1. For the most part, we were excellent defensively--we forced a team which came in attempting 43% of their shots from 3 completely off the line, and then turned a lot of their back door action inside the arc into turnovers. The exception was Iggy Brazdeikis, who had a tough second half on the defensive end in pick and roll and in in one on one settings, and Brandon Johns in his one minute first half segment (blew a pick and roll, get caught on a screen, then fouled a 3 point shooter). To be fair, Air Force a rough style for a freshman to defend against, and they cut really hard. That said, he has regressed some defensively from early in the year, and he has to pick it up again.
2. Offensively, in the first half, the ball stuck way too much, and we thus settled for (and missed) way too much for 3s. Eli Brooks came in and really helped the offense--against the match-up zone Air Force played on a number of possessions (actually, they switched up a lot), he provided an extra shooter and a guy who can get in the lane and shoot off the dribble--and he was great off the ball defensively as well. In addition, his sometimes loose handle wasn't an issue against a team which does not apply great ball pressure, Overall, he played a very solid game.
3. Isaiah Livers also played well off the bench. The box score will note the 3 made 3s and 6 rebounds--it won't note the defensive rotations he made which were spectacular.
4. When Charles Matthews plays instinctively on the offensive end (and this includes catch and shoot 3s), he's terrific. When he catches the ball and hesitates, whether it's before making a move off the dribble, jab stepping, or shooting, usually things do not turn out well. His free throw form is much better, and the results are evident--after an 0-5 start in the opener, he's been a 70% free throw shooter, which is quite respectable.
5. We need to get Jon Teske back involved in the offense again. He was terrific on defense, but aside from an alley top finish, he was completely silent on the offensive end of the floor (and it wasn't as if he was passing up looks--we just did not involve him as much as we should have.
6. Air Force played very well in terms of transition defense, and we struggled more than usual in finishing. Part of it was sloppiness (Matthews throwing a lob to Zavier Simpson?), and part of it was spacing when running lanes.
7. For all the complaining about our play this month, we shot horribly in the first half, and still won comfortably. This is a very odd stretch--3 games in 22 days. Everyone goes through lulls--we often go through them mid-season (2 years ago, the first runner-up year, even last year a bit after the first MSU game). We'll be fine.
8. I thought David DeJulius looked comfortable playing with the rotation guys (not so much from the line). Johns, obviously, less so. It's a process.
9. Nice to see Colin castle ton play aggressively at the end of the game. By the way, for those who keep asking about red-shirting any of the freshmen, playing today ended that possibility for all.
10. Happy Holidays everybody.
2. Offensively, in the first half, the ball stuck way too much, and we thus settled for (and missed) way too much for 3s. Eli Brooks came in and really helped the offense--against the match-up zone Air Force played on a number of possessions (actually, they switched up a lot), he provided an extra shooter and a guy who can get in the lane and shoot off the dribble--and he was great off the ball defensively as well. In addition, his sometimes loose handle wasn't an issue against a team which does not apply great ball pressure, Overall, he played a very solid game.
3. Isaiah Livers also played well off the bench. The box score will note the 3 made 3s and 6 rebounds--it won't note the defensive rotations he made which were spectacular.
4. When Charles Matthews plays instinctively on the offensive end (and this includes catch and shoot 3s), he's terrific. When he catches the ball and hesitates, whether it's before making a move off the dribble, jab stepping, or shooting, usually things do not turn out well. His free throw form is much better, and the results are evident--after an 0-5 start in the opener, he's been a 70% free throw shooter, which is quite respectable.
5. We need to get Jon Teske back involved in the offense again. He was terrific on defense, but aside from an alley top finish, he was completely silent on the offensive end of the floor (and it wasn't as if he was passing up looks--we just did not involve him as much as we should have.
6. Air Force played very well in terms of transition defense, and we struggled more than usual in finishing. Part of it was sloppiness (Matthews throwing a lob to Zavier Simpson?), and part of it was spacing when running lanes.
7. For all the complaining about our play this month, we shot horribly in the first half, and still won comfortably. This is a very odd stretch--3 games in 22 days. Everyone goes through lulls--we often go through them mid-season (2 years ago, the first runner-up year, even last year a bit after the first MSU game). We'll be fine.
8. I thought David DeJulius looked comfortable playing with the rotation guys (not so much from the line). Johns, obviously, less so. It's a process.
9. Nice to see Colin castle ton play aggressively at the end of the game. By the way, for those who keep asking about red-shirting any of the freshmen, playing today ended that possibility for all.
10. Happy Holidays everybody.
