25-10 in made FT advantage

[2330859]

VT was the better team on Sunday, and admittedly the best team at the end of the year in the ACC. However, the disparity in FTs is reminiscent of the two earlier losses to ND, where I remain convinced the officiating punishes UL inside the paint, and in our aggressive perimeter defense. I cannot identify motive, but the difference in how those 3 games were called, explains a lot to me. Kitely's "over the back" rebounds serve as an example ..... obtaining an offensive rebound instead of being whistled for a foul, makes a huge difference over the course of the game.

Examine the statistics in the 2 losses to ND and the one yesterday, where VT and UL were very close with UL having a slight edge, except for FTs . Some of the late intentional fouls made the margin larger than what would have been somewhat smaller if the game was closer in the end, but 27-12 in attempts is too much to overcome.

Our FG shooting percentage was horrible, and explains the loss ...... cannot blame the officials for that, but then UL is not particularly efficient in that category in most of our contests.

Lastly, not blaming the officials for the loss, but the imbalance in FTs is on the officials, and it does affect the outcome. I know that it disturbs CJW, as he addresses this with media in careful and delicate terms as to avoid ACC fines, but privately he is convinced that it has cost us several games that we would have won otherwise.

 

[Bardman]

Announcers mentioned early on that yesterday’s game was being officiated differently than the games the day before. That is unacceptable.

 

[phenderson]

VT was the better team on Sunday, and admittedly the best team at the end of the year in the ACC. However, the disparity in FTs is reminiscent of the two earlier losses to ND, where I remain convinced the officiating punishes UL inside the paint, and in our aggressive perimeter defense. I cannot identify motive, but the difference in how those 3 games were called, explains a lot to me. Kitely's "over the back" rebounds serve as an example ..... obtaining an offensive rebound instead of being whistled for a foul, makes a huge difference over the course of the game.

Examine the statistics in the 2 losses to ND and the one yesterday, where VT and UL were very close with UL having a slight edge, except for FTs . Some of the late intentional fouls made the margin larger than what would have been somewhat smaller if the game was closer in the end, but 27-12 in attempts is too much to overcome.

Our FG shooting percentage was horrible, and explains the loss ...... cannot blame the officials for that, but then UL is not particularly efficient in that category in most of our contests.

Lastly, not blaming the officials for the loss, but the imbalance in FTs is on the officials, and it does affect the outcome. I know that it disturbs CJW, as he addresses this with media in careful and delicate terms as to avoid ACC fines, but privately he is convinced that it has cost us several games that we would have won otherwise.

Perhaps ACC was committed to making sure to have 1 Number 1 seed on that top line. It means more hosting (first 3 or 4 rounds). It means more money as well. I know that sounds stupid and silly... but I don't want to take anything away from VT.

HVL took a variety of horrible shots. The open ones she did have, she rushed and missed badly. You know she is really having a bad night, when she passes up a wide-open 3-pointer on a fast break, to pass a barely open Liz Dixon, who at least got the foul... but then missed 1st free throw. Konno took maybe 1 shot. Harris took some very difficult shots and she missed some chippies. Carr missed a few shots, during first 2 quarters, but came on strong when we got down big. Morgan was basically a no show... as I basically said in the other thread... She basically seems to be an ill fit on offense and defense... Perhaps we needed more scoring from Kasa... but even she, missed some layups that she should not have. We make shots... and its a different, tighter game. The difference between yesterday and our January game is that we made shots. They concentrated a little bit more on HVL... about like we concentrated on Citron in the ND game. We needed someone else to step up sooner than later.
I really also feel like CJW waited too long to start pressing. Amoor would have been tired and more mistake prone towards the end of the game. She handled the ball like we expected CC to. She raced around double teams and traps and PASSED the ball to open team mates instead of trying to take impossible layups and jump shots as the clocks wound down. We seemed to really do nothing for the entire 1st and 2nd qtr, to disrupt her or their offense in spurts. Meanwhile, they put a decent sized defender on HVL, allowed the ball to get stuck in her hands... and we died by the HVL sword... Kittley, to me, is just a 6'6" player with maybe 3 or 4 moves down in the paint... but she knows how to do what she does and she does it well. Cuhnane was better, to me.

