by Chicagojayfan » Sun Dec 17, 2023 8:39 am
What a fun game. We've all been on edge due to the 2 losses this year, but also because some of the teams we expected to be good really just weren't that good when we played them. The 2 losses showed we have weaknesses (what team doesn't), but this was the kind of game that shows what this team can be.
- Tough and gritty to overcome Kalkbrenner's injury.
- Playing the kind of athletic team that was supposed to be a big weakness for us
- Winning when the 3 PT shots were hard to come by and mostly weren't falling
- playing a physical game with lots of contact on both ends of the court
And with all of that we managed to find a way to win. Just a great team win
***********
Great to have the big 3 back to playing the way we expect in these games.
* Kalk was the difference maker in the second half, changing things offensively and defensively in the midst of playing hurt.
* Trey came back with a vengeance when we needed him most. It's not just that he's been missing 3's lately, but he's been missing in the paint and in the mid-range lately. It was a big slump and it was killing us. Last night that all changed. Against a long and athletic Bama team he was 3/5 at the rim and 5/9 from mid range for 8/14 from 2 PT range, and 6/8 from FT line (and he probably could have had a lot more of those)
* Baylor is taking on a bigger and bigger role in the offense. Most forwards who can stay with him on the perimeter have a hard time with how physical he is inside, and his handle and passing are excellent for his size as well. 9 assists last night, 6 rebounds, 2/5 at the rim, and 2/7 from 3 PT
* We are going to live and die by how those 3 play, but there were a lot of bright spots on the roster otherwise. Ashworth got 12 pts, 2/6 from 3 PT range (1 taken away with the moving screen call on King and a huge one late in the game), got 1 at the rim even, and 4/4 from the line, including 2 big ones late.
* Bello played hard and we mostly ran Sears off the 3 PT line all night (we don't really have anyone who can play him, but most teams don't have a guy to match him either - he put up 35 against Purdue w/ 8/16 from 3 PT range and 27 against Oregon)
* Credit to King, Traudt, Green and the team for scrapping when Kalk was out in the first half. I was shocked that we were able to stay close and go into the half at a tie. Yes, it showed how important Kalkbrenner is to us, but those guys scrapped hard despite being overmatched
* Special credit to Miller - just did a ton of good things last night. His 2 3PT shots came at big times and he nailed them, but his D was good all night across a few different players, and he even had a block late that was at a big moment. Great to see his confidence growing in pretty much every game he plays now
***********
How good is Alabama? Very good, IMO. The computer systems LOVE them (Kenpom 9th, Barttorvik 5th) and I can see why. They take great shots, score on about anyone, get second chances, and can get to defenses in a lot of different ways. Their coaching is also very good as well - it was fun watching the chess match between Mac and Oats. They like the same shots for their team and did a good job planning to take them away for each other's team!
They do have 2 weaknesses - Interior Defense just doesn't have the kind of guys to slow down centers like Kalk or Edey and their defenders will foul out, but beyond that, they foul A LOT. They definitely take the strategy of daring the officials to blow the whistle. The refs last night tried to be balanced, but ended up not calling a lot of their contact (e.g., the over the back block that put Bello on the floor in the second half, but there was a lot of over the back, a lot of slapping and bumping on D on almost every trip trip down the floor). That will be a potential problem for them during the season as the officials will have choices to make and some games will be called more tightly than last nights (despite the complaints from their fans)
Either way, this will be a very good win for us at the end of the year, and it was a perfect kind of win for us going into BE play
