SIU Preview and Game Thread -- 2/25/2017

[brot4britu]

Our Team is star-crossed for sure !! U truly cannot believe this !!We lose 5 games by a total of 19 measly points !!
Ifs and buts time again !!

Gosh I am proud if this team !!

Early on Bol plainly schooled Kirby !! The difference for sure !!

[Pope Jump Ball II]

The only consolation I take from this is that my Record Against The Spread improved to 2,416,792 - 0 - 0.

[alap3]

We have to get some luck. Right?

[Ramblerguy]

heartbreaking....
In my lifetime I have never seen so many close games go the wrong way.
It is unbelievable, inconceivable. I feel so badly for the team.
I still believe we will get it right at the Arch. We have played too hard and come too close too many
times. OH for a big guy. The only play that really ripped at my soul was the airball three landing in O'briens hands for put back. Too easy.
On to St. Louis.
Go Ramblers.
I'm proud of the whole team and the effort.
Ramblerguy.

[lusuperfan]

I'm frustrated and because of that, maybe there's more to the story than the following rant. I will say that I believe luck, while somewhat of a factor, is not the main culprit in these close losses. I think PM has to look at a few things in no particular order:
-Roster construction/Bigs and their development - Are we going to say Krutwig and to an lesser extent Negron will consist of our height, and continue to go after undersized 6'5-6'7 PFs? Do we need another assistant to coach forwards? Granic has literally played 15 minutes in the last 5 and a half weeks. What has he done to earn him a spot in the doghouse and what's the point of even giving him a scholarship if you don't play him?
-Conditioning vs. the rest of the Valley programs' conditioning
-How he manages the team's depth, especially as the minutes pile up on our key players
-Noncon scheduling - the SDSU game was our highest non-con RPI team. Not only did we not even technically schedule it, but that win also looks less and less outstanding as they implode.
-Play-calling at the end of the game (Clayton's 3 out of the timeout vs. ISUr and tonight's Doyle drive to nowhere)

It's going to sound quite ironic because I was so content with where the program was a few weeks ago, that I thought the idea that PM would at least have the opportunity to look at other options wasn't far-fetched. Now, you can't help but feel unbelieveably frustrated with how we're ending this season (barring a miracle run in Arch Madness).

/rant over

[LU 86]

Asking for a little help, I can't seem to find where the Ramblers are ranked on fast break points allowed per game.

[01grad]

-Noncon scheduling - the SDSU game was our highest non-con RPI team.

We also had NC State, who had an NBA-talent Freshman coming in and was predicted to be decent in the ACC. The fact that they crapped the bed in conference play isn't something you can predict.

From what I've seen from Granic when he's played, my guess is he hasn't gotten minutes because he hasn't shown he's ready for them.

SDSU ended up blowing their lead and the game to CSU, so whether we won or lost probably wouldn't have mattered as to when and who we played on Friday.

[Sloth84]

Heartbreaking. Unlucky. And sooooo frustrating.

But at the same time, we have to start executing better if we want to win these close games. In this game - the airball that falls into OBrien's hands? Seemed to me that Richardson did not hold his position on the box out....but Jackson should have been the one boxing him out and he let O Brien get inside. Not the best execution on the last offensive possession either. Love you Milt but you can't dribble to that spot and pick your dribble on the game winning possession. Other games? Think about the unforced 10 second call in OT .....and the Tyson Smith drive to the basket in the last 10 seconds. Just a couple of examples.

Don't get me wrong. Love this team. Love their constant effort. And I do think we are due for some breaks and some big plays at Arch Madness

[Blers]

Heartbreaking loss. I actually missed the game but followed online. Just killer.

But here's the deal: I'd rather have a rematch off a loss than off a victory, hard to beat a team 3 times, it was senior night, our luck has been so bad. It's going to turn. Statistically ya figure it has too. Much like how our poor shooting last season has bounced back at such a high rate.

-18-13 but I say this team would likely wipe the floor with the CBI team
-We've shown we can compete with ANYONE. Now the next step from our seniors is to show we can BEAT anyone. That's the programs next step. I'm glad we haven't settled for competing. This team wants to win. I think they learn it in the coming week and early next season..
-the luck really goes back to last year as well when you look at our close losses. I say it's gonna give next season (if memory serves we won Several close games during the CBI year)
-Team needs a junkyard dog type like to get boards and blocks like Bol, try not to forget we thought we had that solved with Andres....and going back potentially Marlon Jones. I know it may not fit in the offensive system but the systems one major flaw seems to be lacking that interior presence to do the dirty work.
-Clays shot is returning at the right time.
-I'm not satisfied, but I also predicted this team finishing likely in the 4-5 spot maxing out at 3, bottoming out at 6. The talent and play exceeded my summer expectations, sadly the win lose total doesn't match that talent. 5 games by 10 points. How.


From here on out it's NEUTRAL FLOOR. No more road games. Let's get to 20 wins and then some.

[Scream]

In my lifetime I have never seen so many close games go the wrong way.

Maybe, but I keep having deja vu:

Sat, Jan 5, 2013 vs. Youngstown State L 66 - 68
Fri, Jan 11, 2013 vs. Wright State L 61 - 62
Wed, Jan 16, 2013 @ Illinois-Chicago L 59 - 61
Mon, Feb 4, 2013 @ Wright State L 59 - 62
Thu, Feb 7, 2013 @ Youngstown State L 59 - 60
Tue, Feb 26, 2013 @ Detroit Mercy L 75 - 76
Tue, Mar 5, 2013 @ Youngstown State L 60 - 62