a life full of cut corners, "I'll do it tomorrow's," and "good enoughs," in sport there is no margin for error. And so instead the Titans are staring at a losing season, we're all grumpy, and many think Ray McCallum's job may be on the line.
If the Titans are going to avoid a losing regular season--RPI Forecast give us a 40% chance--you could call this a "must win" game. Northern Kentucky is having a season that is objectively much worse than the Titans' by most any standard -- most basically, they enter Tuesday's game at 9-16 overall against a weaker schedule, and just 5-9 in conference. But my guess is that Norse fans are much less grumpy. The Norse sit 7th in the league. Of 18 preseason polls I found (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/post/4849), none placed the Norse higher than 8th, and few had them doing that well in their first Horizon season. I think if you told most Horizon observers that they'd win 5 conference games they'd have dismissed you as crazy.
One of those wins, as noted, came against our Titans, in Detroit. Cole Murray, one of the top 3 point shooters in the nation (and the Horizon actually has several of those) hit 7 of 10 from behind the line, finishing with 25 points. Despite struggling, the Titans still seemed likely to win, leading by 3 with about 5:30 to play, but Murray hit three treys in a 15-6 run over the next 3 minutes. Freshman center Drew McDonald then sank 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to clinch it.
The Norse's lineup has undergone a slight change since the game in Detroit, with junior Dean Danos replacing Lavone Holland in the line up, due to an ankle injury to the latter. Holland returned to action last week but played limited minutes. We may not know until Tuesday night who will start. (Stats are conference play only).
C - Jalen Billups 6-6, 240 lb Sr. (12.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
F - Jordan Garnett, 6-6 Soph. (4.0 ppg)
G/F - Cole Murray, 6-7 Jr. (10.1 ppg)
G - Tyler White, 6-3 Sr. (11.1 ppg, 3.6 apg)
G - Dean Danos, 5-11 Jr. (3.3 ppg) or Lavone Holland II, 6-2 Soph. (11.2 ppg, 4.2 apg)
Key reserves, besides Danos, are:
C - Drew McDonald , 6-8, 265 lb. Fr. (A team best 12.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
F - Deonte Cole 6-6 Jr. (2.8 ppg)
You can see from the stats above that NKU gets on average 25 points and more than 13 rebounds per game from their two wide bodied centers, who rarely see the floor at the same time. In the game in Detroit, they combined for 31 points and 12 rebounds. Hogan had a good game in Detroit, with 17 points and 5 rebounds, but Blackshear did little. The Titans need Blackshear and AFS to step up on Tuesday and give Hogan a hand on defense. And we've got to be on Murray, who is shooting 53.5% from three since conference play began.
The Norse have lost four of five since the game in Detroit, including a two point loss to UIC last time out. But their one win in there was over Milwaukee, demonstrating how the Norse can be dangerous. It's Senior Night in Highland Heights, so there should be a decent crowd for the home team.
There is a sense that the Titans were outcoached in Detroit, and we'll see how Coach Ray has adapted. So far the Titans are 4-1 on the second round of Horizon play, with a single, one-point loss, and avenging losses to Wright State and Milwaukee, two of the league's better teams. So we'll see if we can keep that trend going.
Go Titans!
When: Tuesday, February 16, 7:00 p.m.
Where: BB&T Center, Highland Heights, Ky.
TV: ESPN 3
Radio: AM 1270
If... That seems to be the history of Titan basketball, and perhaps why, once people get hooked, they stay hooked. There is a certain breed of people attracted to the struggles of Sisyphus. If the Titans really won, how happy would we be? We'd probably all be filled with Catholic guilt and figuring we must not deserve such blessings. If... The Titans are 13-12 overall, 7-7 in the Horizon. We've lost to Oakland by 4, Milwaukee by 3, Wright State and Green Bay by 1, and Green Bay in OT, plus a loss to Northern Kentucky that shouldn't have happened. Just give us 2 of those, say Wright State and one of the Green Bay games, and we'd be 9-5 in the Horizon, in third place and well in the fight for the double bye. We'd be 15-10 overall, not fabulous but solid for a young team. And if wishes were horses...
I just do this to indicate how close is the world of sport. I think that's one reason people like sports--in a life full of cut corners, "I'll do it tomorrow's," and "good enoughs," in sport there is no margin for error. And so instead the Titans are staring at a losing season, we're all grumpy, and many think Ray McCallum's job may be on the line.
If the Titans are going to avoid a losing regular season--RPI Forecast give us a 40% chance--you could call this a "must win" game. Northern Kentucky is having a season that is objectively much worse than the Titans' by most any standard -- most basically, they enter Tuesday's game at 9-16 overall against a weaker schedule, and just 5-9 in conference. But my guess is that Norse fans are much less grumpy. The Norse sit 7th in the league. Of 18 preseason polls I found (http://udtitanbasketball.freeforums.net/post/4849), none placed the Norse higher than 8th, and few had them doing that well in their first Horizon season. I think if you told most Horizon observers that they'd win 5 conference games they'd have dismissed you as crazy.
One of those wins, as noted, came against our Titans, in Detroit. Cole Murray, one of the top 3 point shooters in the nation (and the Horizon actually has several of those) hit 7 of 10 from behind the line, finishing with 25 points. Despite struggling, the Titans still seemed likely to win, leading by 3 with about 5:30 to play, but Murray hit three treys in a 15-6 run over the next 3 minutes. Freshman center Drew McDonald then sank 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to clinch it.
The Norse's lineup has undergone a slight change since the game in Detroit, with junior Dean Danos replacing Lavone Holland in the line up, due to an ankle injury to the latter. Holland returned to action last week but played limited minutes. We may not know until Tuesday night who will start. (Stats are conference play only).
C - Jalen Billups 6-6, 240 lb Sr. (12.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
F - Jordan Garnett, 6-6 Soph. (4.0 ppg)
G/F - Cole Murray, 6-7 Jr. (10.1 ppg)
G - Tyler White, 6-3 Sr. (11.1 ppg, 3.6 apg)
G - Dean Danos, 5-11 Jr. (3.3 ppg) or Lavone Holland II, 6-2 Soph. (11.2 ppg, 4.2 apg)
Key reserves, besides Danos, are:
C - Drew McDonald , 6-8, 265 lb. Fr. (A team best 12.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
F - Deonte Cole 6-6 Jr. (2.8 ppg)
You can see from the stats above that NKU gets on average 25 points and more than 13 rebounds per game from their two wide bodied centers, who rarely see the floor at the same time. In the game in Detroit, they combined for 31 points and 12 rebounds. Hogan had a good game in Detroit, with 17 points and 5 rebounds, but Blackshear did little. The Titans need Blackshear and AFS to step up on Tuesday and give Hogan a hand on defense. And we've got to be on Murray, who is shooting 53.5% from three since conference play began.
The Norse have lost four of five since the game in Detroit, including a two point loss to UIC last time out. But their one win in there was over Milwaukee, demonstrating how the Norse can be dangerous. It's Senior Night in Highland Heights, so there should be a decent crowd for the home team.
There is a sense that the Titans were outcoached in Detroit, and we'll see how Coach Ray has adapted. So far the Titans are 4-1 on the second round of Horizon play, with a single, one-point loss, and avenging losses to Wright State and Milwaukee, two of the league's better teams. So we'll see if we can keep that trend going.
Go Titans!