MBB Final: Louisiana 92,Georgia State 106

[zephyr]

I hope you're right. How you match up player for player and style of play can flip the "who's the better team". I'm massively impressed with this Cajun group. It's way more the collective effort they deploy that impresses me. I guess it was acceptable to assume the Cajuns are better than everyone we faced and beat in conference... but unacceptable to think we aren't better than someone we lost to?

If we do go to the NCAA... and we lose... is it the "odds" catching up with us? You know... "you can't win them all"... or what I got earlier (it's a long season... LOL... as if it's longer for you than it is for everyone else... at any given point).

It's going to be ok. I don't take myself as serious as others. I'm not mad because we disagree. And it doesn't matter if I think we lost because "we weren't as good"... or if "the 'odds' LOL caught up with us. I didn't say we won't beat GASt when/if we play them in the conference tourney. I said they will be the strong favorite. I also think if we face Clemson or Ole Miss in the NCAAs... should that happen... they'll be favored against us. I hope that doesn't get anyone's panties in a wad.

Its a long season, everybody loses and its not always to a better opponent..LOL

I hope it doesn't get anyone's panties in a wad..LOL because I wear a thong. LOL

[zephyr]

I also expect Ga State to drop at least one on the Texas trip which I believe is the week after next... Coach should scout Texas State and see how they play D vs. Ga State. Texas State held the Panthers to just 54 points. South Al and Troy also held them in the 60's... so it can be done. Ga State even lost to Prairie View 71-56. Yikes.

They are a dribble drive and shoot team. When you are playing defense in front of them and they aren't burying shots from all over the court, they are beatable. Although the game against us would suggest otherwise, they aren't statistically a great rebounding team. As a matter of fact they rank last in our league in that regard. They are a team that if you can limit their shooting, you will limit their second chance points. I think had we avoided that goofy trap defense for much of the game, we would have been much more successful defending them and it could have been a different game.

[Just1More]

You can also be the better team, or certainly be one's equal but lose to them especially when its on the road. To go from we are the best team we've had at this university and the best team in the SBC to now we couldn't beat GSU but only 1 out of 5 times home or away is just funny. I'm not going to get into the ups and downs of conference play and how this is a natural pattern because that freaks some guys out but you can look at games and teams across the country and conference affiliations and see this happening. Last year, UNC was obviously the national champion. They won the ACC conference regular season title but one of their losses in conference was to Georgia Tech. How does that happen? I would suggest that they surely had better odds than 1 out of 5 in doing so.

First off... my throwing out 1 out of 5 isn't a hard and fast rule. But scoring 106 on this Cajun squad... heralded for many things... but most notably defense... was telling. We haven't been the least bit rattled home or away. We also don't seem to deviate from the script... almost ever... regardless of who, when or where. This team is exactly what Bob built every night. And he's built a good one.

Maybe it was an off night for us... and a great night for GASt. I just felt our flavor of ball got topped by a team that has what it takes to top it. I don't see Bob switching flavors to overcome it. That's why I think if we lined up 5 times... it would script out almost the same each time. It's almost like Bob has what it takes to beat you or he doesn't.

I felt GASt exploited our defense. I've not seen that this year for more than a 5 minute run by any SBC opponent. It never stopped with GASt. GASt isn't a great team. But Bob has built a package that covers almost every aspect of basketball very well every given minute. I don't see a lot of flex to that package... for the good or the bad.

I'm still stoked about this team. The upside is that I also think we beat the SBC teams we beat this year 3 out of 4 times we face them. It's just the way I see Bob's "system".

[Just1More]

They are a dribble drive and shoot team. When you are playing defense in front of them and they aren't burying shots from all over the court, they are beatable. Although the game against us would suggest otherwise, they aren't statistically a great rebounding team. As a matter of fact they rank last in our league in that regard. They are a team that if you can limit their shooting, you will limit their second chance points. I think had we avoided that goofy trap defense for much of the game, we would have been much more successful defending them and it could have been a different game.

I do agree with you on the trap defense. Bob is going to do what Bob does.

[Cajunsmike]

I have to agree with this. You look at our winning margin and we are double digits positive in our wins. You look at our losses and we are similar differential but in the opposite direction. You would think that a team that is 20-3 would have been pretty competitive in OOC games against teams like Wyoming and Ole Miss. Even playing Clemson you would hope for a little more of a contest although they are a legit ranked team.

I expected us to lose soon in conference. I argued with those who even talked about winning out. That really wasn't in the cards, however, i didn't expect us to defend like we did on that stage with a pretty seasoned team. We really didn't have much poise. We were blowing open layups and Marquetti looked like he was peeing his pants every time the ball left his hand.

Marquetti did have a bad game and it was not Stove's best night. For most of the year, at least one of them would be "on" so we were OK at the three spot. We can't have both of those guys struggling and expect to play well. I would not be surprised if Marquetti does well today. He seems to respond well after struggling in the previous game.

[Just1More]

Its a long season, everybody loses and its not always to a better opponent..LOL

I hope it doesn't get anyone's panties in a wad..LOL because I wear a thong. LOL

I never said they wouldn’t lose. LOL It’s exactly the same length season for everyone. LOL The better team wins more times than the lesser team. LOL When you win, it’s because you’re the better team... when the other guy wins... it’s an off night. LOL

And when you wear a thong... you can get twisted... but you don’t get wadded. LOL

[zephyr]

First off... my throwing out 1 out of 5 isn't a hard and fast rule. But scoring 106 on this Cajun squad... heralded for many things... but most notably defense... was telling. We haven't been the least bit rattled home or away. We also don't seem to deviate from the script... almost ever... regardless of who, when or where. This team is exactly what Bob built every night. And he's built a good one.

