MBB Game 18 - @ Northeastern - 1/14/15, 7 PM

[cactus]

Not impressed with the defensive effort.

[ProudofPride]

With 1:09 left in the game, we're down 8, allowed 64% shooting, and Northeastern has made 23 (out of 30) free throws… We've only attempted 20.

[Wags]

Also of note, UNCW is up 44-24 at William and Mary at the half.

52-28, Tribe in the second half. W&M wins, 76-72.

[EvanJ]

Northeastern won 91-83. Hofstra attempted 75 field goals, which is their most since they attempted 85 at Massachusetts on December 20, 2008. The teams combined to have 11 players score at least 8 points. Many players had big games:

Eatherton: 21 points, 8 out of 11 field goals made, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots
Williams: 16 points, 7 out of 11 field goals made, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists
David Walker, 22 points (led all scorers), 4 out of 6 field goals made all of which were three-pointers, 10 out of 10 free throws made, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists
Green: 21 points and 11 assists
Kone: 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots

Tanksley (15 points) and Bernardi (8 points) scored below their averages.

Edit: Green increased his assists average from 6.1 to 6.4 and might be Top 10 in Division I after today.

Edit: Tanksley and Williams had 11 rebounds each to lead all CAA players tonight. No CAA player other than Green had more than 6 assists.

[HUSID80]

Shame this game was determined by the refs and their whistles. Did you see Bernardi get whacked in the face and then the call goes against him. Etherington backs in to the hoop every time, no fouls. Don't know if we should have won with our less than stellar D but come on how many free throws did NE get?

[Hofstra]

Not the greatest game tonight. We have a really tough time beating this team, especially at their place. Defense was piss poor. These games happen though. Gotta maintain the lead in the CAA though.

Saturday is a new day. Hopefully they put it together and start a new streak.

#RollPride

[Wags]

You lose 61-59, you complain about fouls. You let them make 2 of every 3 shots all night and allow 91 points, there's not much you have a right to say. And an unfavorable whistle in the gym of the preseason conference favorite is to be expected.

Would have been nice to stay undefeated in the CAA and send a message to the Huskies, but we did what we had to do with a 2-1 trip. Take care of business on this homestand now, and I think we all would have signed up for a 7-1 start with the only loss being a fairly close one in Boston. Not happy that our D got lit up tonight, but provided we can get a sweep at home over these next three (not easy, but doable), I'm okay with this loss tonight in the big picture.

[ProudofPride]

Ameen Tanksley scored his 1000th point tonight.

[Cards]

We were like swiss cheese on defense. Way to many points in the paint (and it was not because NE was so good down low). Walker on NE was very good tonight. NE as a team is not a high scoring team....until they play us! Too many easy drives, open layups, and Etherton "back ins".

Yes there looked to be some very questionable calls, but NE had plenty of calls against them also.

Just seemed to me that we left alot out on the court. We were right there with 4-5 minutes left and then we crumbled. I was hoping for better.

Finally picked up an extra HDMI cable and hooked up TV directly to laptop. Streamed using HU video (that linked to NE coverage). Worked great - like watching normal HD TV show.

[HofstraHockey]

Invest in chromecast! It's under $30 now, and you can still use your laptop or phone or whatever you want while still having the video stream. It's worth every penny.

[cactus]

Invest in chromecast! It's under $30 now, and you can still use your laptop or phone or whatever you want while still having the video stream. It's worth every penny.

agreed, i watched the game on the tv using chromecast from my phone, while complaining about the game over text messages on the same phone.

[HUSID80]

THIRTY-EIGHT FREE THROWS and Tanksley on the bench for much of the first half. They let Etherton do whatever he wanted.

[Polito]

Ok, so as has been mentioned, D was porous, can't expect to win when the opponent scores 90 - that clearly needs to be a focal point of improvement

NU was as I expected, great starting 5 and no depth - HU caught them on a hot shooting night, in part because they can and in part because HU was weak on D - but not all bad - as good as NU was, HU was right there and could've won the game - keeping Eatherton to 4 rbs is something, and Ford was a non-factor - couple of other guys beat them that I don't think normally would - with just a little better D, HU wins that road match

I had a feeling they may drop this one, and as crazy as it sounds I almost wanted them to - this way HU can have their weaknesses brought front and center so the team understands what it's going to take to win this conf - now they can get to work on those things - there's no more false sense of security so to speak

did not want them taking some unrealistic long winning streak deep into the yr, too much pressure - if you're going drop a game and learn, the best time is now and against the conf fav on their floor

my take is this: HU can and I believe will beat that team next time. NU cannot shoot like that every game, and with no depth, I don't see that as a sustainable thing over a 3 day tournament - NU is beatable, and has been beaten by lesser teams this yr - they also have a super starting 5 that can win big games, as they just did

the key for HU is how they handle this - if they take it in stride, stay cool calm and collected, learn from their mistakes, and GET BETTER, I believe they'll take this thing - if they don't then they'll struggle

this is where team and coaching leadership steps in - and I fully expect them to.

#ROLLPRIDE

[Dooku25]

Poorly officiated game. You have 2 of the top teams in the conference and you had whistle happy refs. Hate that, let them play. 38 Free throws is ridiculous. On the positive, we were in that game all the way until the end. As bad as the defense was, I doubt Northeastern shoots 64% from the field again. They should have won that game by 20 the way the game was called and the way they played. I look forward to their next matchup.

