Thanks, Dmitri. D and the O in the first half were tenacious. The second half was just another 'meh' Bruins half. Is it physical conditioning or psychological?
Cronin mentioned in his post game interview that Tyler and Brandon were still fighting what made them sick a week ago. Makes sense with Tyler's cold shooting in the second half.
Bilo, Trent and Dent all have significantly increased minutes due to Skyy being out this past 3 weeks; plus, with the Big 18 travel issues, and kids being kids, it is difficult to implement the self-discipline required to get the rest you need to fully recover for the next game. The thing is, you feel fine at the beginning of the game but as you reach the latter stages you start to wilt ever so slightly and it makes a difference in your play.
The Bruins may remain unbeaten at home, but this game was another reminder of how inconsistent they still are. NW shouldn't have been allowed to make it a close game, especially towards the end. The Bruins are lucky the SBTRs didn't call a timeout for NW when they had the ball and were threatening to cut the deficit even further. Still very much a work in progress for HC Cronin and his staff to get the team into better competitive shape for postseason play. Hope Skyy Clark can fully recover from his injury and return to the lineup soon.
IMHO it is imperative that we err on the side of precaution here with Skyy. As I mentioned in a previous post, his type of hamstring injury takes 30 to 40 days to heal. We are at 3 weeks. A re-aggravation of his injury would cost him another month or possibly end his season all-together. Fortunately, we have found a way to stay in the hunt without him, given the emergence of Trent, the lights-out shooting of Bilo and the Maestro-like recent performances of Dent. We have a few games coming up that we should win if we stay focused in executing our scouting report and with consistent effort. Skyy needs to stay on the bench for all of them. He needs to be preparing for most of February and all of March (and maybe a little of April if this team reaches its ceiling).
As much as I want to see Skyy back, I agree with you. Cronin briefly mentioned it the pregame presser, that it is better to rest him now during this part of the schedule and get him completely healthy. The team has found ways to win without him. Hopefully the rest of the team can continue to cover the increased minutes a while longer with no injury risk to them. Have heard the Oregon game is the target date for his return.
100% agree! I think the longer they can hold off bringing Clark back, the less risk of reaggravating the injury. Although there are no real "easy" games for the Bruins in the Big-10, the next 4 opponents are currently in the bottom half of the standings, with the next game against the lame Ducks being the only one on the road (and in the same time zone). I also hope the minutes could be spread out a lot more across the roster during this stretch of games, as the bench really hasn't been very productive as of late.
100% agree! I think the major benefit of Clark's absence include Dent being forced to be more proactive and start showing his $3M value, and giving Perry the minutes to shine. Doesn't hurt if freshman Freeny also gets some floor time and gain more experience.
ok I just watched the highlights on youtube and my reaction is wtaf? the place was half empty or worse. I went to my last game at Pauley when Alfraud was still coach, and as I recall it was packed. what is going on?
I don’t think this game tells us much. Been a Bruin fan too long. This team looks like a bubble team, and if we squeak in, a first or second round exit. The next set of games are all must win. Purdue just lost again too, so maybe they were overrated.
Our issues remain the same even if Skyy returns: no interior post presence. And SF is weak (EDJ regressed), maybe that means we run a 3 guard lineup.
Agree with you Paulie.......Illinois is good. They are very good on the offensive end. I watched that game more out of curiosity to see how Purdue would respond in their next game. I had never even heard of Keaton Wagler; at least initially, Purdue defended him like they had never heard of him either. What a performance. A freshman program-record 46 points, shooting 9-of-11 from three-point range. We beat Purdue because we held the best offense in the Big 18 (85 ppg) to 67 points and DD played up to his ability. Illinois beat them because this Wagler kid was unstoppable.
Keaton Wagler has been a find for Illinois. According to 247, Illinois and Minnesota were his only power conference offers so he was basically overlooked by most of the country even as a 4-star guard
I hate Peacock (doesn't the Big 18 make enough money...they have to let Peacock steal some games instead of showing them on BTN.....I had to buy this crap to watch a few Bruin games-both men and women- last year and this year), but if you do have it, there is a plus tonight: Nebraska (still undefeated) plays at Michigan at 4pm PST. We have to play them both before the season ends. We might as well get a look at them (It will give me a chance to see Mara play.....I haven't watched him yet.....too painful, because I think he would have fit in perfectly with our team given our outside weapons and Dent).
Mich wins 75-72. Nebraska is the better team. They had the lead most of the way but got killed by home cookin.' NEBRASKA 3 OF 4 FROM THE LINE; MICH 19 OF 23! Burkie played huge minutes and guarded Mara most of the time trying to push him out of position. Mara was mostly a non-factor due to 3 point shooting and long rebounds. Neb: very good cutting, passing 3-point shooting team. Mich: very physical, yet no fouls called against them.
