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Texas Hoops vs. Kansas State Mini Preview

Posted by Trips Right on January 18th, 2010 under Basketball

Look, just so everyone’s prepared, we are probably going to get beat tonight.

The book on us has become a national best seller and its chapters include Texas A&M CC with their junked up triangle and 2, Arkansas’ sagging m2m, Colorado’s traditional zone, and Texas A&M’s matchup zone. Make no mistake, we’ll see some form of halfcourt defense from the Wildcats that’s designed to exploit our inability to threaten the arc at the expense of our bigs inside. Unlike the four teams listed above, KSU has the guards to handle our pressure and deny the Horns the ability to manufacture easy points with defense. In other words, K State is going to make our non-shooters shoot, make the paint a no man’s land, and take care of the basketball when they get it. They have the guards, the bigs, and the homecourt advantage to pull it off. If Texas is going to win, these are the things Texas must do to have a chance.

Personnel.
We have to put guard and wing groups on the floor that can threaten the arc. Point blank. When Mason and Balbay are playing together, Texas has no shot to generate halfcourt offense. There’s no screen and roll game without a shooting threat. There’s no way to punish interior help without a shooting threat. And there sure as hell is no drive and dish game without a shooting threat. Hello zone, hello sagging m2m, hello frustrated Dexter Pittman.

Spacing and Ball Movement.
It goes along with personnel, but even with our strong perimeter groups on the floor, the guys have to maintain proper floor spacing and ball movement to really make the defense pay and open up driving lanes and entry passing. If we stand around and allow one player to guard two due to poor spacing, the lane will continue to be clogged and we’ll shoot around 40% as a result.

Patience.
Floor spacing and ball movement mean dick if we aren’t patient enough to let possessions play out to create defensive rotations. And this sort of thing will feed on itself negatively unless players on the perimeter are patient. If I’m a Texas player, and I know Hamilton or Brown is going to jack a shot off one pass, I’m not really going to bust my ass to move without the ball or when I do get a pass, I’m less likely to give it back. This is the death spiral as far as Dexter Pittman is concerned. This team needs to make it a point to reverse the basketball and find their one true advantage in this game. Dexter Pittman. If we’re jacking shots off one pass we’re fucked, because KSU is too talented inside. There will be no bail out on the offensive glass for Texas tonight. We must be patient and actively look for good shots.

Pressure.
And speaking of bail outs, if you’re counting on turning over the Kansas State guards to make up for a poor shooting night you’re going to be disappointed. KSU will not only handle our pressure but they’ll punish our pressure with buckets and fouls unless we’re committed to a track meet. If we want to turn the game into a war of attrition by going full court for most of the game, so be it. But if we expect to turn them over with simple on ball, wing denial stuff in the half court, they’ll get to the paint often enough to get our bigs in foul trouble. If I’m Texas, I soften up the wings like I did vs. Colorado and play a more sound m2m style making KSU beat me by shooting over the top.

In a nut shell, in order for Texas to win, Dexter Pittman must dominate. And the only way he can is if we play with patience, spacing, and ball movement with the proper personnel on offense. Other than that, we have a shooter’s chance at winning the game which means shooting over 40% from deep. I’m skeptical.

Thoughts?

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28 Responses

  1. BastardSonofMattNordgren said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    Finally, some basketball coverage! Told ya they’d do it, El Jr!

    Yes, I’m five years old, handsome, and things just seem to go my way..

  2. ghostofagroundgame said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    Mike Piazza loves “sagging m2m,” at least according to his Craig’s List.

  3. Diego said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    I’ve already accepted our first loss of the season tonight. We lose, I wont be that upset as we’re already there in my mind and I’ll win my bet. We win and I get a little extra excitement along with a lighter wallet.

    It seems quite a few of Barnes teams flatline a little bit in the middle of January but the good ones seem to break out of it and continue to improve. I hope that this Texas team also finds a new rhythm that carries them to a 1 seed. The good news is that despite our recent struggles, we are still yet to pick up a loss. Even if we do pick up our first blemish tonight, I don’t think it will be too damaging to have a road loss against a top ten RPI team.

  4. Bob in Houston said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    While I’ve posted elsewhere that I expect Texas to shoot better, they’re going to have to shoot better to have a chance.

    I do think that the guys have been a little surprised by how ISU and A&M came at them, and how the fans reacted not only in Ames, but in Austin. Every opposition basket and every UT miss causes not just a cheer, but a roar. If anything, Bramlage will be a sound machine.

