Old Titan Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 ...a few mid-season observations, as ORU limps into Summit League play at 4-10: 1. The team has actually improved from the beginning of the season, particularly since the FGCU game, but that's not saying much, as the record indicates (only two D-1 wins, vs. teams that will likely have losing records themselves this year). Basically, ORU has progressed from "really bad" to "kinda mediocre". The questions remains: how high is their ceiling this season? All things considered, are they now simply playing as well as they are capable, or is there still some genuine potential for further improvement with this bunch? 2. As I've stated for years, the difference between winning and losing down the stretch in close games is Point. Guard. Play. And since ORU hasn't had decent point guard play in years, nor do they have a "go to" scorer in crunch time this season, it's hard to like their chances in any game where they don't have a double-digit lead at the final media timeout, especially on the road. 3. That being said, I now actually think ORU has a decent chance to win their conference home games against the lower half of the league. But otherwise, I don't like their chances in ANY road game, or when the Dakota schools and IPFW visit (UND being the exception). Throw in an outlier or two along the way, and you're looking at a 5-11 conference record and a 7th or 8th place finish, qualifying for the conference tournament but drawing SDSU or USD for a quick first-round exit. That would put the final record at 9-22. Which, if you're keeping score at home. is terrible. 4. If Chris Miller hasn't figured out by now how to stay out of foul trouble, he never will. See: "Roundtree, Steven (2010-2013)". It's an absolute shame; the guy has some skills. 5. Will there EVER be a big enough game that Paul Mills will wear a tie? Maybe if ORU played Baylor? 6. I would bet a modest amount of money that SDSU goes undefeated in league play. It's not their best squad of the Mike Daum era, but there's a wider gap this year between both he and SDSU vs. the other top players & teams in the conference. Best chances of them tripping up are at USD or IPFW. But that's pretty much it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU GRAD Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 12 hours ago, Old Titan said: 12 hours ago, Old Titan said: ...a few mid-season observations, as ORU limps into Summit League play at 4-10: 1. The team has actually improved from the beginning of the season, particularly since the FGCU game, but that's not saying much, as the record indicates (only two D-1 wins, vs. teams that will likely have losing records themselves this year). Basically, ORU has progressed from "really bad" to "kinda mediocre". The questions remains: how high is their ceiling this season? All things considered, are they now simply playing as well as they are capable, or is there still some genuine potential for further improvement with this bunch? 2. As I've stated for years, the difference between winning and losing down the stretch in close games is Point. Guard. Play. And since ORU hasn't had decent point guard play in years, nor do they have a "go to" scorer in crunch time this season, it's hard to like their chances in any game where they don't have a double-digit lead at the final media timeout, especially on the road. 3. That being said, I now actually think ORU has a decent chance to win their conference home games against the lower half of the league. But otherwise, I don't like their chances in ANY road game, or when the Dakota schools and IPFW visit (UND being the exception). Throw in an outlier or two along the way, and you're looking at a 5-11 conference record and a 7th or 8th place finish, qualifying for the conference tournament but drawing SDSU or USD for a quick first-round exit. That would put the final record at 9-22. Which, if you're keeping score at home. is terrible. 4. If Chris Miller hasn't figured out by now how to stay out of foul trouble, he never will. See: "Roundtree, Steven (2010-2013)". It's an absolute shame; the guy has some skills. 5. Will there EVER be a big enough game that Paul Mills will wear a tie? Maybe if ORU played Baylor? 6. I would bet a modest amount of money that SDSU goes undefeated in league play. It's not their best squad of the Mike Daum era, but there's a wider gap this year between both he and SDSU vs. the other top players & teams in the conference. Best chances of them tripping up are at USD or IPFW. But that's pretty much it. I have to agree with you for the most part but hope they can win 10 games. If they could play two 20 minute halves like the first half, maybe they could be more competitive. We have good athletes but the coaching needs to be able to adjust after halftime to what the other team adjustments make. That means a quick timeout to correct those adjustments in the first few minutes of the 2nd. half. Personally, I don't give a hoot about a tie. That is the least of my worries at this juncture of the season. I have seen improvement in the team and hope they can learn how to win. Time will tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 TheEagleman can't disagree with any of the above....sure would have liked to see Milton at PG but we will have to wait another year....Weaver and Obanor look like keepers....E-Man has his ups and downs....too many turnovers....gonna be a long cold winter.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Cornelius Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 On 12/24/2018 at 12:23 AM, Old Titan said: ...a few mid-season observations, as ORU limps into Summit League play at 4-10: 2. As I've stated for years, the difference between winning and losing down the stretch in close games is Point. Guard. Play. And since ORU hasn't had decent point guard play in years, nor do they have a "go to" scorer in crunch time this season, it's hard to like their chances in any game where they don't have a double-digit lead at the final media timeout, especially on the road. Yep. Can't win without good PG play. On 12/24/2018 at 12:23 AM, Old Titan said: 6. I would bet a modest amount of money that SDSU goes undefeated in league play. It's not their best squad of the Mike Daum era, but there's a wider gap this year between both he and SDSU vs. the other top players & teams in the conference. Best chances of them tripping up are at USD or IPFW. But that's pretty much it. This might not be the BEST overall team since Daum has been at SDSU but David Jenkins ( 19.8 PPG) is probably the best player Daum has had along side him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeagleman5 Posted December 27, 2018 Share Posted December 27, 2018 TheEagleman would take that bet....I think SDSU will win the Summit title but they won't go undefeated....somebody will knock them off.....they are the Jacks not the GSW..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keenan Henderson Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 SDSU wins first league game on the road at Western Illinois by 42, 100-58! It was over before it started. 6 Jacks in double figures and Daum only had 15 points. SDSU will be hard to beat this year. The rest of the Summit League is playing for second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 North Dakota State pulls out the home win this afternoon against North Dakota 67 to 65. Western Illinois destroys IPFW 87 to 58 tonight in Macomb. Wow. I assume the shots were not falling for the Mastadons.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUParentLurker Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 IPFW might be the most jekll - hyde team in the history of basketball 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORU GRAD Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Against South Dakota they were amazing. What has happened? Not sure but two losses in two games is amazing to me. What happened in a week to see this slide? 50 minutes ago, ORUParentLurker said: IPFW might be the most jekll - hyde team in the history of basketball 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleManiac Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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