GDT: SDSU vs Denver 8pm Hamilton Gymnasium/DenverPioneers.com

[MontanaRabbit]

I have to admit I gave up on the game shortly after the half. Lots of guys with foul issues and a big deficit typically don’t lead to a happy ending on the road. I was pretty surprised to see that they pulled it off this AM.

This team is far from perfect but they have some intangibles. I’m definitely starting to get pumped for the SLT.

I probably would have given up too if I wasn't in the arena.

We really flustered them when we switched to the full court trap defense early in the 2nd half. Then down the stretch every time down the court was a pick and roll with Mayo and Dent. They couldn't stop it. They really didn't run that play at all in the first half but almost exclusively in the second half at least the last 10 minutes or so.

[OldHare]

Might be a bit of a stretch, but it isn't too far off either. A majority of the non-Jackrabbits were not super into the game. The halftime show was a bunch of kids jumping rope, so you had a bunch of families that were there to watch their kids and not for the game. It's really a shame DU can't draw better.

I could not find coverage in any Denver sports page which makes me think interest is low for the Pios.

[bigticket1]

I could not find coverage in any Denver sports page which makes me think interest is low for the Pios.

Kind of sounds like the current situation in SF. It will be interesting if the Argus has someone hired before the Summit, or if they will at least bring in some kind of short-term hire for a couple of weeks.

[MontanaRabbit]

Post game HC Wulbrun: You may need to scroll down about halfway.
https://denverpioneers.com/

The announcer tried to lay blame on the officials and Wulbrun pretty much shot that down. I thought the officiating was pretty solid overall. We had pretty bad foul trouble in the first half and turned that around in the second half. We were really aggressive going to the hoop in that second half which put a ton of pressure on their defense.

[LetsGoRabbits]

[QUOTE=MontanaRabbit;n531868]

I probably would have given up too if I wasn't in the arena.

We really flustered them when we switched to the full court trap defense early in the 2nd half. Then down the stretch every time down the court was a pick and roll with Mayo and Dent. They couldn't stop it. They really didn't run that play at all in the first half but almost exclusively in the second half at least the last 10 minutes or so.[/QUOT

you are not exaggerating!! we literally pressed them for over 10 minutes and they NEVER broke it for an easy score! NOT ONCE! that is the deal when you run a trap. you know you will give up some easy hoops and you also hope you will get a few. mostly you do it to change the pace and the rhythm of the game. Hendo said pretty much exactly that in post game!! they did not do it expecting TOs and easy hoops. they did it to change the pace


again, I give the jacks credit for pressing with energy and being committed to it!! (WK does a very nice job on the front of the press, very much like Doug did on the rare occasions they ran it during his time), but honestly, it is pretty sad for a college team to not get even one layup while being pressed for over 10 minutes

truly when i was coaching, i hoped teams would press us at this stage of the season, because good teams score baskets against the press. the whole idea of many offenses is to force 2 defenders to guard one offensive player so that his teammates will get open. when a team presses they are volunteering to do that before the offense does anything

and i also agree that we changed our offensive plan. stopped the weave and the continuity and told Zeke to create. they did have at least some stops. there was a point after we started our come back where we did not score for about 2 minutes and had multiple TOs, but we certainly had more life after the switch. i tend to think the defensive switch was the source of the majority of the life and energy

[LetsGoRabbits]

The announcer tried to lay blame on the officials and Wulbrun pretty much shot that down. I thought the officiating was pretty solid overall. We had pretty bad foul trouble in the first half and turned that around in the second half. We were really aggressive going to the hoop in that second half which put a ton of pressure on their defense.

they were bothered because the jacks were in the bonus with over 10 minutes left in the game and Denver did not get the bonus until the final 2 minutes and change

but that is because so many people very wrongly believe that fouls should almost always be approximately even. the problem with that is that some teams (it is becoming more rare) the jacks being one of them, both MBB and WBB, very intentionally DO NOT want their players to foul!! they DO NOT want to put the other team on the foul line. AJ first came to sdsu to work for coach Nagy so i cannot help but believe that is where he developed that strong belief. Coach Nagy absolutely HATES having the other team shoot FTs. he believes that shooting more FTs is absolutely one of the best indicators or winning games

so the jacks teach their players NOT to foul and very intentionally try to play aggressive D without fouls. but so so so so MANY other teams do not care about fouling!! their philosophy is to be physical, no matter the cost. and they just hope that most refs will not continue to blow the whistle time after time, especially when they are at home and the home crowd will growl if they have a bunch of players in foul trouble

actually, gotta give Newitt credit. i have heard him explain several times, including last night's womens game, that the Jacks are different in that they TRY to play defense without fouling and that it is important to them to get to the FT line, but at the same time NOT allow their opponents to shoot FTs

and that is what happened last night. the jacks guard without continually fouling and Denver has a different philosophy. that said, i cannot recall it now but i did think there were a couple pretty bad calls against Denver. but they also DID get the refs into whistle blowing mode!!

the announcers were very bothered by the 5th foul on Kisunas. it may have been a bit light. and they thought it should have been ignored because he should not foul out on such a call. so that means when you get 4 fouls you can be MORE aggressive, because the 5th foul has to be extra felonious??? STUPID!!!
when you get your 4th you have to play more safely. he was out of position for a rebound but tried to go over the top of WK. it was a foul and a stupid one

[bigticket1]

Saw a comment on Twitter that Alex banged up his knee ? Did he finish the game ? I wasn't able to watch.

[MontanaRabbit]

Saw a comment on Twitter that Alex banged up his knee ? Did he finish the game ? I wasn't able to watch.

No. He came out hobbling and then went back in for a short stint. Came back out and never returned. He stayed on the bench and was in the huddles.