Connect with us

Hoops

10 Thoughts On Alabama

Published

on

BOX SCORE

1. I don’t think there are stats on this, but it felt like the dynamics of the game changed when OSU started full-court pressing. As in they went from “we, we are getting slaughtered on national television, I hope Marcus Smart and Phil Forte aren’t watching this” to “look, we might not have every piece, but if we go down we’re going down lights out with ever bullet we have in the chamber.” I’m not sure what’s wrong with doing that for 40 minutes. It’s not like depth is a major issue.

2. OSU has been the favorite in five games this year and been the underdog in the other five. They’ve won all five they were supposed to win and won one of the ones they weren’t supposed to. You can argue “the lines are that way because our coaches are the worst coaches in the history of coaching”, but technically this team is overachieving.

3. JPO did a lot of bad things tonight, but I do like it when he takes off on a fast break after a defensive rebound. Travis Ford has infamously stated many, many times that he wants to run, and the fact that he has about eight guys capable of bring the ball down are a prime example that he’s recruited towards that. I just wish they’d open it up more.

4. This might have been my favorite stat from tonight:

5. There weren’t a ton of bright spots (as usual) but Mike Cobbins did have six points, four boards, an assist, a steal, and two blocks in 26 minutes tonight with only one foul. He’s not the presence in the paint Jurick is, but dude plays his butt off every possession. I hope he gets more playing time down the road.

6. Question I thought of tonight while watching: shouldn’t a team that wants to run and be fast work on finding the point guard on outlet passes off of defensive rebounds? Either that or just let the guy who boarded it roll with it (see #3). Just a thought.

7. Le’Bryan continues to play well but it’s getting completely overshadowed by the “this team sucks” and “these coaches suck” narrative. He’s going to be big time when conference play rolls around.

8. OSU held Alabama to its average from the field (46%) but what killed them was how many threes Bama hit. They came in averaging three a game at 26% shooting and proceeded to go 7-15 while building a pretty much insurmountable lead in the first half. It felt like they were on NBA Jam fire at one point in the first six minutes.

9. The Cowboys have now had ten or fewer assists in eight of their 11 games. Doug Gottlieb averaged 8.5 a game by himself his senior year. There’s no way Cezar and Dowell should combine for three (!) assists in 40 total minutes with the slashers OSU has on this team. Something needs to change on that front…and in a hurry.

10. Whether you think Ford should be gone or not (and I don’t), we have to stop the “Fire Ford!” tweeting and texting during every OSU loss or bad game. Mostly because he’s not going to be fired, but also because we’re barely 1/3 into this season. There are a few people whose opinions I respect that are tweeting it, but for the most part it feels like overhyped reactive conjecture from the masses.

Next game: Wednesday, December 28 at the American Airlines Center against SMU

Most Read

Copyright © 2011- 2023 White Maple Media