BTO’s Purdue Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. Losses like this are always tough, on one hand you feel like the game was there for the taking and we went cold again in a big moment, on the other hand you realize that that’s probably the favorite to the national champion and that you took them down to the wire in what was definitely not your best showing. I get being upset about it and it warranted to an extent, but also needs to come with the realization that you went toe to toe with a championship caliber team on a neutral court.

2. Not to be receptive but somewhat building off that and specifically the offense, I get we went cold in spurts but you’re also referring to a Purdue team that is #3 nationally in defense, they just held Gonzaga who was a Top 10 offense to 63 points, so when you look at our 67 through that lens then things look a little different.

3. I was disappointed in some guys, mainly from an offensive standpoint…Zeigler, Vescovi, JJJ & Knecht. The first 3 have disappeared before in big games and so it was tough to see it happen again, but it did, we really need Vescovi to find his shot, and Zeigler to a lesser extent. Knecht you may be wondering what I mean, he was our best player yesterday, but when looking at him how we were as our go to guy, and potential SEC POY you needed him in that 2nd half and he also disappeared for the most part. Again, overall he had a good game, but we were hoping he’d be the guy to take over when other guys couldn’t hit and yesterday he joined them on the milk carton.

4. I’m aware Edey is a monster, but Aidoo, Awaka, Estrella and Phillips can absolutely not combine for 3 rebounds, that is almost impressive in a sad kind of way. Again I know he’s huge, but those guys just didn’t do enough and a lack of defensive rebounds (2nd chance points) was a huge reason why we lost that game yesterday, and in large part it falls on those guys.

5. I thought Mashack was a bright spot, and was a little puzzled why he wasn’t out there more in the 2nd half. I would guess lack of perimeter shooting but then again nobody was hitting, he at least was getting into the lane and getting some shots to go down close to the rim unlike Zeigler. He was also great defensively, not that Zeigler wasn’t, but he was a guy that I thought played pretty well overall yesterday.

6. Again, it’s sucks losing and not any easier in that fashion, but big picture you showed you belong on the court with a team like that. Transitive properly doesn’t work but we played them better than Gonzaga, we did nothing yesterday to suggest we aren’t in fact a Top 10 team in the country. We play Kansas today, a likely part of that same group as Purdue of Top 2-3 teams and favorites in the country as of today, it also will not be easy. After yesterdays tough game I’m not sure I expect a ton from our guys but I’m hopeful, we will absolutely have to shoot the ball better and rebound better. Leaving Maui 1-2 wasn’t what anyone wanted but losses to Kansas and Purdue will do nothing to hurt your resume and will absolutely go towards building it as one of the most impressive in the country.




GBO!!!

 

[SpringBokVol]

Where is the rest???

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Where is the rest???

Sorry, my phone posted before done and now deleted the rest, I’ll work on retyping it SMH

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I would agree, that their defense is also a big factor in us going cold shooting. They did a good job defending DK with their guards turning to swipe down on him when he was working back down.

Just hope we don't see too many games where the 3 ball isn't falling.

ZZ: 1-7
JJJ: 1-4
Santi: 0-3
Mashack: 0-1

 

[zaqhhh]

I would agree, that their defense is also a big factor in us going cold shooting. They did a good job defending DK with their guards turning to swipe down on him when he was working back down.

Just hope we don't see too many games where the 3 ball isn't falling.

ZZ: 1-7
JJJ: 1-4
Santi: 0-3
Mashack: 0-1

It was to a certain extent but Santi and ZZ are shooting about 30% on the year. Wasn’t just this game.

Idk what their deal is but we need to figure it out

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

3. The officiating was atrocious, horribly inconsistent and led to an unwatchable game. That old ref needs to be in a home and not officiating high level D1 basketball

I finished it for you @bleedingTNorange

 

[Lukusw]

Last night was such a wierd statistical game. There were several things both teams could point to and say "if we did that more like our average, we win easily". I think a big part of that "abnormality" is both teams were successful at disrupting the other's game plan.

