Game 10, 2022-23: vs Hofstra (Brooklyn, 12/11)

[Floyd]

I really like Keon. Knocked down some shots tonight, grabbed some boards and just looks comfortable running the offense. When Noah is back, he and Keon are a very good pg tandem.

Matt Cross is such a tough, scrappy player. Does a lot well. His effort is always 100%

DD such a nice surprise this year. Good versatility and plays hard

Tafara really could be a very special player. Crazy skillset and he appears to have a great feel for the game and is fundamentally pretty sound. Frank uses him well right now, not overloading him too much, but boy I want to see him out there more

Nice 2nd half tonite & nice win on the road

[bobolink]

Rahsool and Keon looked solid tonight, so much better than last time. Perhaps it was the competition, or maybe they're really getting it. Dyondre continues to amaze in his improvement from previous. Team showed great energy. Big win to set up a good week to start finals and prepare for a tough N.Texas team.

[69MG]

My favorite stat from tonight:

Nobody played more than 25 minutes with 10 guys having at least 12 minutes. We are deep!

[LS71]

I really like Keon. Knocked down some shots tonight, grabbed some boards and just looks comfortable running the offense. When Noah is back, he and Keon are a very good pg tandem.

Matt Cross is such a tough, scrappy player. Does a lot well. His effort is always 100%

DD such a nice surprise this year. Good versatility and plays hard

Tafara really could be a very special player. Crazy skillset and he appears to have a great feel for the game and is fundamentally pretty sound. Frank uses him well right now, not overloading him too much, but boy I want to see him out there more

Nice 2nd half tonite & nice win on the road

A silver lining to the back cloud of Noah’s injury has been. Keon’s play.

Gotta love the freshmen on this team!

[JoleonLescottsHair]

We’re going to lose. You can just feel it.

I was going to post the opposite. If they just make more of their free throws they’ll win.

You were right about the important part, the win! But, yikes, those FTs. Need some work.

[stevemaz]

Big second half! Frank mentioned in postgame about players playing with energy. I think we will see more of Dominquez and Gapare.

[Acer71]

We’re going to lose. You can just feel it.

I was going to post the opposite. If they just make more of their free throws they’ll win.

You were right about the important part, the win! But, yikes, those FTs. Need some work.

Spot on!

[eldonabe]

I would call this one of those "gut it out" wins. They really did not do much really well and won the game the old fashions way:

They outrebounded Hofstra 44-32
They turned the ball over less 12-17

They definitely shot the ball better in the second half and that opened the floor up for them, but all in all they just settled down and played better - period. They need to get through Noah's absence without too much damage and they will ok OK I think.

Realistically, they probably lose at least one more game in the OC, but 9-3 is a great OC for them as far as I am concerned and gives them a reasonable chance to get to 20 wins including 1 A10-Tourney win and I would think that gets them an NIT game.

[tp_0722]

It felt to me like this game was a direct result of the Lowell loss. I’ve watched Frank Martin teams for years in the SEC - he’ll throw a regular season game away to prove a point. How animus he was about the lack of effort after the Albany game kind of tipped me off that he might play some funky rotations in order for the team to “get the message” vs. Lowell.

Not saying he tried to lose on purpose, but that he was looking to make the game as difficult as possible so the team would have something to overcome.

This strategy usually works for him and I think it is why his teams are so successful in the tournament compared to their relatively average play in the regular season. His experimentation and steadfast focus on defense allows his teams to find themselves and play as a cohesive unit at the end of the year, when other teams have taken shortcuts to get to the tournament at all costs.

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

I would call this one of those "gut it out" wins. They really did not do much really well and won the game the old fashions way:

They outrebounded Hofstra 44-32
They turned the ball over less 12-17

They definitely shot the ball better in the second half and that opened the floor up for them, but all in all they just settled down and played better - period. They need to get through Noah's absence without too much damage and they will ok OK I think.

Realistically, they probably lose at least one more game in the OC, but 9-3 is a great OC for them as far as I am concerned and gives them a reasonable chance to get to 20 wins including 1 A10-Tourney win and I would think that gets them an NIT game.

you'd be ok with them losing to North Texas or Dartmouth? We are MUCH better than both - even without Noah - I'd be very disappointed if they lose to either one. Before the season started I would have signed up for 8-4 - now I look back and think we should be 9-1 and on our way to 11-1 OOC. I know we stole one vs Charlotte but I think that evened out with that UML loss. We need to beat teams like North Texas if we're going to have any chance of NCAA's.

