USC Upstate game thread

Mr. Keen

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Before I say anything else, let me open by saying that USC-U deserved this win. They hustled way more than us on both offense & defense and they had some really good shooters canning 3s. I believe this is the 3rd year in a row they've pulled an upset like this.

Today's loss is 100% on Brian Gregory on multiple levels and the idea that he floated in a post game quote that we're worn out after 5 games in 8 days is a cop-out, given our depth.

  • Several players are having difficulty in perimeter defense. While their shooters would've made us pay regardless, if we'd have played more zone defense, at least we would've kept track of their players. Too often, we're just flat out getting lost on defense, leaving a jump shooter wide open.
  • We actually made some great adjustments at half time to take a lead, but it was disappointing to not see those adjustment through... getting the ball down low, driving the lane, generating more fouls. I don't care if Cox misses all of his FTs if we've fouled 3 of their players out and they lose that offense. We were in the 1&1 with 12 to go and up for 2 shots with 7 to go, but none of USC-U's players fouled out. You've gotta exploit that weakness.
  • With a quick opponent that was far & away out-hustling us, we couldn't afford to have both Cox & Mitchell in simultaneously. When we went to a smaller lineup, we were able to recover better on defense.
  • The ill-advised 3ptrs, often times too early in the clock, need to stop.
  • We knew 2 weeks ago this game was going to have little to no crowd to lift up the team. That needs to be understood well in advance and the coaches need to be motivational enough to get the players up to fight through that. BG's teams at GT have almost always played with strong effort. If they'd have shown that from beginning to end tonight, we're likely in better position at the end of the game. Very poor energy & toughness tonight.
It's just really disappointing that we could have won this game, given post halftime adjustments, and instead we moved away from the successful adjustments and gave the game away through lack of effort.
Cox and Mitchell should never ever ever ever ever ever ever be on the court together. If all the other players have fouled out and Cox and Mitchell are the only 2 players left - you still sit either Cox or Mitchell and go 1 on 5! Big men are meaningless in College basketball!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Daniel Miller actually was the perfect big guy - can play defense / block shots and only score on garbage around the rim. Put four 94_) 6'-0" point guards who can shoot the 3 along with Daniel Miller out there - and you've got yourself an NCAA team. It is that simple!!!!!!!!!
 

dtm1997

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USC Upstate is a scrappy team, but we still should be able to beat a team like that. We are not going to beat anybody committing turnovers and missing our outside shots like we're doing *sigh*:(
Exactly why I hope they remember it.
 

Peacone36

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It would also be nice to not have Chuck and Sampson both going to pick on the ball. It happened 3 times today that i saw. I would imagine bringing 3 defenders to the ball isnt sound strategy.

Also, lets stop trying to feed the block from the top of the key. Ya know, middle school stuff.
 

GTrob21

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This is a really bad loss. I turned on the game when we were up by 4, and then I left and came back we were down by 4. From what I saw, our boys really played horribly. 3 pointers were almost non-existent. My only hope is what a previous poster said, that this would light a fire underneath our team. GT should never be this bad at Basketball, but we are really struggling...
 

Connell62

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Ouch.. this one hurt. Ruined a great day for me.. Took my daughter to her first GT game and we lost.. WTF..

Seriously, there was a eerie vibe to this game from the start. Even during warm-ups, something just didn't seem right. The arena was dead, our guys had no energy and it carried over to our performance on the court. Not making excuses, as a team and staff, you have to overcome that type of stuff, but I had the feeling that we were going to struggle before tip-off.

This game obviously didn't do much for Gregory in terms of quieting his critics or helping his cause, but I really do think that we were ripe for the picking. 5 games in 8 days is a lot, this was a flat-spot for the team with finals on the horizon, and we fit the bill for sure. We were so flat....

Kudos to USC Upstate for playing well and taking it too us. They're a good team and it is sad to say, but they simply outplayed us and wanted it more. They made all of the hustle plays down the stretch. dtm was right, the staff must do a better job of getting these guys ready to play in these situations. With that said, I don't think that you can put our performance entirely on the staff. We have veteran guys, and they need to lead the way as well and motivate themselves and the team to fight through these types of games. We hadn't played great leading to this one, but I felt like there were several unforced turnovers and a general lack of focus from almost everyone on the team.

Oh well, flush this one and move on to the next one. This season will play out the way it will play out. All of the hysterics from those coming out and blasting away only makes the situation worse. Let the season play out and IF we prove to be as poor as many here say we are, then Bobinski will do what he needs to do. Trust me, I understand that there shouldn't be any rainbows or sunshine right now, we lost a game that we shouldn't have, but this type of thing happens in today's landscape. If you come out flat and uninspired against mid-major teams, you can easily take a L.
 
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kg01

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That's actually well-said @connell62. I've made an effort to tone down my negativity. I remember what it was like under the former administration. It became just a toxic environment and I hope we can avoid that. Obviously we can't censor each other but we gotta remember the 'fire errybody" narrative doesn't really add anything to the discussion.

We all know at the EOY we'll have a resolution one way or the other. In the meantime, let's just root for GT to win. (Hopefully I can take my own advice. :unsure:)
 

RamblinRed

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Bad loss, but not entirely unexpected (go back and look at my previous comments - if we give up a lot of threes we lose).
This game was a microcosm of all the negative traits of this team coming into focus in one game.