It is a 3 team race, and I think getting that 1 seed is very important. Whoever finishes 2 and 3 will not only have to knock off each other in the semi final, but also most likely the 1 in the final. The 1 seed will avoid the 2 and 3 in the semi's. Thats big. The 1 seed would also guarantee a NIT spot which would be a nice accomplishment this year in the event we lost in Baltimore.

[Cards]

I thought Kone looked the best has has so far this year. It was good to see him having a positive impact. That being said, he is clearly not a middle man (built more like an athletic PF). It underscores our weakness in the paint against good teams. NE with Eatherton is the perfect example. He easily beats Kone (because of ability and size) and Gustys (because of inexperience). I'm glad there aren't many Eathertons in the CAA. Funny, you watch Eatherton on the court...he doesn't look extremely athletic, he certainly is not a leaper, he's not real quick....but boy, he is smart, a good passer, a good pass reciever, and really knows how to move without the ball. Give the guy credit, at the end of the day, he is one of the best all around players in the CAA.

I have to keep reminding myself to cut Gustys some slack. Although I've been a staunch supporter of him, I cringe when he misses short easy shots in the paint, or when he throws a pass away. But honestly, there is a lot of pressure on the guy being thrown in there with the likes of Eatherton. Rok still has just under 200 minutes this season. Thats only 5 full games of college experience.....that's nothing!

[Flying Dutchmen]

I had a feeling they may drop this one, and as crazy as it sounds I almost wanted them to - this way HU can have their weaknesses brought front and center so the team understands what it's going to take to win this conf - now they can get to work on those things - there's no more false sense of security so to speak

did not want them taking some unrealistic long winning streak deep into the yr, too much pressure - if you're going drop a game and learn, the best time is now and against the conf fav on their floor

Agreed. Any thoughts of just steamrolling the CAA are out the window, and that's probably a good thing.

Northeastern did a great job attacking the paint, which really exposed our defensive weaknesses. We flashed multiple different defensive schemes, but they had success against all of them, and shot 64% from the field doing it. Kudos to them for coming out to play.

The game was over-officiated on both sides. Not using it as an excuse for losing the game, because Northeastern was in their own foul trouble, but stylistically, with Hofstra being a perimeter-oriented team, we were hurt more by the officiating, our players body language showed their frustration throughout the game.

We have to continue to keep getting Rokas more experience, he's a good player, but got eaten up last night. Nichols would have been a good compliment in the paint, but he was in so much foul trouble, he was unable to make an impact on the game last night.

Huge game on Saturday against UNCW. We have to rebound from a tough loss by completing the sweep, and knocking UNCW back to .500 in conference play.

[stuball888]

Its not the end of the world. We knew coming our front line was a work in progress. Kone is an undersized center at 6ft 8. Rokas is a raw freshman. WE really dont have a power forward. So the back line is vulnerable. If the guards help out they expose the outside and a good shooting team will take advantage of this. It will take time but I know JAM and company are working on a solution. Now onto UNCW.

[Polito]

yep, Kone is not a center, he's a PF playing out of position. I understand that Rokas and Andre are freshman, but that's there they are right now, gotta go with what ya got

To me, the center spot should be a platoon of Gustys and Walker, with Kone and Nichols handling the F position - not sure why Walker is not getting more play, I think he's got great potential, and the team needs the body down low...

You guys note great points about how the out of position stuff results in big weaknesses that good teams can and will exploit - that's why I don't get not playing Walker more to help Gustys at the center spot, and leave Kone (a Sr with ability in the CORRECT role) to handle the PF duties - just seems like the better way - yes, they'll take some hits with the frosh, but aren't they taking hits anyway?

Don't get it, but then again, I'm sure there are reasons that I don't know - I do trust the staff, so it must be something.

if you look at this game from NU's perspective, they are the conf fav with an experienced talented group playing at home - how would you look at the game against one of the other top contenders with a new (albeit talented) group? As a must win. Same as we'll feel when the game is at the Mack - a must win for HU.

Fail Forward - live, learn, and grow - onward! #ROLLPRIDE!

[daHUPride]

yep, Kone is not a center, he's a PF playing out of position. I understand that Rokas and Andre are freshman, but that's there they are right now, gotta go with what ya got

To me, the center spot should be a platoon of Gustys and Walker, with Kone and Nichols handling the F position - not sure why Walker is not getting more play, I think he's got great potential, and the team needs the body down low...

You guys note great points about how the out of position stuff results in big weaknesses that good teams can and will exploit - that's why I don't get not playing Walker more to help Gustys at the center spot, and leave Kone (a Sr with ability in the CORRECT role) to handle the PF duties - just seems like the better way - yes, they'll take some hits with the frosh, but aren't they taking hits anyway?

Don't get it, but then again, I'm sure there are reasons that I don't know - I do trust the staff, so it must be something.

if you look at this game from NU's perspective, they are the conf fav with an experienced talented group playing at home - how would you look at the game against one of the other top contenders with a new (albeit talented) group? As a must win. Same as we'll feel when the game is at the Mack - a must win for HU.

Fail Forward - live, learn, and grow - onward! #ROLLPRIDE!

I don't get the lack of minutes that Walker gets - I agree with Polito - Walker and Gustys at the "5" spot and Kone and Nicols getting most of their minutes at the "4" spot.

[bobe13]

Assuming Walker is not injured there obviously are other issues between Walker and the coaching staff. He is really raw but did put in some productive defensive minutes early in the season against weaker teams.