ORU vs. UTSA Predictions....

[OKC Eagle]

Here is my court side game summary: Aaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Old Titan]

Just got back from Stillwater.

Gut-wrenching: first, watching us hand the other team a 15-point lead like it was suddenly radioactive; then, watching us lose the game from the free throw line in crunch time.

This team continues to perplex: right when I'm ready to dismiss them as over-rated and under-achieving, they muster up the heart to rally and take yet another game to the wire - only to rip your heart out by not sealing the deal late.

The poster boy for this is Niles: his 3-point shooting gives us big leads and gets us back into games, but his shoddy passing, cavalier defense, and inexplicably bad free throw shooting has cost us dearly now in back-to-back losses.

I just don't know what to think right now, except this: it appears that for yet another season, absolutely NOTHING is going to come easy for the boys in blue, as it already feels like a month's worth of disappointment in just the first week of the season.

Win OR lose, it looks like it's going to be a long, long year...

[SOLO_Gold]

I've been trying to describe how disappointing that loss is and inevitably I keep deleting everything that I type. This team appears destined to follow the same underachieving pattern of the last 4 years.

With all due respect to our coaching staff --- TAKE A FRIGGIN TIME OUT BEFORE THE LEAD IS GONE!!

....

Looking ahead to tonight's game, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we drop this game too. The likelihood of last night's loss haunting our team tonight (and maybe throughout the rest of the season) is high. We can also probably wave goodbye to a televised ESPN Bracketbuster game. Ugh.

[tmh8286]

Win OR lose, it looks like it's going to be a long, long year...

Kind of amazing how quickly the bright hopes of the off-season are dashed . . .

Having a hard time facing the morning right now.

[theeagleman5]

_{A short night's sleep hasn't made the pain lessen much....tough loss....TheEagleman will be thinking about it on the plane all the way back to Philly today....let's hope the good guys in blue have some gas left in the tank to beat UAPB tonight....they looked really bad in game 1 vs. OSU.....ORU is the better team and should win but who know.....we need more than 7 guys on the floor....DBH....come back!!!.......I'll predict a close win tonight....can't go 0-3....can we?.......74-69 ORU.....}

[oruvoice]

Glad to hear that the Eagleman got to Stillwater and had great seats with some of ORU's finest! Safe travels back to Philly.

I have been under the weather, so just stayed home and listened on the radio. Even decided to turn it off and go to sleep at halftime, up 15. Was STUNNED to wake up and see that we lost.

Oh well, I guess the good news is that I didn't stay up and listen to the second half, because I wouldn't have been able to sleep. As it was, I got a full 8 hours of rest knowing that we had gotten a nice Win and had a chance at OSU and a trip to Madison Square Garden, with 2 games on ESPN!

[Old Titan]

The ONLY upside to this debacle (if you call it an "upside") is that we are now officially in the running to host a 4-team NIT consolation bracket "pod" at the Mabee Center next Monday and Tuesday night.

We should know something by tomorrow (Thursday). If we could muster up a win against a smallish yet talented Arkansas-Pine Bluff team tonight in Stillwater, then manage to sweep a couple of games at home next week, this whole NIT experience might not be such a bad thing after all.

[tmh8286]

_{A short night's sleep hasn't made the pain lessen much....tough loss....TheEagleman will be thinking about it on the plane all the way back to Philly today....let's hope the good guys in blue have some gas left in the tank to beat UAPB tonight....they looked really bad in game 1 vs. OSU.....ORU is the better team and should win but who know.....we need more than 7 guys on the floor....DBH....come back!!!.......I'll predict a close win tonight....can't go 0-3....can we?.......74-69 ORU.....}

Sorry to miss you last night, eagleman. Meeting you, actually more than seeing the game live, made me want to make the trip down, but I'm at an age where late nights and early mornings don't mix so well any more. Wish I could have been there with you guys - sounded like a great group of guys to watch the game with - ORU has no more dedicated group of fans (locally that is! ) than those you were with last night.

Maybe we'll get a chance to cross paths in the future . . .

[tmh8286]

The ONLY upside to this debacle (if you call it an "upside") is that we are now officially in the running to host a 4-team NIT consolation bracket "pod" at the Mabee Center next Monday and Tuesday night.

We should know something by tomorrow (Thursday). If we could muster up a win against a smallish yet talented Arkansas-Pine Bluff team tonight in Stillwater, then manage to sweep a couple of games at home next week, this whole NIT experience might not be such a bad thing after all.

That's lipstick on a pig, OT, but it's better than nothing. It would actually be fun to go to a couple games at Mabee Center next week even if they are in the loser's bracket.

I'm just thinking we need to get something positive happening for thes guys. I would have hated to be in the locker room with Scott last night, based on his demeanor on the radio in the post-game interview . . .

[eagle-eye]

That's lipstick on a pig, OT, but it's better than nothing. It would actually be fun to go to a couple games at Mabee Center next week even if they are in the loser's bracket.

I'm just thinking we need to get something positive happening for thes guys. I would have hated to be in the locker room with Scott last night, based on his demeanor on the radio in the post-game interview . . .

