This was more like it. This is how we play and beat P5 teams. Granted, Arizona State is missing one of their best players (hopefully he comes back and makes them a force in the Pac 12 race), but the Ramblers put a solid win on the board. It appeared ASU went after Lucas in the first minute of the 2nd half to try and foul him out, and they basically got away with it.

Hutson was amazing. He basically doubled his previous high of 15, and he did it against a P5 team. I hope he gets a longer leash from the coach, because it's obvious he's our best inside guy.

Marquise Kennedy got better each game. In the last two, he's had 21 points, 6 assists, two steals, and shot over 50% from the field on twos and threes.... all while being the shortest guy on the court.

Schwieger doesn't look like much, but he can flat-out play. He can play the two against big teams and the three against average size teams. Swiss army knife.

I loved the energy and the purpose that the team played with today. Really glad we got the win, but more happy that there was a Jacob Hutson coming out party, and the team looked resolved and focused the whole way through.

What a great game. I hope that's the Hutty we see the rest of the year. He isn't going to be playing many bigs of the quality Auburn/MSU put out there. Learn from it.

Offense looked great. Ball movement was just awesome to see in person. Defense stout as expected. ASU had nothing and realized it about halfway through the second half. Their bench was deflated, their coach (Bobby Hurley) kind of stopped coaching and their 5 or 6 fans were silent. Meanwhile, Loyola side of the arena was buzzing. It was a blast.

For the record, we beat ASU by more than Baylor, San Diego State and Syracuse.

After Baylor, I think Auburn/UConn/Loyola/MSU were pretty close in terms of "power rankings".

It was a fun few days down here. Already excited to see where next year's MTE will be. Any inside info?

This was a nice bounce back win. Williamson's foul trouble was a good test for the team. (It tested my patience because it was a ridiculous call.).

Mudville's post is well taken. Turnovers are a problem. Coach Valentine's up-tempo offense is striking compared to Porter's offense. It will take time for me to get adjusted because there will be more turnovers. I like the depth of our team and we have more talent than ever. However, when you watch this team, you miss Krutwig's soft hands and his ability to be in the right place at the right time. He would have worked well in this offense.

I am disappointed with the losses, but you can't help but think our close loss on Wednesday (which I was not disappointed with the team's effort and thought we had a chance and should have won) took a toll on our team's play against Auburn. We played such a close game against a team that Coach Valentine and the team were focused. We looked like we were spent from the loss. There also may have been some doubts in the players heads about whether the offensive changes are going to work. Of course, it may also be that there were multiple NBA players on the Auburn team helped.

I think we will grow from this and we showed that we belong on the same court as these P5 teams. I can't wait for the next games. Go Ramblers.

Relieved to see us get that last game. As with others, we were right there to win the MSU game, after tough start. Ive got to believe the players were tight knowing the Drew and Izzo connections, and were in the game all the way. I found it annoying online that MSU people are already laying claim to our coach as heir apparent to Izzo. I would love to see LUC as a destination job, not a stepping stone to something better. Am I a dreamer?da
Thinking about this season and next season, isn’t it important to not only lock onto winning every game this year vs. building the team we will need to be better at the end of this season and into the next? How to involve our bench players so they contribute and learn. Thomas, for example, highly touted recruit has seen minimal time on the floor. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, just observing other schools, Christie with MSU, and St. Thomas high school team mate at Gonzaga get time on the floor. Keep in mind we will be out five guys that are getting maximum playing time and it will be tough to get into A-10 without confident undergrads going forward.
I also seem to think, in terms of recruiting, as shown this last three games, our rebounding and blocked shots issue against P-5 .
The physicality under the boards is a notch up at this level.
So many things to balance..
I’m confident Drew V. Can deal with all of this, and am glad to have my regular gig so I don’t have to worry 24/7 about all of this stuff.
PS. I hope everyone tries to get to Wintrust next Sat. And that we take care of business Wednesday first, then DPaul on Sat
Go Ramblers……

The Sun Devils are at home today against a good Washington State team.

The Sun Devils have 10 points...at half. They are shooting 4-24 from the field. About as a bad of an offensive performance as you can imagine.

Good news is Washington State (a decent squad) only has 18 points at the half.

Final: 51-29.

Ouch.

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