ORU at So. Dakota State

[theeagleman5]

Cha-Ching!!!  $$$$..... MAX 3 pointer at the buzzer steals victory from the Jaws of Defeat for TheEagleman....first win of the month so glad to have it any way I can get it....tough loss for ORU.... always a tall task in Brookings.... hopefully a week of rest will help the guys get ready for Denver....

[Old Titan]

Eye-opening stats tell the tale:

• ORU 13-42 from three for 31%
• ORU 1-1 from the free throw line, SDSU 16-20.
• Max crowded out of scoring column by FIVE other players shooting five or more threes.  Max shot 40% (4-of-10), the other five (Weaver, Jurgens, Thompson, Phipps and McBride) shot 30% (9-of-30)

[vcboy2000]

Kudos to Kareem for stepping up big time. Seems like we needed either DJ, Carlos, Francis, Trey, or Isaac to contribute more offensively to make the upset happen.

It seems like Coach Mills agreed with your assessment,  OT, that the game was called fairly. In the post-game interview he said we need to learn to defend without fouling. Seemed genuine,  but I guess it could have been "tongue in cheek".

[Old Titan]

4 minutes ago, vcboy2000 said:

It seems like Coach Mills agreed with your assessment,  OT, that the game was called fairly. In the post-game interview he said we need to learn to defend without fouling. Seemed genuine,  but I guess it could have been "tough in cheek".

Yeah, that's coach-speak for "We wuz robbed!!"

I didn't think the game was called that badly until late, when I think the refs got caught up in the moment, which always favors the home team.  For the most part, they really let both teams play in a physical contest.  ORU's fouls leading to SDSU's free throws were all on the ball in the paint on shot attempts; it's not like they paraded to the line on hand-check fouls in the bonus all game long...

[Eaglefan 21]

Bottom feeders Omaha and Denver pull off upsets tonight!

[Old Titan]

The Noah Friedel saga adds another chapter tonight:  the mercurial sophomore who leads SDSU in scoring was scratched from tonight's game, apparently for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Remember that Friedel was involved in a still-undisclosed locker room incident at halftime of ORU's first game with the Jackrabbits last year in the Mabee Center, was summarily benched for the second half of that game with a towel over his head (an ORU blowout), and watched the next night's contest in street clothes behind the bench (an inspired Jackrabbits win). 

Later that week, it was announced that he would sit out the rest of the year to deal with emotional issues, so he did not play in the rubber game between the two teams in Sioux Falls, either.

This means that in four games in the past year between ORU and SDSU, arguably the best player on their team has played exactly one half.

Curious to see what his status will be in two months when the Jacks return to Tulsa...

[Old Titan]

Another thought about the free throw disparity:  it's really hard to get to the free throw line, or into the bonus, when you shoot a school-record 42 threes on the night.

Ironically, ORU's only free throw came on - you guessed it - a three-pointer by Max Abmas.

[Keenan Henderson]

ORU got behind by 13 in the second half and made a valiant comeback to tie the game with three minutes to go.  Just hard to get over the hump when you are battling from behind most of the second half on the road. 

I thought ORU had an advantage in the first five minutes of the game.  Baylor Schierman picked up two early fouls and the Eagles lead by three.  That was their window of opportunity to make a run with both Friedal and Baylor out of the game.  It just shows that SDSU has a lot of weapons including 2020 Summit League player of the year Douglas Wilson.  He has been a thorn in the Eagles side for the last three years.