    Trips did manage to run down all the things that could go wrong. I just hope that if Balbay and Mason start, that the first play won’t be to pitch it low to Dex. That’s a ready-made triple team. Have one of those guys set a screen for a shooter or something. They really don’t want to be down 10-3 at the first timeout.

  5. Crown & Coke said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Thanks for the write-up, Trips.

    I fully believe that this game will drive home many of the harsh lessons from Saturday’s game since it does not appear that Rick is willing to make any realistic personnel adjustments, specifically in terms of the starting lineup.

    At this point in the year, it’s no longer acceptable to make excuses based on “early season tinkering”…you simply have to take a leap of faith and give the best players on the team a realistic chance to prove themselves (ie play together for more than 45 consecutive seconds).

    The kind of games that are being played with Bradley and Pittman right now are akin to the type of bullshit that Astros fans were subjected to the past few seasons as Cecil Cooper played fucking yahtzee with his lineup cards night after night.

    Just as it is impossible for a big-league hitter to prepare himself for success when he’s asked to bat leadoff, cleanup, and 6th place on consecutive nights, it’s similarly impossible for someone like Avery to try and hunt for buckets and challenge his defenders when he doesn’t even know his basic fucking role in the offense. As a result, you see a kid reluctant to do anything besides go through the motions in fear of getting yanked immediately after missing an open look (Hamilton) or playing too aggressively off the dribble (Brown).

    As heroic as Damion’s efforts were on Saturday night, it’s disappointing to see that Rick seems to be viewing the win as an affirmation of the status quo rather than a clear-cut example of why some significant changes are needed for this team to eventually cut down the nets.

    Several years ago, I thought that Duane Akina’s ability to make Sergio Kindle look like a C+ player was one of the most stupefying things I’d ever seen in a collegiate setting. Unfortunately, Rick seems to be giving him a run for his money in terms of how Bradley is being managed this season.

  6. Not to be Captain Obvious, but said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 5:39 pm

    If the defense is going to pack it inside and double and triple team the post, then the best way to shoot from the perimeter is to enter the ball into the post (particularly after good ball movement at the perimeter) and kick out to the shooter, rather than do those “toss it back and forth around the perimeter until the shot clock runs low and someone just jacks one up” deals.

    Keep the big guys involved, get higher percentage looks from the perimeter, pick up a few slap fouls, keep the defense having to move and expend energy . . .

  7. Mysterious Package said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    Its going to take a loss to get it straightend out I guess. Not sure the starting 5 has changed since the first game. Its maddening but what can you do? Rick will come around, he’s not about to let a chance to win it all go down the toilet, he needs a championship as much as we do

  8. fatigue said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 5:46 pm

    I’d take the under and give the points if I were a betting thing…

  9. SL Xpress said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:01 pm

    No way would I take the under in this game. I don’t even know what the under is. Texas averages 88 points per game, and KSU averages something like 86. What is the under?

    It’s going to be a foul fest like you won’t believe, with a ton of scoring while the clock is stopped. Plus, lots of 3 point shots, and lots of point off turnovers. Half court defense is going to be a grind, but there’s still going to be a lot of possessions with points, and neither team is going to want to slow down the pace. And both teams play 10-11 players or more. I bet there’s a good chance we even see Hill and Chapman in this game.

    Varez Ward was a starter. J’Covan Brown was a starter. Avery Bradley at one time came off the bench. Balbay at one time came off the bench. Those are the only changes. Barnes didn’t come into this season married to Balbay and Mason being on the floor together, but he sure is now, and it’s like he’s digging his heels in, looking for affirmation of his decision, while emphasizing the reasons why other lineups won’t work.

    At least Mason’s overall minutes are going down. It helps when he’s collecting 5 fouls in 8 minutes of play, though. Oh, and all 8 minutes were with Balbay on the floor, natch.

  10. sa said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Up until the aggy game, I thought AB was looking pretty solid on the offense. the same can’t be said for Hamilton or JB.

    I think our first loss comes this week. maybe even two of them. I’ve been saying that ever since we beat MSU. the aggy team isn’t that bad and neither is ISU at home. I was happy to get W’s in both of them.

    we’re a really good team, but we’re not close to a team that runs the table. that said, we’ve proven that we can still win when we don’t play our best basketball. that’s rather huge.

    btw, I think AB started the year coming off the bench. for better or for worse, Barnes likes Mason. I think it’s gonna take some serious consistency from JB or Hamilton to displace him from the startling lineup. who else? I think GJ is in too much of a groove coming off the bench.

    so yeah, I think we lose at least once this week, which doesn’t bother me in the least. I just hope we do so in a respectable fashion. It would just be a shame for Roberto Clemente to get 3,000 hits against us again this year.

