Louisiana Lafayette (1/27/11)

[UNTMike81]

LL 90- 86

DJ had ball stolen.

Brown at line for LL 0 for 4 but mades

91-86

93-88

We lose!!!

LL 6-14

[Greendylan]

So...are we the new Denver?

Hello 9-7/8-8 conference record!

[Travis]

this is awful.

I don't get it.

Edited January 28, 2011 by Travis

[UNTLifer]

No excuse for this loss, or any of our conference losses.

[CMJ]

Except for last year, we've always been shaky on the road in league play. I think we went 6-3 on the road last season, but usually we're right around .500 - it's upsetting, but not that shocking.

[All About UNT]

Except for last year, we've always been shaky on the road in league play. I think we went 6-3 on the road last season, but usually we're right around .500 - it's upsetting, but not that shocking.

Oh....so the year we went to the tourney with this team? Roger that.

[CMJ]

Oh....so the year we went to the tourney with this team? Roger that.

Also went to the tourney with a team that went like 4-5 on the road.

[All About UNT]

Also went to the tourney with a team that went like 4-5 on the road.

different Sunbelt...other BB teams have evolved since then.

[Greendylan]

Also went to the tourney with a team that went like 4-5 on the road.

I guess my concern is that we're now 1-3 on the road against some of the worst teams in the conference (MTSU may be mediocre). I can't in good conscience predict a win in any of the remaining four road games at this point.

[CMJ]

different Sunbelt...other BB teams have evolved since then.

It's about peaking for March.

[UNT90]

It's about peaking for March.

It's about making sure you have a postseason birth. Winning the conference makes that happen.

Anything can happen in Hot Springs. This loss just about eliminates any chance of winning the confernece title.

Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible loss.

And giving up 90 some odd points to a terrible team??? Completely inexcusable.

[foutsrouts]

I guess my concern is that we're now 1-3 on the road against some of the worst teams in the conference (MTSU may be mediocre). I can't in good conscience predict a win in any of the remaining four road games at this point.

Agreed. We're still yet to play the better teams in what is generally considered to be a terrible conference. Certainly have not given up on us having a great year, but we're more than a bit on the short and shallow side, and it's hard to teach height and depth. Those two factors seem to be hurting us badly defensively IMO. Does't help much that we were the favorites this year and are on everybody's radar.

[THOR]

It's about peaking for March.

so you're ok with how denver and others have done things about not caring about ooc play...conference is all that matters???

[CMJ]

so you're ok with how denver and others have done things about not caring about ooc play...conference is all that matters???

No, and I'm not saying we should tank games. But last year at this time I believe we were 4-4 in league play. We ended up at 13-5. It's not about how you start, but how you finish. The last several years JJ has always had his teams playing their best February thru March.

[TheTastyGreek]

so you're ok with how denver and others have done things about not caring about ooc play...conference is all that matters???

Looks like what he said to me.

Damn CMJ.

[UNTLifer]

I have big concerns about this team. I would be real curious what the combined winning percentage is of those teams we have beat this year. My guess is that it is not too impressive.

[CMJ]

Last year thru 8 league games we were 4-4. We played 18 conference games with UNO still being in the SBC. If you take out those 2 games our record through 8 games was still 4-4. We would have gone 11-5 without the 2 games against the Privateers last season. I guess what I'm saying is, this isn't that out of character for us. We've never dominated the league, it's always a scrap.

Edited January 28, 2011 by CMJ

[greenminer]

Shouldn't be surprised. We have a history of defensive lapses, particularly on the road.

I wish I could hope for a change, but this looks to be typical of JJs teams. Also what's typical? Finding a way to get into the post season.

I am not justifying this. Very hard to stomache. I just don't think this is unusual.

[foutsrouts]

On a positive note, good to see Holmen showing some consistently serious improvement. Last year and earlier this year he seemed to pretty much stand around and wait for an open jumpshot. Now he really seems to be in the flow of the game on both ends. His extra minutes didn't win us the game tonight, but I hope he continues to get more minutes and that JJ can figure out the right mix out there ASAP. We need his size and athleticism on the court if he can keep this improvement up.

[GrandGreen]

If anyone on NT played defense I didn't notice. Especially bad games I thought for Johnson and Odufuwa. Edwards may have turned in one of the worst all time college performances. White and Thompson played well on the offensive end. Hogans was active but killed NT with his free throw shooting. Holmen had his best game of the year. Overall NT did not play horrible, but they have proved they are far from an elite squad. I think the lack of depth is taking its toll, the effort is overall good;but they are just not playing smart defense and are not the rebounding team they have been in the past few years.

I hope JJ pulls his usual magic and gets this team where it needs to be to win the tournament. I had real high hopes for this team but thus far despite their record they have been very disappointing. Their play at home has been good but unfortunately it takes more than that. Except for the LSU game were NT had a lot of motivation, their away play has been in a word,pitiful. They barely beat a horrible Texas State, had a close win over Texas Southern who was playing without their best players, and were blow out by SHSU and Kansas. In conference they are a resounding 1-3 and have not played the tougher teams. Yes, this is not atypical for a good JJ team, but this team should be something special. This was supposed to be the year.

[DeepGreen]

I saw the game and we were definitely not up to par. Tonight the best team won. They hurt us down low and they made the shots that counted.

[MeanGreenTexan]

As far as road games go for the remainder of the year, I want to win at least 2: @Denver & @WKU. If we can keep our home winning streak in tact (will be tough with FAU coming to town), and we can find a way to get those two road games (and I'm sure we can pick up at least one out of UALR & ASU as well), we should be OK.

Looking at this loss and the MTSU loss (which appear to be very similar), I think the issue is with the pace of the game being interrupted by fouls. If UNT controls the pace of the game, it's in the bag. If fouls continue to throw wrenches in the flow of the game, we really struggle if not lose.

Here's an extra credit assignment for Tasty/CBL/CMJ if you choose to accept: Are there specific Sun Belt referees who are known to call more fouls versus some who swallow the whistle? I would be interested to see how UNT plays when specific referees are calling the game.

[KRAM1]

So, given that the Mean green has shown to be a "less than wonderful" road team, do we consider Hot Springs a "road game" situation, and should that be of concern? I really thought UNT would take this game...hands down and set up a great game at Denver. Now, the team really needs to get together, play some defense and take it to Denver on their home court in order to regain a bit of swagger for the final conference run before the tournament.

GO MEAN GREEN. This one was really disappointing...thought we could take this win pretty easily.

[CMJ]

So, given that the Mean green has shown to be a "less than wonderful" road team, do we consider Hot Springs a "road game" situation, and should that be of concern?

No, because neutral site is like a road game for both teams. No advantage or disadvntage. Plus, we'll probably take a decent amount of fans.

[Shof]

Couple of quick notes. First, pleasantly surprised the Cajuns pulled this one off. That is a couple in a row now where the team has executed better; but the other was against ULM, so wasn't sure what to think. Also first game this season Mitchell has showed up. We've been waiting 2 years for that big to produce some! Second, this is probably the worst referee crew in the belt WRT foul calling. We had a game with these bozos at the Dome earlier this season with well over 40 fouls called! Kills momentum and flow for both squads. Lastly, I hate the on-line broadcast from UL. I've tried to follow it before and they are showing replays while teams are scoring on the other end. Terrible sometimes!

Good luck the rest of the way!