I came away from that game incredibly impressed with Nebraska and absolutely dumbfounded by Michigan. That is a game Michigan should have won handily, especially with Nebraska going without two of their top 3 scorers and giving up a ton on the interior as a result. This was a game Mara should have dominated in, and instead he was just a bystander for most of it. If anything, the whole thing just made me more puzzled by Mara's decision to go to Michigan (not to leave UCLA, mind you), because he's so clearly the third banana and is the weakest of the three interior options the Wolverines have. It doesn't help that Nebraska essentially negated him on defense, which was his big calling card. Michigan's guard play is pretty suspect and they run too much stuff outside of Johnson and Lendeborg, who I think are tremendous players.
Berke had a really good game, but in general he's a glue guy at Nebraska, a starting four that doesn't bring much in the way of points or rebounds but does play with physicality.
You know how we have all been calling for Mick to demote Dailey to the bench because of his inconsistent production? Berke for Nebraska is worse than Dailey is for us. But they’re a top 5 team this year and that allows them to overlook Berke’s shortcomings.
As for Mara, I think before conference play had started, there could’ve been an argument that he was flourishing in May’s system. But turns out, he just stat-padded against early season cupcakes and Wake Forest which is basically the doormat of the ACC (and they needed OT to beat them). He hasn’t cracked 7 rebounds since 12/21 against La Salle, dropping his reb average in the year. He’s only cracked 25 mins once in conference play despite close-ish games, which seems to lend credence to the conditioning issues he’s had. a lot of people here criticize Mara’s development at ucla, I would argue that Dusty May has actually done worse in developing Mara over the course of the season. The leap Mara made from Freshman to Sophomore year is far bigger the leap he’s made under May. In fact, Mara seems to have made no improvement this year and just seems to coast along jsut by being big and tall
Agree with both DD and Chen......In my post above, I lamented not having Mara and I hadn't watched him all year. I also didn't see him for the first 7 minutes of the Nebraska game either. It is clear to me as well, that Mara is not a top tier big man for them. He showed nothing that exhibited a "jump" from last year to this one despite May supposedly being a "big man guru." He struggled with the physicality of Burkie.....who is six inches shorter, still can't shoot, but was throwing his body all over the floor.
I just read that Nebraska was missing two of their best players last night: Rienk Mast, a 6'10" senior and Braden Frager, a redshirt freshman wing. If that team I saw last night, with their passing, cutting, 3-point shooting and timely defense, was without their two best players, then, shockingly, IMHO, Nebraska has somehow compiled the best team in the conference.
Thanks, Dmitri. D and the O in the first half were tenacious. The second half was just another 'meh' Bruins half. Is it physical conditioning or psychological?
Cronin mentioned in his post game interview that Tyler and Brandon were still fighting what made them sick a week ago. Makes sense with Tyler's cold shooting in the second half.
Bilo, Trent and Dent all have significantly increased minutes due to Skyy being out this past 3 weeks; plus, with the Big 18 travel issues, and kids being kids, it is difficult to implement the self-discipline required to get the rest you need to fully recover for the next game. The thing is, you feel fine at the beginning of the game but as you reach the latter stages you start to wilt ever so slightly and it makes a difference in your play.
it sounds like if we could clean up our free throws we'd have a chance to both make the tournament and get out of the first weekend.
The shots from the stripe vary so much from game to game. So frustrating. I, too hope it gets cleaned up.
The Bruins may remain unbeaten at home, but this game was another reminder of how inconsistent they still are. NW shouldn't have been allowed to make it a close game, especially towards the end. The Bruins are lucky the SBTRs didn't call a timeout for NW when they had the ball and were threatening to cut the deficit even further. Still very much a work in progress for HC Cronin and his staff to get the team into better competitive shape for postseason play. Hope Skyy Clark can fully recover from his injury and return to the lineup soon.
Go Bruins!
IMHO it is imperative that we err on the side of precaution here with Skyy. As I mentioned in a previous post, his type of hamstring injury takes 30 to 40 days to heal. We are at 3 weeks. A re-aggravation of his injury would cost him another month or possibly end his season all-together. Fortunately, we have found a way to stay in the hunt without him, given the emergence of Trent, the lights-out shooting of Bilo and the Maestro-like recent performances of Dent. We have a few games coming up that we should win if we stay focused in executing our scouting report and with consistent effort. Skyy needs to stay on the bench for all of them. He needs to be preparing for most of February and all of March (and maybe a little of April if this team reaches its ceiling).
As much as I want to see Skyy back, I agree with you. Cronin briefly mentioned it the pregame presser, that it is better to rest him now during this part of the schedule and get him completely healthy. The team has found ways to win without him. Hopefully the rest of the team can continue to cover the increased minutes a while longer with no injury risk to them. Have heard the Oregon game is the target date for his return.
100% agree! I think the longer they can hold off bringing Clark back, the less risk of reaggravating the injury. Although there are no real "easy" games for the Bruins in the Big-10, the next 4 opponents are currently in the bottom half of the standings, with the next game against the lame Ducks being the only one on the road (and in the same time zone). I also hope the minutes could be spread out a lot more across the roster during this stretch of games, as the bench really hasn't been very productive as of late.
[Note: I'm not a doctor.]
