1. What this team has done all year is have different people step up when someone has a bad game. Tonight was no exception. Mike Smith struggled with the size, physicality and quickness of LSU's guards, and I mean really struggled. It wasn't just that he played bad, it's that he uncharacteristically made some really bad decisions. Mike is key to our success. It was the match-up which worried me pre-game, and if you'd told me that it would turn out this badly for us, I would have said we were very likely to lose. Credit though to Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown for elevating their games and delivering at key moments when we absolutely needed a basket, a key assist, or a big rebound in traffic. Chaundee was fantastic on both ends, and Eli was just cold-blooded when we got behind early and were on the ropes. Yes, we don't have a guy who every game can saddle up and put everybody on his back, but most games, we get someone who does it. It's nerve wracking, but it's fun to watch.
2. And let me not ignore Barndon Johns in the kudos given. While Brandon's numbers weren't great (7 and 5), he played very strong defense and helped limit Watford, making LSU a two man team. Thomas and Smart were great--that said, it's hard to win a game against a team which can score with only two guys who are scoring for almost an entire half. Brandon has looked very comfortable with increased playing time. Against Florida State, with its size, Brandon is going to need to step up again.
3. There is good news and bad news about the way LSU plays offense. The good news for LSU is that they seldom turn the ball over, largely because they never pass the ball (which is why they don't get many assists either)--the bad news is that playing isolation ball every possession means that they're going to have to jack up a lot of bad shots when nothing develops because they have no back-up option. Early, Thomas was hitting everything, and you thought it might be that kind of night. However, after starting 3-5 from 3, LSU went 3-16 the rest of the way. It's hard to play the defense they play and win when they aren't making shots from distance.
4. I thought we settled too much on offense early. in the game Brandon showed on one of the first possessions that when you drive strong against them, and they're not in position to go for a block, they generally don't even contest--there's no help which comes from anywhere. And on those times when they do get in position, kicks to the corners lead to 3s where nobody closes out. Iowa is absolutely terrible on defense, and LSU is every bit as bad. They are incredibly talented on offense, and make more floaters than any team I have seen in a long time, but when they were on defense, once we started running our stuff, we got any shot we wanted.
5. I was very concerned midway through the second half when we finished off a big run and, because of foul trouble, or perceived foul trouble, we ran Terrrance Williams and Austin Davis out there together, and promptly gave up a 7-0 run. While Terrance did some very nice things out there when playing alongside Hunter Dickinson, Terrance and Austin together kill your offensive spacing, and LSU ran offense to get Smart or Thomas isolated with Terrance. Every new experience is a learning experience for Juwan, and I thought he made some nice adjustments in terms of defensive rotations (and getting out of our awful zone)--he'll learn from this one. If you are going to bring in Terrance, play him with Hunter, or even with Brandon at the 5; if you're going to play Austin, play him with guys who can space and give him room inside.
6. Franz didn't do much for the first 3/4 of the game, and got abused defensively more than I have seen this season, and then, in the last 10 minutes or so, went back to being aggressive Franz. He has to flip that switch earlier going forward. This was not, IMO, a result of not featuring him or running plays for him, it was that he was passive.
7. I thought Hunter was very solid on both ends, other than that his fouls were silly and obvious, and we simply can't afford that.
8. One thing we have to clean up was something we really haven't struggled with all year--pick six turnovers. This game isn't close in a half court setting.
8. I'm drained. Despite the Big Ten's flameout in this tournament, the only team that matters is in the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth tournament in a row, something equalled or topped only by Gonzaga, which now has 6 in a row. Survive and advance.
2. And let me not ignore Barndon Johns in the kudos given. While Brandon's numbers weren't great (7 and 5), he played very strong defense and helped limit Watford, making LSU a two man team. Thomas and Smart were great--that said, it's hard to win a game against a team which can score with only two guys who are scoring for almost an entire half. Brandon has looked very comfortable with increased playing time. Against Florida State, with its size, Brandon is going to need to step up again.
3. There is good news and bad news about the way LSU plays offense. The good news for LSU is that they seldom turn the ball over, largely because they never pass the ball (which is why they don't get many assists either)--the bad news is that playing isolation ball every possession means that they're going to have to jack up a lot of bad shots when nothing develops because they have no back-up option. Early, Thomas was hitting everything, and you thought it might be that kind of night. However, after starting 3-5 from 3, LSU went 3-16 the rest of the way. It's hard to play the defense they play and win when they aren't making shots from distance.
4. I thought we settled too much on offense early. in the game Brandon showed on one of the first possessions that when you drive strong against them, and they're not in position to go for a block, they generally don't even contest--there's no help which comes from anywhere. And on those times when they do get in position, kicks to the corners lead to 3s where nobody closes out. Iowa is absolutely terrible on defense, and LSU is every bit as bad. They are incredibly talented on offense, and make more floaters than any team I have seen in a long time, but when they were on defense, once we started running our stuff, we got any shot we wanted.
5. I was very concerned midway through the second half when we finished off a big run and, because of foul trouble, or perceived foul trouble, we ran Terrrance Williams and Austin Davis out there together, and promptly gave up a 7-0 run. While Terrance did some very nice things out there when playing alongside Hunter Dickinson, Terrance and Austin together kill your offensive spacing, and LSU ran offense to get Smart or Thomas isolated with Terrance. Every new experience is a learning experience for Juwan, and I thought he made some nice adjustments in terms of defensive rotations (and getting out of our awful zone)--he'll learn from this one. If you are going to bring in Terrance, play him with Hunter, or even with Brandon at the 5; if you're going to play Austin, play him with guys who can space and give him room inside.
6. Franz didn't do much for the first 3/4 of the game, and got abused defensively more than I have seen this season, and then, in the last 10 minutes or so, went back to being aggressive Franz. He has to flip that switch earlier going forward. This was not, IMO, a result of not featuring him or running plays for him, it was that he was passive.
7. I thought Hunter was very solid on both ends, other than that his fouls were silly and obvious, and we simply can't afford that.
8. One thing we have to clean up was something we really haven't struggled with all year--pick six turnovers. This game isn't close in a half court setting.
8. I'm drained. Despite the Big Ten's flameout in this tournament, the only team that matters is in the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth tournament in a row, something equalled or topped only by Gonzaga, which now has 6 in a row. Survive and advance.
