At Illinois (Neutral site sort of)
Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:11 pm
This was a fun game to watch. In fact it probably will resemble our games against Gonzaga.
In the first half, IU got all the 50/50 balls and several ones that BYU should have been able hold onto. They were bigger and stronger across the board. We kept in contact for the first 10 minutes with Emery's hot 3 pt shooting and Mika inside. When Mika got his 2nd foul and we brought in some bench guys it started to get ugly and was 37-22 at one point.
We called timeout and brought Mika back in. Our aggressive 2-3 zone and some improved effort got us close by half time. We battled all second half but never could string together enough defensive rebounds or good offensive possession to take the lead. We ended up missing a 3 pt heave at the buzzer and lost by 2.
Mika was a stud again. He struggles with is post defense, but his work on the boards was stellar again. He also flashed a 15 jumper a few times. He also had an impressive finish on a fastbreak. An IU guard was set to take a charge and Mika sidestepped him and layed in off the glass.
Emery played a very good game tonight. His shot selection was mostly good and his defense was excellent. He just wasn't able to hit enough of his free throw or good looks to get us the lead.
Haws couldn't get his 3 pt shot to go consistently. I liked the way he played defense but just lack of strength hurt him on fighting for boards. I wonder if his lack of strength is killing his outside shooting.
Childs had good game overall. But he was getting punked early fighting rebounds. Someday he will know to box out every time.
Rose had some nice moments but we needed more offensively from him. IU was sagging off him and Haws to clog the lane. We made our last run because Leifson was brought in and he banged in a couple of 3's. Then Rose made some tough shots to give us a chance with Emery's 3 pt half court shot.
It hurt that Leifson made a mistake when in was 69-68 on switching defensive assignments that put us in scramble.
Davis tried to play and was ineffective with his bum knee.
Aytes and Shaw both got chances with mixed results. Shaw's length and mobility helped on D. But his struggled to box out. And his trademark offensive rebounds and putbacks were bumped our by IU size and ahtletic ability. Shaw needs to put in the work to get stronger. Aytes was effective in post defensively but his lack of height hurt him when his tried to score in the paint.
Beo got a few minutes and made a few plays but couldn't finish his chances.
In the first half, IU got all the 50/50 balls and several ones that BYU should have been able hold onto. They were bigger and stronger across the board. We kept in contact for the first 10 minutes with Emery's hot 3 pt shooting and Mika inside. When Mika got his 2nd foul and we brought in some bench guys it started to get ugly and was 37-22 at one point.
We called timeout and brought Mika back in. Our aggressive 2-3 zone and some improved effort got us close by half time. We battled all second half but never could string together enough defensive rebounds or good offensive possession to take the lead. We ended up missing a 3 pt heave at the buzzer and lost by 2.
Mika was a stud again. He struggles with is post defense, but his work on the boards was stellar again. He also flashed a 15 jumper a few times. He also had an impressive finish on a fastbreak. An IU guard was set to take a charge and Mika sidestepped him and layed in off the glass.
Emery played a very good game tonight. His shot selection was mostly good and his defense was excellent. He just wasn't able to hit enough of his free throw or good looks to get us the lead.
Haws couldn't get his 3 pt shot to go consistently. I liked the way he played defense but just lack of strength hurt him on fighting for boards. I wonder if his lack of strength is killing his outside shooting.
Childs had good game overall. But he was getting punked early fighting rebounds. Someday he will know to box out every time.
Rose had some nice moments but we needed more offensively from him. IU was sagging off him and Haws to clog the lane. We made our last run because Leifson was brought in and he banged in a couple of 3's. Then Rose made some tough shots to give us a chance with Emery's 3 pt half court shot.
It hurt that Leifson made a mistake when in was 69-68 on switching defensive assignments that put us in scramble.
Davis tried to play and was ineffective with his bum knee.
Aytes and Shaw both got chances with mixed results. Shaw's length and mobility helped on D. But his struggled to box out. And his trademark offensive rebounds and putbacks were bumped our by IU size and ahtletic ability. Shaw needs to put in the work to get stronger. Aytes was effective in post defensively but his lack of height hurt him when his tried to score in the paint.
Beo got a few minutes and made a few plays but couldn't finish his chances.