As a way to figure out how we may perform against Virginia, I wanted to look at the reasons we lost games this year to see if there was anything in common. By and large, teams that beat us this year did so in four ways:
Allow me to explain with a look at each loss:
12/19 – UNI: shot out of their minds. A statistical anomaly, making 13-22 (59%) on threes…and we still only lost by two with a chance to win at the buzzer. UNI averaged 37% on threes for the year. We were in this until the end.
1/2 – @ Oklahoma: Monte missed a three that would’ve given us the lead with 10 seconds left. Road game. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their minds.†We were in this until the end.
1/9 – Baylor: shot out of their minds in making 34-65 (52%). Baylor shot 46.5% on the year. We were in this until the end.
1/12 - @ Texas: Third game in 6 days. Texas shot out of their minds, making 13-31 threes. Shooting that many threes and making 42% is a statistical anomaly, especially for a team that shot 34% on the year. We were in this until the end.
1/30 – @ Texas A&M: played close. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; we were in this until the end.
2/2 – West Virginia: Third game in 6 days. Niang had 8 turnovers. McKay was pouty and played very poorly. we were in this until the end.
2/10 - @ Texas Tech: this game was crap, with a kid for Tech banking in a 38 footer in the final 1:30. Overtime loss. McKay did not play. Our worst bench man Jordan Ashton played 28 minutes. Nuff said. Once again… we were in this until the end.
2/16 - @ Baylor: Third game in six days. Once again Baylor shot out of their minds in making 35-65 (53.8%). Baylor shot 46.5% on the year. McKay was pouty – 5 fouls and no points in 20 minutes. We were in this until the end.
2/22 - @ West Virginia: McKay had 5 fouls in 20 minutes. I would also add that the way the refs called this game dictated the outcome; WVU mauled us and somehow we were called for 21 fouls while they had 14. Home cooking at its finest.
3/5 - @ Kansas: like A&M – we played close. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; however, we were in this until the end.
3/10 – Oklahoma (big 12 tournament): like Kansas and A&M – we played close. It took one of Buddy Hield’s best performances of the year for them to win by 3. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; we were in this until the end.
In summation: 7 of 11 losses came on the road (9 if you want to count neutral site games).
In four of the losses, the other team played to an extreme statistical anomaly.
Three games were lost as being a result of being the third game in six days.
Four losses we either had pouty or no Mckay.
Of the 11 losses, I would argue that the only games we were outplayed due to non-extenuating factors were: @ Oklahoma, @ Kansas, @ Texas A&M, and Oklahoma again in Kansas City with an injured Monte (shoulder). EACH OF THESE TEAMS ARE STILL IN THE TOURNAMENT FOR A REASON. NOT SURPRISINGLY, NONE OF THE OTHER TEAMS WE LOST TO REMAIN IN THE TOURNAMENT.
Factoring in our extenuating circumstances, and removing them and extrapolating over a full season, we are truly more of a 25-7 or 26-6 type of team RIGHT NOW. In other words, a 1-2 seed.
Looking at this information alone may seem like one large excuse for a somewhat disappointing season. But there is actually a lot one can glean from these losses because the issues that persisted seem to be mostly gone RIGHT NOW:
We're also playing the best we've played all season right now. Our connectedness is at a season high.
Go Clones!
- Other team shot out of their minds
- Playing three games in six days, aka fatigue
- Playing at another team's arena
- Jameel McKay issues (suspended multiple games; played very poorly due to bad attitude in a handful of other games)
Allow me to explain with a look at each loss:
12/19 – UNI: shot out of their minds. A statistical anomaly, making 13-22 (59%) on threes…and we still only lost by two with a chance to win at the buzzer. UNI averaged 37% on threes for the year. We were in this until the end.
1/2 – @ Oklahoma: Monte missed a three that would’ve given us the lead with 10 seconds left. Road game. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their minds.†We were in this until the end.
1/9 – Baylor: shot out of their minds in making 34-65 (52%). Baylor shot 46.5% on the year. We were in this until the end.
1/12 - @ Texas: Third game in 6 days. Texas shot out of their minds, making 13-31 threes. Shooting that many threes and making 42% is a statistical anomaly, especially for a team that shot 34% on the year. We were in this until the end.
1/30 – @ Texas A&M: played close. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; we were in this until the end.
2/2 – West Virginia: Third game in 6 days. Niang had 8 turnovers. McKay was pouty and played very poorly. we were in this until the end.
2/10 - @ Texas Tech: this game was crap, with a kid for Tech banking in a 38 footer in the final 1:30. Overtime loss. McKay did not play. Our worst bench man Jordan Ashton played 28 minutes. Nuff said. Once again… we were in this until the end.
2/16 - @ Baylor: Third game in six days. Once again Baylor shot out of their minds in making 35-65 (53.8%). Baylor shot 46.5% on the year. McKay was pouty – 5 fouls and no points in 20 minutes. We were in this until the end.
2/22 - @ West Virginia: McKay had 5 fouls in 20 minutes. I would also add that the way the refs called this game dictated the outcome; WVU mauled us and somehow we were called for 21 fouls while they had 14. Home cooking at its finest.
3/5 - @ Kansas: like A&M – we played close. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; however, we were in this until the end.
3/10 – Oklahoma (big 12 tournament): like Kansas and A&M – we played close. It took one of Buddy Hield’s best performances of the year for them to win by 3. Not much in common with the premise of no McKay or “shot out of their mindsâ€; we were in this until the end.
In summation: 7 of 11 losses came on the road (9 if you want to count neutral site games).
In four of the losses, the other team played to an extreme statistical anomaly.
Three games were lost as being a result of being the third game in six days.
Four losses we either had pouty or no Mckay.
Of the 11 losses, I would argue that the only games we were outplayed due to non-extenuating factors were: @ Oklahoma, @ Kansas, @ Texas A&M, and Oklahoma again in Kansas City with an injured Monte (shoulder). EACH OF THESE TEAMS ARE STILL IN THE TOURNAMENT FOR A REASON. NOT SURPRISINGLY, NONE OF THE OTHER TEAMS WE LOST TO REMAIN IN THE TOURNAMENT.
Factoring in our extenuating circumstances, and removing them and extrapolating over a full season, we are truly more of a 25-7 or 26-6 type of team RIGHT NOW. In other words, a 1-2 seed.
Looking at this information alone may seem like one large excuse for a somewhat disappointing season. But there is actually a lot one can glean from these losses because the issues that persisted seem to be mostly gone RIGHT NOW:
- It is obviously difficult to completely control teams shooting out of their minds; however, our defense over the past two games has been some of the best of the season. I will also add that Paul Jesperson, Isaiah Taylor, Buddy Hield, Ryan Motley (twice) and Jaysean Page played one of the if not the best games of their careers against us. I don’t see that happening again any more this season as fatigue isn’t going to be an issue with all the rest we’ve been granted, Monte being healthy, and McKay being back.
- Reiterating: fatigue is no longer a factor, as we have six days to prepare for Virginia.
- McKay issues are gone. Period.
- Playing at another team’s arena will not be an issue, as there will be over 10k Cyclones in Chicago.
We're also playing the best we've played all season right now. Our connectedness is at a season high.
Go Clones!