  11. SL Xpress said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    Guy on shaggybevo says the over/under is 160. I’d pick the over if forced to choose, but I wouldn’t call it easy money or anything. That’s a high over for a college basketball game.

  12. beowulf said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    I personally plan on being devastated if we lose. It’s how I roll.

  13. Bob in Houston said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    What struck me about the line was that it was put up at Texas 3 1/2 and moved five points, to K-State 1 1/2. Question is, who moved it?

    As to the total, Pomeroy projects the tempo at 80, which would be higher than KSU has played, but not too far off where Texas is regularly. Question there would be, does that benefit Texas? I’d guess, with a lot of foul shots, that it’s going over (even with Texas shooting them).

  14. bonecrusher said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    The flaws are definitely starting to be exposed. I really miss Varez, he solved alot of problems for us.

  15. parlin said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    UT Pimp gets us through this.

  16. dick said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:56 pm

    “What struck me about the line was that it was put up at Texas 3 1/2 and moved five points, to K-State 1 1/2. Question is, who moved it?”

    It didn’t do that. Started around Kstate -1 or a pick’em and it’s still there. A little fluctuation here and there. Smart money is on Kstate if anything. Expect a ton of fouls so beware of the under.

  17. Bartoncreek said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:56 pm

    This is going to be a brutal setting. I would be pleasantly surprised if we win. It just doesn’t feel right to me, and I can’t put my finger on why.

    Completely agree on Pittman. He went for 19 and 20 last time we played them and that was against a constant double/triple team. The freshmen will get rattled, we need Pittman to take some pressure off them. This will be an invaluable teaching lesson. It may be our toughest game of the season given the competition and location.

  18. dick said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Musfagget with his Kstate cashmere on

  19. iamthepush said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    Ball bay lookin good, he passes it to the man and boom goes the dynamite

  20. Savage said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:08 pm

    Alexi has the worst fucking hands. With him, Mason and Balbay on the floor we are playing 2 on 5 on offense.

  21. iamthepush said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    Brown just went ass to head

  22. Savage said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:18 pm

    Musburger is retarded. Knight is a douche.

  23. iamthepush said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    I don’t think that arena is pager friendly

  24. tree said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 9:05 pm

    free throw shooting. horns got to make’em.

  25. Travis said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 9:48 pm

    Made everything back tonight I lost yesterday … That game will hopefully bring our guys back to reality but in all honesty if pittman can’t get it going I don’t know if it will matter … Teams have figured out how to take him out of the game early , it will be a great job by barnes if he can figure out how to get pittman back to playing with confidence because he’s mentally lost right now

  26. bastardsonofelroberson said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 10:07 pm

    What a fist fight that was. Barnes is tard.

  27. Travis said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    I think it’s safe to say that a line up needs to be put in place and I feel this team does best when balbay and brown are running the offense together let brown play the two because he cant handle the one and balbay needs somebody to be able to pull the trigger … Get mason off the court and give me Bradley James and pittman .. If pittman can’t get his head on straight let him come off the bench it seems as soon as he picks up a cheap foul he shuts it down.

    Barnes is killing me with playing musical lineups … Nobody Is getting more than 3-4 minutes at a time so how is anybody supposed to get into a rythmn. We are dominant when we play inside out but when are guards fly down and throw up a shot before our bigs can even get set , that’s a wasted possession.

    Anybody have an idea on how to get these kids into some type of offense that will work with our personal , our whole game is set up by fast break opportunities from great defense but most of the time we aren’t getting the type of pressure we need in the half court set anymore so our offense just looks like a bunch of guys just running at the bucket hoping for a foul.

    This team has all the talent to make a deep run in march but right now we look pretty ordinary

  28. Kansas State Basketball | AXI said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 11:26 pm

    [...] Barking Carnival — Blog — Texas Hoops Vs. Kansas State Mini Preview In other words, K State is going to make our non-shooters shoot, make the paint a no man’s land, and take care of the basketball when they get it. They have the guards, the bigs, and the homecourt advantage to pull it off. Kansas State Basketball – on Twingly [...]

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