 

[KozmasAgain]

The problem I had with the fouls was Kitley is allowed to go over the back constantly with no call. The other thing that bothered me was Tech would drive the lane miss the shot and there was always a foul called, we would drive the lane miss the shot and never a call even when we get bumped. Your comment on making sure Tech won the game in an attempt to get a number one seed is not so far fetched. I also think refs get caught up in the emotion of the game ( always not only our games ) and Tech had the larger and more vocal crowd.
That being said I think Tech was the better team yesterday we did not play the same game we played against WF and ND. In those 2 games we had contributions from everyone on the team in the Tech game we only had contributions from a couple. I also think we should have focused more on Georgia Amoore and try to wear her down. Her 3 pointers did more damage than Kitley’s 2 pointers. Tech only has 2 players that did any damage the rest of their team just passes the ball around. I would of done more double teams on Amoore and force the rest of the team to take the shots.

 

[2330859]

The suggestion about having an ACC team as a #1 seed is not to be dismissed; it would sure explain the disparity in FTs.

If indeed UL is assigned a #5 seed as most expect, that would suggest UL should be ranked no lower than #20, and perhaps as high as #16. ESPN has us around 28-29.

 

[WildCard]

I just spent some time looking over the game stats. I've got to give VPI some props - they were just a little bit better than us in virtually every stat category and it all added up. And their 2 big scorers [Amoore (25) and Kitley (20)] collectively outscored our 2 big scorers [Carr (27) and Van Lith (12)], all of which added up to an 8 point loss. FWIW, the ladies are #37 in FG%; #51 in Scoring and #153 in Scoring Defense.

IMHO, the best thing I have seen in ladies basketball over the past few years has been the "evolution" of big girls.

Peace

 

[2330859]

Nice work WC!

I scan statistics after most UL and other ACC games, as it tells a great deal about team performance. One rather misleading component with UL‘s #153 ranking in Scoring Defense, is it includes all D1 schools that do not play anywhere close to UL’s ACC competition. For example, UL played ND three times (only once at home), played VT twice (both away), not to mention the rest of the ACC opponents and those early non-conference schedule.

Cochran, Dixon and Williams represent the tallest size we have had in my memory, but we continue to struggle favorably against those elite “Bigs”. That is not intended as being critical of our ladies, it’s just relative to talent level.

 

[phenderson]

I tried to highlight what the problem is with our bigs

• Olivia is sort of fast, very strong, but not long, excellent post skills. She needs to develop a pick and pop perimeter game... but its like she is scared to shoot the ball... so she is never a threat out there on the perimeter. Even Boston at USC-jr has learned to take pick and pop shots...
• Josie is very long, not athletic, not fast... all around skilled, not afraid to shoot the ball. Too slow to keep up with guards on hedges, or even rebounding the ball unless she is in the perfect spot for the rebound...
• Liz is tall, long, above average (Not elite, or gifted, or uber) Athletic, sort of fast, and strong. BUT not very skilled. She is VERY mechanical. You can tell the post moves she has, were taught to her by the staff. (SIDE NOTE: Years ago, while I was in college, trying to get my GPA up, I took a 1.0 credit elective course called basketball 101. It was taught by this young lady who was barely older than my 20 years at the time. The moves I see Liz do are the post moves she was teaching the class... to the T. )

I can say Liz has really become more vocal and aggressive over these last 10 to 12 games. Josie has had less playing time... and Cochran has been more of a force.
In a nutshell we have the perfect center... its just sshe is split into 3 different people, lol... Last year our floor was always occupied by HVL, EE, OC, Smith and our PG from Vandy... decent length... good skill... and 4 perimeter shooters. Bring Kasa, Liz, the other Smith off the bench with Konno coming behind... and Russell was literally junk time play.

This year... HVL, Liz, CC, Olivia and Jones started the season.... 2 perimeter shooters... Jeff would then bring in Kasa and Josie off the bench with Russell coming in as well. Still no perimeter shooting... Finally Jeff started games with HVL, LIZ, OC, Kasa and Konno... with Jones and CC coming in off the bench...

 

[2330859]

Good summary of our post play. I would like to have seen Jones assert herself like she played before transferring here, as a lineup with her, HVL, CC, Harris, and Russell and would be more athletic and offer more balanced scoring. I look back and wonder if this team could have been disadvantaged when Peyton left rather unexpectedly; very little defensive contribution, but she had a solid reputation as high percentage perimeter shooter.