100% agree! I think the major benefit of Clark's absence include Dent being forced to be more proactive and start showing his $3M value, and giving Perry the minutes to shine. Doesn't hurt if freshman Freeny also gets some floor time and gain more experience.
ok I just watched the highlights on youtube and my reaction is wtaf? the place was half empty or worse. I went to my last game at Pauley when Alfraud was still coach, and as I recall it was packed. what is going on?
Possibly due to BBS (Battered Bruin Syndrome)---but I'm not a doctor...
I don’t think this game tells us much. Been a Bruin fan too long. This team looks like a bubble team, and if we squeak in, a first or second round exit. The next set of games are all must win. Purdue just lost again too, so maybe they were overrated.
Our issues remain the same even if Skyy returns: no interior post presence. And SF is weak (EDJ regressed), maybe that means we run a 3 guard lineup.
Disagree that Purdue was overrated. Illinois is really good!
Agree with you Paulie.......Illinois is good. They are very good on the offensive end. I watched that game more out of curiosity to see how Purdue would respond in their next game. I had never even heard of Keaton Wagler; at least initially, Purdue defended him like they had never heard of him either. What a performance. A freshman program-record 46 points, shooting 9-of-11 from three-point range. We beat Purdue because we held the best offense in the Big 18 (85 ppg) to 67 points and DD played up to his ability. Illinois beat them because this Wagler kid was unstoppable.
Keaton Wagler has been a find for Illinois. According to 247, Illinois and Minnesota were his only power conference offers so he was basically overlooked by most of the country even as a 4-star guard
I hate Peacock (doesn't the Big 18 make enough money...they have to let Peacock steal some games instead of showing them on BTN.....I had to buy this crap to watch a few Bruin games-both men and women- last year and this year), but if you do have it, there is a plus tonight: Nebraska (still undefeated) plays at Michigan at 4pm PST. We have to play them both before the season ends. We might as well get a look at them (It will give me a chance to see Mara play.....I haven't watched him yet.....too painful, because I think he would have fit in perfectly with our team given our outside weapons and Dent).
Just noticed that Nebraska also has former bruin Berke Buyuktuncel. No idea how he is doing this year
Mich wins 75-72. Nebraska is the better team. They had the lead most of the way but got killed by home cookin.' NEBRASKA 3 OF 4 FROM THE LINE; MICH 19 OF 23! Burkie played huge minutes and guarded Mara most of the time trying to push him out of position. Mara was mostly a non-factor due to 3 point shooting and long rebounds. Neb: very good cutting, passing 3-point shooting team. Mich: very physical, yet no fouls called against them.
I came away from that game incredibly impressed with Nebraska and absolutely dumbfounded by Michigan. That is a game Michigan should have won handily, especially with Nebraska going without two of their top 3 scorers and giving up a ton on the interior as a result. This was a game Mara should have dominated in, and instead he was just a bystander for most of it. If anything, the whole thing just made me more puzzled by Mara's decision to go to Michigan (not to leave UCLA, mind you), because he's so clearly the third banana and is the weakest of the three interior options the Wolverines have. It doesn't help that Nebraska essentially negated him on defense, which was his big calling card. Michigan's guard play is pretty suspect and they run too much stuff outside of Johnson and Lendeborg, who I think are tremendous players.
Berke had a really good game, but in general he's a glue guy at Nebraska, a starting four that doesn't bring much in the way of points or rebounds but does play with physicality.
You know how we have all been calling for Mick to demote Dailey to the bench because of his inconsistent production? Berke for Nebraska is worse than Dailey is for us. But they’re a top 5 team this year and that allows them to overlook Berke’s shortcomings.
As for Mara, I think before conference play had started, there could’ve been an argument that he was flourishing in May’s system. But turns out, he just stat-padded against early season cupcakes and Wake Forest which is basically the doormat of the ACC (and they needed OT to beat them). He hasn’t cracked 7 rebounds since 12/21 against La Salle, dropping his reb average in the year. He’s only cracked 25 mins once in conference play despite close-ish games, which seems to lend credence to the conditioning issues he’s had. a lot of people here criticize Mara’s development at ucla, I would argue that Dusty May has actually done worse in developing Mara over the course of the season. The leap Mara made from Freshman to Sophomore year is far bigger the leap he’s made under May. In fact, Mara seems to have made no improvement this year and just seems to coast along jsut by being big and tall
Agree with both DD and Chen......In my post above, I lamented not having Mara and I hadn't watched him all year. I also didn't see him for the first 7 minutes of the Nebraska game either. It is clear to me as well, that Mara is not a top tier big man for them. He showed nothing that exhibited a "jump" from last year to this one despite May supposedly being a "big man guru." He struggled with the physicality of Burkie.....who is six inches shorter, still can't shoot, but was throwing his body all over the floor.
I just read that Nebraska was missing two of their best players last night: Rienk Mast, a 6'10" senior and Braden Frager, a redshirt freshman wing. If that team I saw last night, with their passing, cutting, 3-point shooting and timely defense, was without their two best players, then, shockingly, IMHO, Nebraska has somehow compiled the best team in the conference.