That isn't true, at least twice we had a chance to cut their lead to 4. We turned it over both times. What is clear is this team cannot dribble and they are not any good at scoring either at the basket or from the perimeter. Bill of goods, we've been hoodwinked.
It was well into the first half before we scored our first FG. Well into the first half we were down by 17.
Yes I am aware of that. Our defense got us back into it to where two different times we could have cut the lead to four, three IF we could have hit a 3 point shot. Both times that I saw that situation we turned it over with awful ball handling. No one on that LSU team can dribble penetrate and that is a problem, a HUGE problem. I think we can beat this aub team in our barn and I suspect we will but there is a LOT of work to be done if we are going to be competitive. We aren't close at the moment.
Don't discount Auburn's quickness at guard, especially the Johnson kid. Ridiculously quick hands. And Kessler is an elite shot blocker. We might see that good a defense in the backcourt, or at the rim, many more times, but I don't think we'll see many teams that defend at both points of the floor that well. That said, our offensive discipline is for shit. We can't shoot the 3, we know we can't shoot the 3, and yet we keep settling for the 3. Reid needs a lot more polish to his offensive game, and we need to hit the offensive boards much harder than we did tonight.
I'm not discounting any of that. Wade HAS to get this shit under control! Shot selection is shit, absolute shit! They have no concept or recognition of the shot clock or how to use it. I expect more from WW. I'm actually glad they got punched in the mouth and didn't make the count. This should and I hope will build character in this team, something I've thought they have lacked from the first game. If it does then this loss will be meaningless in the grand scheme.
In a preseason thread, I was blasted for suggesting that 3 point shooting was more important than an inside game. Watch over the next two months as my fears come to fruition. Through 13 games we are shooting .310 as a team for 3's. NCAA stats haven't been updated, but we were ranked 241st in the nation in 3 point percentage going into last night. .310 would put us at 277. Our most active 3-point shooter - Days - shoots .364, but he's been a roller coaster all year. Our best 3 shooter - Wilkinson - shoots .467, but doesn't shoot enough 3's (15 attempts in 13 games) to be considered a threat. The bulk of the rotation - Pinson, Gaines, Murray, Reid, Eason and Fudge - shoot a combined .273 from 3. That's beyond miserable, and it won't get fixed overnight. Proof of that is WW went on a rant about our settling for 3's when its a clear weakness after the Ohio game. That was 6 games ago, and nothing has changed. Our best offense is in the transition game, but I fear in the SEC, teams are going to quickly figure out the way to beat us is to get back in transition D, force us into a half court offense, then pack the paint and dare us to beat them from outside. Tari Eason is not going to dunk us out of this problem.
yet when pinson penetrated into the lane really good things happen… Gaines should be running the pmac steps for every missed 3….