[Juice Stand]

I would call this one of those "gut it out" wins. They really did not do much really well and won the game the old fashions way:

They outrebounded Hofstra 44-32
They turned the ball over less 12-17

They definitely shot the ball better in the second half and that opened the floor up for them, but all in all they just settled down and played better - period. They need to get through Noah's absence without too much damage and they will ok OK I think.

Realistically, they probably lose at least one more game in the OC, but 9-3 is a great OC for them as far as I am concerned and gives them a reasonable chance to get to 20 wins including 1 A10-Tourney win and I would think that gets them an NIT game.

you'd be ok with them losing to North Texas or Dartmouth? We are MUCH better than both - even without Noah - I'd be very disappointed if they lose to either one. Before the season started I would have signed up for 8-4 - now I look back and think we should be 9-1 and on our way to 11-1 OOC. I know we stole one vs Charlotte but I think that evened out with that UML loss. We need to beat teams like North Texas if we're going to have any chance of NCAA's.

I'm not sure I'm following you. Of course everyone would prefer to win those games, but a loss to North Texas is nothing to be ashamed of and wouldn't be a back breaker on the season. They were a tournament team last year, play some of the best defense in the country, and are currently 8-2 and 66 Net and 68 KenPom. That's a very solid team.

What do you mean we stole one vs Charlotte? Again, a solid team, but we held an ≈10 point lead for most of that game. We didn't steal one there, we flat out beat them.

[69MG]

^^ Why do you think we are so much better than North Texas? Our styles are totally different, but they are a good team:

ESPN's BPI:
N Tex. 98
UMass 104

NET:
N Tex. 66
UMass 85

[Floyd]

It felt to me like this game was a direct result of the Lowell loss. I’ve watched Frank Martin teams for years in the SEC - he’ll throw a regular season game away to prove a point. How animus he was about the lack of effort after the Albany game kind of tipped me off that he might play some funky rotations in order for the team to “get the message” vs. Lowell.

Not saying he tried to lose on purpose, but that he was looking to make the game as difficult as possible so the team would have something to overcome.

This strategy usually works for him and I think it is why his teams are so successful in the tournament compared to their relatively average play in the regular season. His experimentation and steadfast focus on defense allows his teams to find themselves and play as a cohesive unit at the end of the year, when other teams have taken shortcuts to get to the tournament at all costs.

I thought the same thing after the Lowell game, mostly because of how little he used Tafara who was coming off a nice game, and even DD. If, in the long run it helps the team at the end of the season, I guess it's a positive, but damn, losing to Lowell looked bad for our "Best in Massachusetts" goal

[MakeMullinsGreatAgain]

I would call this one of those "gut it out" wins. They really did not do much really well and won the game the old fashions way:

They outrebounded Hofstra 44-32
They turned the ball over less 12-17

They definitely shot the ball better in the second half and that opened the floor up for them, but all in all they just settled down and played better - period. They need to get through Noah's absence without too much damage and they will ok OK I think.

Realistically, they probably lose at least one more game in the OC, but 9-3 is a great OC for them as far as I am concerned and gives them a reasonable chance to get to 20 wins including 1 A10-Tourney win and I would think that gets them an NIT game.

you'd be ok with them losing to North Texas or Dartmouth? We are MUCH better than both - even without Noah - I'd be very disappointed if they lose to either one. Before the season started I would have signed up for 8-4 - now I look back and think we should be 9-1 and on our way to 11-1 OOC. I know we stole one vs Charlotte but I think that evened out with that UML loss. We need to beat teams like North Texas if we're going to have any chance of NCAA's.

I'm not sure I'm following you. Of course everyone would prefer to win those games, but a loss to North Texas is nothing to be ashamed of and wouldn't be a back breaker on the season. They were a tournament team last year, play some of the best defense in the country, and are currently 8-2 and 66 Net and 68 KenPom. That's a very solid team.

What do you mean we stole one vs Charlotte? Again, a solid team, but we held an ≈10 point lead for most of that game. We didn't steal one there, we flat out beat them.

sorry, meant Murray St where Noah hit that 3 as time expired. I'm not saying North Texas stinks, I just think we're a better team, playing a "home" game and need to take care of business.

[natwam2547]

Honestly if this game was on campus I'd be more worried. I think the game will get around 4,000 - 4,500 people and at MM that will seem like a lot and they'll play well and get the W. But to say North Texas is a team we "should" beat is way too much, even with the excitement of a 8-2 start.