Game 17, 2023-24: at Loyola Chicago (1/17)

[inthescoop]

Goaltending.

Curry’s steal looked clean to me…the y didn’t show a replay.

This bad call turned out to be the difference in the game as it put a guy who has missed only one FT all year at the line. 2 free pts

They reviewed it and reversed the call giving Diggins the 2 points

[inthescoop]

3pt shooting skill usually translates pretty well going from HS to college, but god damn Davis is really making me question that. 30% from 3 on the season, 23% if you take out the WVU game, and he's missed his last 10.

yeah he's been pretty bad but after he made 3 straight at the line I really wanted to see him take a 3 - sometimes you just need to see the ball go through the hoop - he saw three straight go through the hoop - was wondering if that would have bene enough to possibly get him going. that is a game where if he got hot the last 10 minutes they would have buried them.

I actually thought yesterday was one of his better games. Showed a ton of effort out there and he definitely hustles. Offensive rebound and a put back should give him the confidence to know that he’s more than a 3 point shooter. Hitting all free throws was what the team needed too. Unfortunately, he slipped in the post earlier in the first half, and Frank doesn’t have full confidence in him yet. He couldn’t have him in there in the last 10 and kept Keon in despite his offensive struggle he has full confidence in Keon.

[WillHerndonFan]

At times in the game, I was at a loss for why Frank takes out Curry when he is our only consistent offensive guard. This kid is the left handed version of Mike Williams.

Maybe, but I also think it's a bit early for that comparison. We have half a season of tape on Curry, and he's only recently started to break out.

I agree it is early and I have to say I thought Jerome Malloy would be a better player than Mike Williams when they were both freshmen. Obviously I was wrong!

[WillHerndonFan]

that was as hard a loss to take as I can remember. Some are saying missed FT's and turnovers and yes while they missed a few late, overall they shot 72% - they just never seem to have the right guys (Curry, Diggins, Cross) shooting them at the crucial times. I knew there was no way in hell Jayden was making those FT's - DHS either - however, I do think if Jayden doesn't foul out, he somehow either grabs that rebound at the end of the game or somehow gets a hand on it so they don't get that And One so I see why he was in there down the stretch.

Turnovers - only 10 - and if they would stop trying to feed Cohen from the top of the key with that damn lob they probably have 6 or 7 - I swear they throw it out of bounds more than they actually get it to him.

As crushing a loss that was maybe we end up looking back as this was the game they realized they can play and beat anyone in this league. Tough to say they def. win if Matt played but Matt is exactly what they needed last night - especially on that last play.

I agree that Matt was what they needed last night both offensively and defensively to put a physical player in the paint to negate Alston who was too much for physically for everyone except Cohen last night.

[inthescoop]

Matt is our leader on the court. I don’t like what ifs, but I will say that I think that we win that game if he played. His toughness would have made a big presence down low defensively.

[WillHerndonFan]

1) the “The No Charge Charge” on Cohen - as any other player would have been called for charging, 2). “The Flop” by Alston that was called a foul on Ndjigue from the ref who can’t actually see the foul

The block on Cohen was atrocious, but even worse was the Loyola possession before the final one, where Alston literally shoved Ndjigue in the back fighting for position on the rebound allowing him to grab the rebound, and then they called a nonexistant foul on Ndjigue when Alston went up for a shot after grabbing that rebound.

Refs need to take into consideration (or better known as common sense) that it probably isn’t realistic that Alston, who is a big guy, could be manhandled by the the smaller/thinner Ndjigue. It’s called flopping and it should be foul and a technical on Alston!

[WillHerndonFan]

I agree about Jayden minus his clear inability to hit FT's.

I really wish DHS stood his ground on that last play. Worst case scenario they call him for a foul (yes it would have been his 5th which he ended up getting on the and-1 anyway) and Alston has to hit 2 FT's to tie. Missing 4 FT's in crunch time sucks, but 2 weeks ago we would have killed for 22-31. I'm still in the camp that while this sucked big time, I still love the fight. They clearly aren't rattled on the road either. Get Cross back in there, protect home court and steal a couple on the road. Either way, this is still a fun team to watch considering their age and lack of experience playing together. This is another game that is a 15-18 point loss a few years ago.

I agree that this team fights and doesn’t get blow out or give up as the could have easily done against hot shooting URI. Even though UMass has not started the A10 the way we would hope, it isn’t your old UMass product of 30 point blowouts, undisciplined play, and the one-on-one dribble drive crap. I really enjoy watching this team play and most of the games of have great to watch including two recent nail biters at Dayton and Loyola.

[Floridafan71]

Davis seems like he has a great attitude and love of the game,but he needs to move more without the ball,not depend on his shooting and develop the many skills it takes to be a complete player. I am rooting for him. I hope he stays and works on all aspects of what it takes to play D1 ball successfully.

[NilesGold]

I disagree on this. with FTs you need to compare the teams and we actually won that battle.

What? I don't have the time to even try to explain this one Maz.

Just stick to predictions.

69 addressed this, Loyola was worse than us on FTs (21/31 vs 22/31).

Steve was talking about just this one game. Are FTs an issue for UMass this season, yes. Of course if UMass had been better from the FT line this would've been a win, but unless they're perfect from the line you can almost always say that about a close loss. 71% overall in the game is respectable, and imo wasn't the biggest issue in the loss.

[MikeUMA]

At times in the game, I was at a loss for why Frank takes out Curry when he is our only consistent offensive guard. This kid is the left handed version of Mike Williams.

Maybe, but I also think it's a bit early for that comparison. We have half a season of tape on Curry, and he's only recently started to break out.

I agree it is early and I have to say I thought Jerome Malloy would be a better player than Mike Williams when they were both freshmen. Obviously I was wrong!

Clutch doesn't show up in the stats, but a Williams / Malloy comparison...
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... ms-10.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... loy-1.html

[WillHerndonFan]

Maybe, but I also think it's a bit early for that comparison. We have half a season of tape on Curry, and he's only recently started to break out.

I agree it is early and I have to say I thought Jerome Malloy would be a better player than Mike Williams when they were both freshmen. Obviously I was wrong!

Clutch doesn't show up in the stats, but a Williams / Malloy comparison...
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... ms-10.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... loy-1.html

Didn’t realize their career points per game were nearly identical, but Williams early on demonstrated an edge that Malloy didn’t have even though it would have great to have seen Malloy stick around for all four years.

[LS71]

^ Numbers only tell part of the story. Williams was a ‘killer’!

With his talent and that killer’s instinct he could have been an All-American and played in the NBA.

Too bad he didn’t mature earlier.

To me is a an all-time UMass great!

[WillHerndonFan]

^ Numbers only tell part of the story. Williams was a ‘killer’!

With his talent and that killer’s instinct he could have been an All-American and played in the NBA.

Too bad he didn’t mature earlier.

To me is a an all-time UMass great!

Agree that he could have played in the NBA and if he plays against Oklahoma st in 1995 elite 8. We could have finished them off in the 2nd half.

[WillHerndonFan]

I have watched a quite a few games of Loyola Chicago on ESPN+ and they are the big surprise of the A10 as they are not an overly talented team similar to Richmond, but they know how to win. However, I think that the second half of their season will bring them back to the middle of the pack with upcoming games against Dayton, St. Joes, St. Bona, and George Mason.