 

[Bardman]

Peyton was scoring, passing and rebounding fine. Defense - she was probably still learning and getting better - but, was a touch slow - I get it. Was her defense any worse than Olivia or Jones? That is all water under the bridge. Do I think this team can make it into the second weekend? Yes. I think they played superior competition and have the tools to get the job done. If we can get rebounding and some help scoring this could be a fun ride.

 

[2330859]

Each season, Men's and Women's Basketball identify one conference over another as "superior to the others"; the NCAA tournaments ultimately tell the truth by virtue of which conference has the most wins.

I am rather certain the ACC does not have any single team as good as South Carolina, but if the Gamecocks had to play Duke, VT and ND in consecutive games; I doubt SC could prevail in all three. UConn, Stanford, IU and Iowa are next level teams that are capable of winning it all, provided someone eliminates SC, which brings me back to the UL and the ACC.

If indeed the ACC gets 8 or 9 into the Tournament, I expect it will have a lot to say as to who is in the Final Four. My pick for best chance at FF is VT representing the ACC, and I can envision UL returning to final 16, and depending on the matchups, I believe final 8 is possible, particularly on playing 9 deep in the early games as a way to rest HVL, CC and Cochran.

 

[KozmasAgain]

I think VT looked good against us but I am not sure how well they will do in the tournament. They only have 2 players that were impressive to me. The rest of the team looked pretty average. In order for Tech to advance deep into the tournament Georgia Amoor has to have the same type of game throughout the whole tournament she had against us.

Teams will design their defenses to shut her down. If I were their opponent I would focus all my attention on Amoor. Those 3 pointers hurt a lot more than the 2 pointers. In all honesty we were really flat when we played Tech. Nobody was hitting shots except for CC and she didn’t start hitting shots until midway in the the 3rd quarter. If our game would have lasted 4 minutes longer we probably would have caught them. CC by herself cut their lead in half.

 

[Bardman]

Just say a projection for UofL as a 4 seed. While I think that is possible, I also find it somewhat unlikely. 5-6 seems more likely to me. IF they do get a 4 we need to show out at the Yum!

 

[WahooCard]

If the NCAA has any intelligence they will milk the Louisville home crowd with a 4 seed. There is very little difference between a 4 and 5, but there’s a lot of eye test difference with a crowd of 1000 vs a crowd of 12000. Our upper decks would be open.

Frankly based upon our MBB I am starved for some decent hoops. Bring our ladies to the Yum for a great BB experience.

Mykasa Robinson alone is worth 5000+ non season ticket spectators.

 

[Bardman]

I agree. Worse case the entire lower deck is packed and that still is way more than many other places will have.

 

[phenderson]

I think VT looked good against us but I am not sure how well they will do in the tournament. They only have 2 players that were impressive to me. The rest of the team looked pretty average. In order for Tech to advance deep into the tournament Georgia Amoor has to have the same type of game throughout the whole tournament she had against us.

Teams will design their defenses to shut her down. If I were their opponent I would focus all my attention on Amoor. Those 3 pointers hurt a lot more than the 2 pointers. In all honesty we were really flat when we played Tech. Nobody was hitting shots except for CC and she didn’t start hitting shots until midway in the the 3rd quarter. If our game would have lasted 4 minutes longer we probably would have caught them. CC by herself cut their lead in half.

I agree with what you are saying to a degree. We lacked length and athleticism on the wings. We really really missed the Smith Girls... Jeff tried Russell but she just was not fast enough. She is a very solid player though. Amoor was fast. Teams with length on the perimeter will kill her. Remember we started the game with Robinson, HVL and Carr on the floor. We tried to play fast... but as VT proved... length bothers us.

 

[2330859]

I know it sounds like an excuse, but playing your 3rd game in 3 days, when your opponent is playing their second game in two days, can make you look a step slow, and in the case of HVL, her poor shooting was indicative of fatigue.

CC did not play as many minutes in the two previous games and her shooting against VT exhibited fresh legs.

 

[WahooCard]

VT likewise played 3 games in 3 days. They played 6th seed Miami and then the 2 seed Duke. The score of their games were similar to us. VT is playing the best basketball in the ACC at the present time and we are playing the 2nd best basketball in the ACC. We have lost to them twice. If we play them a 3rd time I like our chances.

 

[2330859]

Thanks for correcting my mis-statement; that does further demonstrate their superiority and validates their #1 seed in NCAA.