Obviously we shot terribly...and still almost beat a very physical top-5 team. Missed multiple free throws... got out rebounded by a LOT...and almost beat a top 5 team. I'm not trying to argue for moral victories, just pointing out there were a multiple stats that were bizarre (including the number of free throws) and I'm not sure how to extrapolate. It stands to be seen if any of these are harbringers or simply an odd, intense early season game.

Purdue might be the most physical / best defense we face all year. Our rebounding is usually better but we were out of position so much adjusting for Edy. The shooting is at least partly inexplicable but it should be noted that every team at this tourney is shooting poorly.

All that to say ... there are clouds, but the sky isn't falling.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

51 fouls means the refs were confusing the players or they were just plain awful. It says something when Barnes gets a technical for telling the ref to do his job. Also handcuffed him the rest of the game.
This was a good loss!!!!!

Very balanced assessment by BTO!!!!

 

[calban]

Thanks BTO. Even a short breath of SANE thinking is really appreciated on this board.

 

[SGMVols]

People need to lay off Z. It’s borderline miraculous that he’s even playing this soon.

 

[walkenvol]

51 fouls means the refs were confusing the players or they were just plain awful. It says something when Barnes gets a technical for telling the ref to do his job. Also handcuffed him the rest of the game.
This was a good loss!!!!!

Very balanced assessment by BTO!!!!

Can anyone remember Barnes’ last technical? He’s not some young insecure hothead and he knows where the line is when interacting with officials. For him to get T’ed up, the officiating has to be awful.

 

[walkenvol]

People need to lay off Z. It’s borderline miraculous that he’s even playing this soon.

Who’s getting on Zeigler? Only thing I read is folks (the rational ones who have a clue about basketball) commenting that he’s not fully back yet?

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Agree on all points, BTO. Not that it really takes away the sting or excuses the spurts of poor play, but these kinds of losses in the early season are relatively low-risk. I'd say the same thing if we wind up losing to KU tonight as well.

 

[volnbama_]

People need to lay off Z. It’s borderline miraculous that he’s even playing this soon.

It is and it takes time to knock off rust and gain confidence back in the knee.

 

[goldvol]

biggest disappointment for me was the rebounding. too many times the giant didnt even have a body on him. How can you not get a body on a guy that's 7'4"?
I know he's going to get some rebounds, but you got to clear him out of there on most of the shots. they had 15 offensive rebounds.

finally, at the end of the game, someone boxed out and Edey got a foul for going over the back.

 

[ndubvols]

I posted in the game thread, but need knecht and Gainey to find the balance between looking to score and running the offense. Feels like they both forced some unnecessary shots/drives early in the clock that resulted in bad possessions. Think this will get better as they build chemistry.

Was also surprised mashack didn’t play more, thought he did a good job of getting into the lane and also rebounding which we could’ve used more of when the 3ball wasn’t falling and had them in the double bonus.

Need vescovi to get his shot falling and think this offense will be tough to stop once it does. Personally think zz doesn’t need to be taking more than 3-5 shots a game and just focus on defense/creating for others given the personnel we have this year.

Also didn’t think barnes/the team managed the game very well down the stretch. Some early threes when the game was tied/one possession, lack of attacking the rim when we were in the double bonus, and not sure why nobody called TO when Gainey lost his shoe in most important possession of the game.

All on all was a hard fought game that will pay dividends as the year goes on. Nobody matches up well with Edey, but I’d say that on paper a dominant big man is going to be our weak spot at least early in the year. Good test for the young posts to see two of them in edey and Dickenson early in the season.

 

[LeannaVol]

I agree on Mashack. I think he has to get more minutes but I'm not sure at who's expense. His defense is exceptional and he is making aggressive drives to the basket.

