Observations from the SMC Game

I had the pleasure/displeasure of watching the SMC game in-person. Here are some observations, in case anyone is interested:



1) We had about a 10 point lead in the first half and blew it because of really bad perimeter defense. For about three SMC possessions in a row Nixon completely failed to rotate out to the open shooter. Didn't even take a step or put a hand up and he was the closest player. They started knocking down 3s, so we had to extend and that freed up the middle. IMO, Nixon shouldn't see the court.



2) Waldow uses his elbow as a hook on just about every play. He doesn't completely wrap it around the player, which is probably why he doesn't get called for it, but he sticks that elbow out and uses it to push/screen defenders. Kaufusi could not handle it.



3) We were doomed the moment KC had to sit in the 2nd half.



4) In the 2nd half, one single ref called 6+ fouls against BYU and only 1 foul against SMC (we kept track). The foul he called against SMC didn't come till the final 5 min of the half. 6:1 isn't unbiased by any stretch of the imagination.



5) I had a clear look at the phantom foul called against Halford in the final minute. At the very least it should have been a no-call. The SMC player clearly lead with his elbow - a foul for which he got called for earlier - and Halford was just recovering. Halford's back was to ref. Halford was facing me. It was the same ref as point #4.



6) After the game I heard multiple SMC fans talking about the poor officiating.



7) SMC doesn't have jumbo tron of any kind to show replays. It just dawned on me during this game. On the SMC forum, SMC fans will complain about the Marriot center showing replays of controversial play and inciting the crowd. SMC can't even show replays. You'd think with all the extra money they get from doubling the price of tickets when BYU comes into town that they could afford to get mini jumbo tron of some kind.

Heck, you could get a 100" 4K TV for a couple thousand dollars.

I agree the Halford call was bad. But there were a number of ticky-tack calls on SMC especially at the beginning of the game and I believe for a short stretch in the 2nd half. Being a ref is hard. I've been a paid ref before. It's every basketball fan's right of passage to complain about calls. Like you noted with the SMC fans, they won the game, got more fouls called (24-20, not really a huge margin), and still complained about the officiating. Both teams' fans from the same game will complain about officiating whether their team won or lost. Still, that Halford call was crucial. And I still think Haws gets fouled a lot both with and without the ball.

My main observation about the officials was this crew should not be allowed to work together again.

hawkwing wrote:
Heck, you could get a 100" 4K TV for a couple thousand dollars.

I think Costco sales an 80". From the extra in concessions they get from us that ought to be enough. Course then they would be guilty of working the crowd.



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I haven't been able to finish watching this game. My internet was out all weekend.



But in the first half Waldow was crushing out D with and without the ball. We tried to box him out with 2 guys and other guys would get the rebound. We were cheating towards him on D so much we got best backdoor/over top several times.



IMO Nixon got minutes because he was scrambling for rebounds and had enough size/strength to have a chance. Aytes would have made a big difference in this game.



Fischer seems to have turned the corner a little on what is a good shot for him.



Worthington needs stop getting cheap fouls with his hands. Kaufusi just doesn't know how to play post D yet.



Dunno if Austin would have made a big difference.

Qman wrote:
I haven't been able to finish watching this game. My internet was out all weekend.



But in the first half Waldow was crushing out D with and without the ball. We tried to box him out with 2 guys and other guys would get the rebound. We were cheating towards him on D so much we got best backdoor/over top several times.



IMO Nixon got minutes because he was scrambling for rebounds and had enough size/strength to have a chance. Aytes would have made a big difference in this game.



Fischer seems to have turned the corner a little on what is a good shot for him.



Worthington needs stop getting cheap fouls with his hands. Kaufusi just doesn't know how to play post D yet.



Dunno if Austin would have made a big difference.

Austin moves his feet better than any of our bigs and with Austin we wouldn't have had to play Nielsen or Kaufusi so much. More importantly, with Austin we could have gone with two bigs on the court to neutralize Waldow, which is what we should have done.



Without Winder as the 4th guard, the four-guard lineup doesn't work. Winder is the only one that can drive to hole, which essentially gives us points in the paint and keeps defenses honest. Without Winder or points in the paint, teams can stretch out and pressure us unceasingly along the perimeter, which is what SMC did.