In the locker room after the game is waaaaay, waaaaay to late. It should have been in a time-out early in the second half.

[ORUTerry]

Some random observations from the game in Stillwater last night:

1. It was good to see Eagleman, OKC Eagle and other ORU fans in GIA.

2. We played well in the latter part of the first half; Manghum and Lliteras gave us quality minutes. In fact we established/extended the lead with them in the game.

3. Losing a 15 point lead in the second half was inexplicable and painful. We couldn't hit anything and they extended the zone defense out with more energy/pressure.

4. Do we get extra credit for having timeouts left after the game? Would it have killed us to have used a timeout and then call a set play?

5. What is with our inbounds plays? Do we have anything other than throwing it way down the court and having Pearson catch up with it? What is up with that?

6. I know that UTSA was playing a zone defense, but Craion seemed a bit passive on offense. He only scored 4 points. We need more production from him.

7. NIles plays so impassively/indifferent; I wish he had more fire. Missing all of those free throws is maddening. He was short arming all of them.

8. Roundtree played well and did not pick up his first (and only) foul until late (2 minutes left) in the game - and that was a very questionable foul. He also hit most of his free throws - except the last one.

[oruvoice]

The ONLY upside to this debacle (if you call it an "upside") is that we are now officially in the running to host a 4-team NIT consolation bracket "pod" at the Mabee Center next Monday and Tuesday night.

We should know something by tomorrow (Thursday). If we could muster up a win against a smallish yet talented Arkansas-Pine Bluff team tonight in Stillwater, then manage to sweep a couple of games at home next week, this whole NIT experience might not be such a bad thing after all.

The next three games are HUGE. Have to beat UAPB and need to sweep two at home (presumably).

Good to see Jake and Mikey making contributions! Haven't lost faith yet. A couple of nice wins and a healthy DBH will make a WORLD of difference. Fingers crossed.

[ORUTerry]

^{Manghum and Lliteras were pleasant surpises. They both played decent on defense and did not look lost. We probably should have played Lliteras more in the second half. Having DBH back will make a huge difference. But I don't think he will be back until next week or so.}

[donkeylarry]

Ok, I'm back from the dead. What in the world happened last night? How does Craion only get 4 points? I'm a Cubs fan to the end and therefore familiar with curses. I wish we could pinpoint the one on our back with the ACL problems, injuries and crazy stuff that happens year in and year out. I was (and still am) so excited about this year, but wish for once we'd get to go through a full schedule with all of our guys and compete the way we do in our heads and on paper before the season starts.

I think we'll take alot from this game going forward and personally glad I didn't see this unfolding before my very eyes last night before that shot went in at the buzzer. I might be waking up in a Stillwater "facility" this morning.

[tmh8286]

Well said, DL, and welcome back!

[ORUTerry]

I was there and it was not fun; I had trouble sleeping last night. Of course I also have a bad cold.

This team is still capable and with DBH is talented enough to win a lot of games. We need everyone (players and coaches) to get in stride and play/coach better. It is as much mental as it is physical.

[OKC Eagle]

Priority #1 has to be to figure out the scoring droughts. They are a common occurrence (usually, but not always, at the start of the 2nd half) for as long as I can remember. A quicker time out could not have hurt, but I am not convinced the fix is that simple. We finally started to turn things around when we switched Domo for Tree at the high post and Domo was able to do his thing close to the basket. It just seems that our attitude during the droughts is to keep doing the same thing and push through, but when the defense is not working, the score changes quickly. It would be nice to have some bread and butter plays that give a new look to the defense that gets us out of the rut.

[ManiacAlum]

Just no excuse to keep losing games like this. Sad part is that it wasn't all that surprising.

1. It's not even like opposing teams sorta work and fight and eventually crawl back into games. We come out in the 2nd half and immediately hand over leads... Rod turns the ball over 15 seconds into the 2nd half, UTSA hits their first 4 shots, meanwhile we go on to have 3 more turnovers and 3 missed shots within our first 7 possessions.

2. They cut our lead from 15 down to 8 in less than 2:30, and apparently that still wasn't enough to call a TO. Probably needed one even before then.

3. We're in the bonus by the 15:00 mark of the 2nd half. Shoulda been "Domo-time". Instead he gets his 3rd and 4th fouls less than a minute apart. This is where we missed DBH big time. We're not beating anyone firing up 3's against a zone.

4. Niles 2-7 from the line and 5 turnovers. Are you kidding? He continues to be a complete wild-card, but I'm starting to give up hope of him having a big game in which ORU wins close. If it's too many minutes, then Manghum should see more time.

5. Craion was MIA.

6. I think Pearson picked up his 5th foul in the backcourt with about 5 min left. Ridiculous.

7. Tree without foul trouble is scary good.

8. This was just a game we had to have, for so many reasons (Suttons, Southland, OSU, NIT, etc.). Blowing a 15-pt lead makes it embarrassing. Veteran teams going to the NCAA tournament don't lose games that way. Until proven otherwise, it's hard to believe the hype. We look like the same team as 2 years ago.