Maybe it was an off night for us... and a great night for GASt. I just felt our flavor of ball got topped by a team that has what it takes to top it. I don't see Bob switching flavors to overcome it. That's why I think if we lined up 5 times... it would script out almost the same each time. It's almost like Bob has what it takes to beat you or he doesn't.

I felt GASt exploited our defense. I've not seen that this year for more than a 5 minute run by any SBC opponent. It never stopped with GASt. GASt isn't a great team. But Bob has built a package that covers almost every aspect of basketball very well every given minute. I don't see a lot of flex to that package... for the good or the bad.

I'm still stoked about this team. The upside is that I also think we beat the SBC teams we beat this year 3 out of 4 times we face them. It's just the way I see Bob's "system".

Who took over your account the last few posts? This post is more what I've come to see from you. In all seriousness, I know the whole 1 out of 5 thing is no rule which is why I questioned it. You are right, Ga State did exploit our defense. The problem was that Marlin wanted to try some sort of weak, half court trap defense that really didn't even try to trap. We have not done this all that much this year which was puzzling to me. I think we have the athletes and defenders to defend them man to man but perhaps he was trying to run some zone to keep us out of foul trouble (Stroman) and also matchup on the perimeter because we didn't respect their interior game. The problem was they did exploit it and their big guy Sessions killed us and our defense was moving a step slow on rotation.

You pair a defensive philosophy that was ineffective along with a team that was just straight hitting shots and its a recipe for disaster. I don't think this is simply a case of playing a better team. These guys scored 30+ more points than their season average. They haven't had that type of explosion really all year. I think it was two aspects coupled together. Our terrible defense and their offense being on fire. We've defended teams in the SBC that are ranked higher than Ga State in overall offense and held them to scoring under their averages. I really think this was more of "just one of those nights" rather than them just being flat out better.

The game today will just be that much more important. Ga Southern is not a great offensive team and aren't a great shooting team but they do rebound the ball well, particularly on offense which needs to be tightened up from last game really quick.

[GeauxCajuns]

Turbine, you have to implement a character count limit on these essays people are writing.

[Turbine]

Turbine, you have to implement a character count on these essays people are writing.

Yep

[zephyr]

Turbine, you have to implement a character count limit on these essays people are writing.

Deep thoughts require deep explanation sometimes. You don't like it, you don't have to read it.

[zephyr]

I never said they wouldn't lose. LOL It's exactly the same length season for everyone. LOL The better team wins more times than the lesser team. LOL When you win, it's because you're the better team... when the other guy wins... it's an off night. LOL

And when you wear a thong... you can get twisted... but you don't get wadded. LOL

And everybody loses. LOL Look at Duke versus St. Johns. I guess St. Johns is just better. Geauxcajuns, you satisfied with the length of this post?

[Just1More]

Who took over your account the last few posts? This post is more what I've come to see from you. In all seriousness, I know the whole 1 out of 5 thing is no rule which is why I questioned it. You are right, Ga State did exploit our defense. The problem was that Marlin wanted to try some sort of weak, half court trap defense that really didn't even try to trap. We have not done this all that much this year which was puzzling to me. I think we have the athletes and defenders to defend them man to man but perhaps he was trying to run some zone to keep us out of foul trouble (Stroman) and also matchup on the perimeter because we didn't respect their interior game. The problem was they did exploit it and their big guy Sessions killed us and our defense was moving a step slow on rotation.

You pair a defensive philosophy that was ineffective along with a team that was just straight hitting shots and its a recipe for disaster. I don't think this is simply a case of playing a better team. These guys scored 30+ more points than their season average. They haven't had that type of explosion really all year. I think it was two aspects coupled together. Our terrible defense and their offense being on fire. We've defended teams in the SBC that are ranked higher than Ga State in overall offense and held them to scoring under their averages. I really think this was more of "just one of those nights" rather than them just being flat out better.

The game today will just be that much more important. Ga Southern is not a great offensive team and aren't a great shooting team but they do rebound the ball well, particularly on offense which needs to be tightened up from last game really quick.

I think the tone of a post on here can get misinterpreted quite easily. I'm never mad when I post, and I'm rarely mad even if a poster cusses me out. I like challenging people and like to be challenged. I have no problem being corrected. I actually read every side of things and use it to harden my compass or make me consider a change of direction. Often on here, it's either no real deep thought given to a subject... or it goes into full metal jacket warfare over slight differences of opinion.

I respect your take on the team this season. That includes your overall view and the details. I saw this game as a "a team broke the defensive strategy Bob's been serving". You tend to agree... but you see it as a "it happened... but it isn't a rigid recurring feature of us and them... it just happened that night". I can live with that. I can't deny that GASt has losses and other stats that don't point to a "better team". I'm a little concerned, and was trying to convey, that we are so steady this season, that we will almost always beat teams we're slightly better than (player to player, scheme for scheme) but will likely almost always lose to those who better us. I know that's not the least bit "common" for basketball. A bad night opens the door for 50 teams that a good night slams the door in their face.

Again, I seriously like this team... for reasons too hard to list. I just "worry" that they aren't built for upsets. But they're also built to not be upset. That's not always a great post season characteristic. Our great teams of the past worried me that they might take a night off. But they also seemed to be built to upset giants. And Cajun fans want to see victories of value way more than an accumulation of lower value wins. Basketball only rewards the former these days.