A positive I take from this is that ZZZ and Santi are better shooters than they have looked in this game and previously and I feel like they will get on track. Hopefully against Kansas. Expecting ZZZ to be back to normal after the ACL by now is probably not reasonable but he will get there.

We have a lot of talent on this team. As others have said it was a wierd game and we will probably not face anyone like Edey again this year. Go Vols.

 

[rgvol]

Nevermind

 

[Delmar]

After the game, every Purdue fan to a man came up to me and remarked how even we are to them as a team and were relieved they pulled it out. Game could have gone either way. They know they are just an average team without Edey. He is an anomaly and we won’t see anything like him again unless we get them in the tournament.

 

[Lukusw]

I thought this was interesting context: our 3pt % against Syracuse is 2nd highest 3pt% so far in the tourney. Also, here are some other 3pt% from the last 2 days organized by school (1st game / 2nd game):

Tennessee: 35.7% / 26.7%
Purdue: 23.5% / 26.7%
Kansas: 21.1% / 35.3%
Marquette: 32.4% / 24%
Gonzaga: 18.8% / 35%
UCLA: 38.5% / 31.8%
Syracuse: 30% / 12.5%

Only 4 out of possible 14 times has a team shot more than 32% from 3.

 

[Lukusw]

Purdue is a VERY good defensive team. Here is the 3pt% they allowed opponents in each game this year:

16% / 22.6% / 28% / 18.8% / 26.7%

 

[VolArmy74]

biggest disappointment for me was the rebounding. too many times the giant didnt even have a body on him. How can you not get a body on a guy that's 7'4"?
I know he's going to get some rebounds, but you got to clear him out of there on most of the shots. they had 15 offensive rebounds.

finally, at the end of the game, someone boxed out and Edey got a foul for going over the back.

He gets so many offensive boards because he just doesn't leave the paint. When he gets 10 seconds to establish position there and is allowed to simply shove players, elbow them in the throat etc, he can clean up. He put JJJ in the front row with a two handed shove on the play Barnes got the technical on. When you're 6-8 inches taller, allowed to camp in the lane under the basket, and shove at will, anyone else getting a rebound becomes tough. Even if Edey didn't get it himself, he basically sealed off a huge area for any Tennessee player.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

It was to a certain extent but Santi and ZZ are shooting about 30% on the year. Wasn’t just this game.

Idk what their deal is but we need to figure it out

If they shoot even 30% yesterday we win. Those two were 1/10

 

[Orange.]

After the game, every Purdue fan to a man came up to me and remarked how even we are to them as a team and were relieved they pulled it out. Game could have gone either way. They know they are just an average team without Edey. He is an anomaly and we won’t see anything like him again unless we get them in the tournament.

Represent!

 

[turbovol]

Purdue plays good defense. One could see that early on---they made it hard for us.

Even so, in a tough game against a good opponent, we simply have to get more scoring out of Vescovi, JJJ and Gainey. They are all important offensively--and all had poor offensive/shooting games--as did Ziggy. Those four were 6 for 31 in the game. Absurdly bad. JJJ has got a pro body: He needs to use it more to either get to the rim or, if there's a big rim protector inside, get to the 10-12 area and get his shot. Use your body, man. We can't have JJJ shrinking in big games. His build is an asset--and he doesn't use it enough--hasn't for 3 years.

Gainey and Vescovi are our two most talented offensive guards. They've simply got to shoot better. It's not like we need big games out of all these guys---but we need a lot more than we got last night. It's hard to imagine the group have a terrible shooting night like that again, but we'll have good, tough defenses throughout the year and especially in the tournament, and you need guys that have a championship mentality on both ends of the floor.

And, yea, our bigs didn't rebound---at all. They've got to be better--period.

If we played Purdue again they probably wouldn't get 48 free throws--but they'd also not likely shoot free throws as badly as they did last night. Purdue missed 19 free throws. That's a big reason we stayed in the game.