I also hate these games right before finals - we always look flat in those games - have for over 20 years. This is the game you schedule the weakest opponent on your schedule and hope to get out knowing the kids aren't really focused on the game.

Note that Miami got blasted at home Saturday by Green Bay and Michigan lost to NJIT. Crap happens.

Nothing positive to say about this game. No one played well. First game this year that neither PG played well. Shooting was awful (and we kept chucking). Defeating a zone is not as hard as we made it Saturday. You flash a player to the middle and hit them with a pass. And then depending upon how the defense reacts you turn and shoot a 15 footer, pass to an open wing or pass to a cutter on the low block.

GT held Upstate to 30% FG and outrebounded them by 12, but allowed 10 threes (37%) and Upstate hit their FT and outhustled GT.

Go take the finals, get the heads screwed back on see where we go from here.
RamblinRed
 

McCamish Maniacs

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Jay Bilas hit the nail on the head with regards to our loss to USC Upstate

He said we see this things around this time of the year all the time. We get to exam times and teams play big games then play games they're supposed to win. Bilas said he tells his friends who aren't basketball enthusiasts "Did you want to watch that game?" "Well no, not really" "Well what makes you think the players wanted to play in it?"

Check it out at around 4:00 below

 

Peacone36

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No. Im sorry but no. Hes talking about Michigan, who is at a completely different level as a program than us.

GT struggled with Rider, IPFW and now lost to USC Upstate. This isnt an aberration for GT like it was for Michigan.
 

McCamish Maniacs

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No. Im sorry but no. Hes talking about Michigan, who is at a completely different level as a program than us.

GT struggled with Rider, IPFW and now lost to USC Upstate. This isnt an aberration for GT like it was for Michigan.

Michigan lost to E. Michigan last night. Aberration?
 

dtm1997

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Aberration or not, here's the thing.

Is Bilas correct? Yes.

However, after halftime, we had made adjustments & taken a lead that should've been expanded had the team put forth enough effort & execution. When the effort waned, the execution failed and a revved up team pounced on us.

I get that the kids were tired based on number of games played and had low energy given the lack of crowd, but I pin this on BG. He's gotta get them motivated and demand better.

Is it the massive shock loss some of these others have been the past week or two? It's not good, but not really. That said, If we'd have kept executing our post-half adjustments, we're shooting FTs for most of the second half and probably win by a reasonable margin.

The demand to execute the game plan is on BG. His catchphrase "winning time" of the final 4 minutes was when things really fell apart once & for all.
 

Peacone36

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Yup. Even if they struggle early, Michigan is going to make the tournament. They have made it often and done well. A good program.

Do you wonder why it hasnt been a big deal in the national media that we lost to Upstate when they are talking about other bad losses around the country? It's because it's not surprising. GT is not recognized as a good program anymore
 

Connell62

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Sorry bro.. that is garbage and spin at it's best... If that is what you feel, then more power to you, but I think that you are beginning to bend reality to justify your feelings. Since Saturday, I haven't heard much about Miami losing to Green Bay or Purdue losing to North Florida from the national media. Does that mean they are not good programs too?

It has nothing to do about national recognition. If anything, it proves the point that with the level of parity and the items that Bilas mentioned that this really shouldn't be as big of a shock as you seem to think it is. It is a game that we should have won, no doubt, but I'd be willing to bet you that USC-UpState ends up a tournament team at year's end. They're not a bad team, and they caught us a very good time. Let me know about NJIT, Green Bay, or North Florida at year's end.

Michigan has now lost back-to-back games against NJIT and Eastern Michigan. You still think it is an aberration, or is it possible that their team is underachieving while their new players gel? Since Mich lost to two inferior teams, do you think that Jon Beilin forgot how to coach? You think that he didn't get his message across in practice after the loss to NJIT or that he and his staff didn't properly motivate them for the games.

I'm not trying to justify the loss against USC-Upstate.. We should have won that game, without a doubt, but your crusade to prove that Gregory is not a good coach is just over the top. Everyone knows how you feel, and I'm not even saying that you don't have a gripe, but all I ask is that we are real with each other.
 

Peacone36

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You win.
Heres to accepting mediocrity because thats what a good fan does.

How likely do you think it is though that Michigan recovers and makes the tournament and we still look like 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag the rest of the season? But thats just me "putting spin" on it I am sure.

Carry on gents. Im done beating the drum.
smh
 

McCamish Maniacs

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You win.
Heres to accepting mediocrity because thats what a good fan does.

How likely do you think it is though that Michigan recovers and makes the tournament and we still look like 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag the rest of the season? But thats just me "putting spin" on it I am sure.

Carry on gents. Im done beating the drum.
smh

A good fan doesn't accept mediocrity, but a good fan doesn't look to find the negative in literally everything. I'm actually doubting whether Michigan makes the tournament at this point, and if they do, we definitely can. We're still gelling and I'm personally excited to see what we can do the rest of the season. You don't have to say we're going to win the national championship to be a good fan, but being this pessimistic 8 games into the season doesn't make you a good fan. No one here is accepting mediocrity, we're just being optimistic and waiting for the season to play out before passing judgement.
 
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