MBB OT Final : Louisiana 76, SMU 72

This team has stones. This will be a fun year.

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Originally Posted by CharlieK

This team has stones. This will be a fun year.

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We have signs of a really good team as this team has found ways to win in the end…. We will need it against Drake because them boys are good!

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Originally Posted by roarman

Announcer talking about a moral victory for SMU. Tell the players that. See what they think about that comment. Where do they get these guys? Geez!

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Announcer was horrible. Kept referring to Marlin as “the coach”. Knew absolutely nothing about both team. It was obvious he didn’t prepare for the game.

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Originally Posted by zephyr

This game was defined by the little things. I remember saying to myself during the middle of the game that it seemed like we were getting to all the 50/50 balls and making good defensive plays as well as rebounding. We did not shoot the ball particularly well nor did we shoot free throws well but it was the small things that mattered.

We had 16 offensive rebounds. That's UNC level stuff. We kept so many plays alive with those boards that led to second chance points. We also had 9 steals and 8 blocks. I thought our perimeter guys were particularly effective defensively led by Williams.

Yes, Thomas is a work in progress and he's maddening to watch but he also led us in assists and played well defensively. He also played 26 minutes to Fulks' 21 so coach saw more effectiveness in his play than Fulks which I wouldn't argue although he dribbles WAY too much.

This was that type of game I discussed. We got a lot more production and minutes out of our bench than we had before with Lewis and Fulks being sidelined as well as Garnett who all played over 30 minutes in the La Tech game. We had to have production and minutes from the bench and we got it. That's a grow up game and it may do more for Charles, Thomas and Dalcourt than we know.

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I said the same about “
we were getting to all the 50/50 balls“. That is very promising for basketball.

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Originally Posted by cjr3888

Announcer was horrible. Kept referring to Marlin as “the coach”. Knew absolutely nothing about both team. It was obvious he didn’t prepare for the game.

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It didn’t take me long to sync up Mr Walker on the Varsity app. He struggled a little when coach was standing in his way from seeing the action, but like the the Cajuns last night he came back strong. Finished off the game with a run and CAJUNS WIN.

Nice win for our team and “FANS”.

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Originally Posted by cjr3888

Announcer was horrible. Kept referring to Marlin as “the coach”. Knew absolutely nothing about both team. It was obvious he didn’t prepare for the game.

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Why are you listening to the bias tv announcers when we’ve got a really good radio man who is better than them. Would it be nice if we could add a color guy, of course but we know that’s not going to happen.

8 blocks and a bunch of TO's...thats good, grinding defense

Excellent win I enjoyed watching the game and listening to Jay’s call.

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Originally Posted by fanof71

8 blocks and a bunch of TO's...thats good, grinding defense

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In the current world of college basketball 12 in not a bunch of turnovers. I have been impressed with the fact that as a team we have cut down on the unnecessary turnovers this season.

As a team we have a total of 58 through 5 games or roughly 11.6 per game. We have forced 70 turnovers on the season or average of 14 per game.

The blocks could be concerning but most of those were Thomas and/or Fulks getting in amongst the trees and getting stuck without a passing option. Those are mistakes that can be unlearned. But they are trying to make things happen with our bigs and/or three point shooters.

The only thing that drives me nuts is Brown’s habit of playing small sometimes. He needs his hands above his head not waist high.

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Originally Posted by RaginDave

In the current world of college basketball 12 in not a bunch of turnovers. I have been impressed with the fact that as a team we have cut down on the unnecessary turnovers this season.

As a team we have a total of 58 through 5 games or roughly 11.6 per game. We have forced 70 turnovers on the season or average of 14 per game.

The blocks could be concerning but most of those were Thomas and/or Fulks getting in amongst the trees and getting stuck without a passing option. Those are mistakes that can be unlearned. But they are trying to make things happen with our bigs and/or three point shooters.

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Cajuns had 8 blocks and caused timely turnovers...

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Originally Posted by RaginDave

In the current world of college basketball 12 in not a bunch of turnovers. I have been impressed with the fact that as a team we have cut down on the unnecessary turnovers this season.

As a team we have a total of 58 through 5 games or roughly 11.6 per game. We have forced 70 turnovers on the season or average of 14 per game.

The blocks could be concerning but most of those were Thomas and/or Fulks getting in amongst the trees and getting stuck without a passing option. Those are mistakes that can be unlearned. But they are trying to make things happen with our bigs and/or three point shooters.

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We have played the last two games against some pretty tough defences; I was impressed with how we have dealt with that so far and our ability to close out these games.

To put the turnovers in perspective. On the season.

Duke has 61 turnovers through 5 games. 12 per.

UNC has 39 through 4 games. 10 per

Gonzaga has 70 through 4 games. 17 per.

I can live with 12 per as long as they aren’t careless turnovers. Turnovers come in all shapes and sizes. For instance the turnover that SMU got early in the 2nd half was a mix of carelessness on our part and a great play on theirs. The turnover (charge) that Michael Thomas took and the play by joe Charles late in the game were just great plays. The play where SMU through the ball away on a fast break and the one where they stepped out of bounds on a fast break were 100% carelessness. If we eliminate the careless ones or at least cut down on them I am fine with 10-12 per game. It is the careless ones that kill you. So far we have done a good job of keeping those to a minimum.

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Originally Posted by RaginDave

To put the turnovers in perspective. On the season.

Duke has 61 turnovers through 5 games. 12 per.

UNC has 39 through 4 games. 10 per

Gonzaga has 70 through 4 games. 17 per.

I can live with 12 per as long as they aren’t careless turnovers. Turnovers come in all shapes and sizes. For instance the turnover that SMU had early in the 2nd half was a mix of carelessness on our part and a great play on theirs. The turnover (charge) that Michael Thomas room and the play by joe Charles late in the game were just great plays. The play where SMU through the ball away on a fast break and the one where they stepped out of bounds on a fast break were 100% carelessness. If we eliminate the careless ones or at least cut down on them I am fine with 10-12 per game. It is the careless ones that kill you. So far we have done a good job of keeping those to a minimum.

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Man, that guy ployed into MT!

This team is fun to watch and it appears (so far) that they will be pretty good. What a change after so many mediocre seasons over the past few years. However, I should probably take some credit for the teams much improved performance. I gave up my season tickets this season after having them for 25-30 years! I decided that I no longer enjoyed attending UL Basketball games and would just buy individual game tickets for the games I wanted to attend. This also allowed me to save paying the additional "Per Seat Donation" for a less than enjoyable experience in recent seasons. So give me some credit, for making a change in my support of UL Basketball. This must have influenced this team and they are apparently trying to win my support back!