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Howard @ Oregon State

35

7pm tip.

Howard is not a good team, but the Beav's D is so bad, that no game is a given. If nothing changes, conference play will be a hair-pulling experience for fans. It's bad basketball, that personally I can't watch. I tune in for five minutes each game just to see if anything has changed. It hasn't. I think people are going to be complaining about Craig Robinson in a few weeks when the real schedule begins.

Some said Cunningham leaving wasn't a big deal, that other guys were ready to blossom and step up. I don't see it that way. To me, this looks like a bad basketball team with guys who haven't "taken the next step", and now with JC gone, they're being exposed.

35 COMMENTS

  1. With Cunningham, do you think the current team would have made the NCAA Tournament? I still have my doubts. Especially with Brandt out. Olaf can bring some scoring if he’s on, but more often that not he’s off. His defense has been pretty terrible too.

  2. Meh… we’re seeing the frosh play a lot and trying to figure out the front court line-up without Brandt.

    Tuning in is a bore because all the experimentation looks like a fire drill instead of a hoops game.

    But they’ll still be up by 25 with five or six minutes left regardless. And that may be the biggest reason to not tune in. It IS a foregone conclusion. We would see a better game if we just played orange/black games instead. And we wouldn’t have all the experimentation since our team split in two would only allow six or so players per side.

  3. A few observations:

    The offense needs better spacing/more shooters – At one point during the last game I saw a lineup of Nelson, Reid, Moreland, Burton, and Collier out on the floor. That leaves us with only one guy whos any threat at all to shoot a jump shot and allows the D to just plant themselves in the key so even though we have a height advantage it doesn’t matter because the lane is so clogged. This why Brandt will be missed.

    Our stars need to be more consistent – Starks, Nelson, and Collier all average about 15 points per game. Unfortunately it’s because on a given night two go off and one doesn’t show up. If we could actually get 15 from those three every game we could win some games.

    (Surprise!) Burton Sucks – The defense won’t improve until Burton rides the pine, he’s just too small and slow to guard anyone he’s matched up with. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if he was a high motor guy that used his strength to throw people around on the boards but on top of his physical shortcomings he’s a lazy, loose player on both ends.

  4. it sucks losing brandt in addition to cunningham, but you can’t really say that’s why the defense has been so awful. i had big hopes after the 2K classic, but this team resembles last year’s in waaaay to many ways. based on what i’ve seen i would guess they’ll get six or seven conference wins and another CBI bid but maybe NIT is still a reasonable possibility.

  5. The Beavers need to get Olaf in the game ASAP. Simply cannot play with Burton, Collier and Moreland together, especially when Roberto and Ahmad aren’t both in the game. Shooting is far too limited and teams can pack the paint.

  6. And when someone does drive, they can’t finish. Do other teams struggle with this? Seems other teams, even if they’re bad, can finish when in the lane…

    • It’s brutal, I don’t even understand what kind of offense they are trying to run. Why is Moreland on the outside when he is not going to take that shot or is a threat to take the shot? And can Burton develop a 12 foot jump shot in 4 years? You can tell the opposition watches film on him, they completely lay off and defend 3 feet from the basket.

    • I don’t get it.

      ?

      Btw… UNM has had a weaker schedule than the Beavs thus far, and they have yet to lose because of it. You could make an argument for their UCONN win, but UCONN is going to be a mess for a couple years. But they’re still ranked 15 or 16 in the polls. That’s what perception does for you.

      Here’s how screwy the RPI is. We’re 162 at 8-2 with wins over NMSU (126 at 5-6) and Niagara (157 at 5-6). Niagara also beat NMSU, so wtf man?

  7. The Pac-12 is worse this year, I didn’t think that would be possible. The end of Oregon-UTEP was cringe-worthy, like almost every game I’ve watched involving a Pac-12 team. If Arizona loses more than two games in conference play I’ll be shocked. The rest of the conference will make some mediocre team look good, probably Cal or UCLA.

  8. Offense was okay tonight, defense was terrible again. They give up so many easy baskets. On offense, they don’t get many, and rely too much on 3s. It’s a bad formula.

    I like what I saw from Reid. Needs some maturing and confidence, but his aggressive drives were promising. I can’t believe I watched an entire basketball game. Slow night. lol

  9. just got home from the game and I gotta say that was a pathetic effort. Howard is awful. A good team runs them out of the gym by 40. Barton brings nothing to the table. Absolutely a wasted scholarship. Burton continues with his stupid dribbling and horrible passing. One of his stupid passes went off the side of the backboard. He did manage to shut me up by making one of his trademark circus shots in the 2nd half. Starks was MIA again but did make 3 of his 3 pt shots. Not sure what his problem is but that’s 3 games in a row he has been a non factor. More of the same with too many turnovers. Unless something changes this team will struggle in conference play. On a good note I did see some good things out of Jarmal Reid for the first time this year. The streak of not making the NCAA tournament will continue.

    • If they continue to play this way, I’m not sure San Diego in Vegas or even Towson at home are sure wins. Towson is a whole new team from last year’s disaster with three Big East transfers and they only lost to Georgetown 46-40. I just think they are ripe for getting knocked off by the mid-major.

      I don’t feel good about league play either and really all I want to see is a .500 record which would be a small breakthrough in the CR era.

    • I like Barton okay. He gets the team into their sets and doesn’t try to do stuff that is outside of his abilities. Burton is becoming more and more of a liability which is sad. The team is really at its best with Berto creating. It seems to me like Starks is struggling to adjust to this. His spacing is awful off the ball. He seems to be a drag on the team.

  10. I see that after the Towson game at Gill they’re having an Alamo Bowl watching party. If I was in town I would seriously consider going to this.

  11. I watched the game and I don’t see any vocal leaders out on the court. Just a bunch of followers trying to follow the followers. I do have to give credit to Moreland as his game is improved over last year.

  12. This kind of play will not hold up in conference play at all.

    Couple of major things I see that need to be fixed.

    1. If a guy is going to post up, don’t take the entry pass way off the block. Everytime Burton posts up and receives the pass, he moves off the block and gives up position and moves out of his range. Then does something stupid. If he stayed down there, he could have a easier time finding cutters and a much higher chance of making a basket with his jump hook. Collier does this too. Establish your position and keep it.

    2. Like the entire world, I see a lot of standing around on offense. Waiting around for something…..virtually no off the ball movement. Let’s the defense basically rest.

    3. It seems like the players are creating their own shots versus the offense sets creating the shot. Plays seem to breakdon at a high percentage.

    4. If they run pick and roll, run it with Collier and Nelson. No more Burton.

    • numbers 2 and 3. Highly agree. I don’t even know what kind of an offense we run anymore. Other than a ball screen around the 3 pt line I don’t see much movement from players without the ball. Also let me add rebounding. How do you let ONE guy get an offensive rebound when we have THREE standing near the basket. How you ask? There is one word in that sentence that sticks out like a turd in a punchbowl. Standing. Get your butt in front of someone and box them out. Our team seems to lack some basic fundamental skills and its highly irritating.

  13. umm starks…whats your deal? I know you’re sick but that was another big no show.

    Burton. Graduate already

    Collier: BEG CRAIG TO START YOU

    Nelson: you are one awkward basketball player but thank god you show up most nights.

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