Ball State

[Gcc]

Can we all make throw in a few bucks and make a donation to Athletics for better cameras and feed tech...it's just embarrassing how bad ours is.

+1

[Dave in Green]

The difference in this game was steals and turnovers. Zips had just 8 turnovers and only had the ball stolen 1 time for a total loss of 9 possessions. BSU had 15 turnovers and the ball stolen 6 times for a total loss of 21 possessions. The 12-possession difference in favor of the Zips more than offset the areas where BSU outperformed the Zips.

Correction: A steal by one team is considered a turnover by the other. You can't add steals to turnovers, so the math above is bad. On the basis of turnovers, the Zips had 7 more possessions than BSU, exactly matching BSU's 7-rebound advantage.

[gozips19]

I'm asking this in all seriousness. I have not seen the red shirts play. Can any of these guys be a threat as a three point shooter? Read the Gladden was more of a slasher. What about Jackson? I've wrote this a few games ago but if Evans, Reggie, and Jake cannot make outside shots Akron is dead in the water. Need to have some balance. I did like the hustle and grit tonight and Diggs played his butt off! I'd also like to see some more plays run for Pat. Should allow Tree to crash to boards more and free him up for looks in the high post. Pat should have an easier time finishing against MAC big men. KD uses the term bull in a china shop a lot and this is truly the team that lives up to this moniker.

Side question.... Was Frenchy complaining about the refs tonight? I only ask that because there were a lot of fouls that the Zips committed tonight. I have to give the Ball St guys credit! They knew a lot about both teams and called a pretty unbiased game. I would kill to have them do the games. I also will pitch in for a better feed! Gonna be a long gut wrenching season.

Go Zips

[skip-zip]

There's a pattern developing, and I hope it doesn't continue.

In the past, our scoring droughts were notorious, and seemed to always be due to not putting the ball in the hoop.

Now, it seems like it's poor shooting, AND turnovers.

We played a bad team tonight. It only gets tougher from here. I keep using the words "Lack of Focus" to describe our offensive woes. We must get it figured out.

[pdt1420]

Side question.... Was Frenchy complaining about the refs tonight? I only ask that because there were a lot of fouls that the Zips committed tonight.

Frenchy was as scathing about the refs as I've ever heard. At one point following the Harney travel and the makeup 3 second call, he stated something to the effect of "these refs should never be allowed to officiate a game ever again".

[Dr Z]

Frenchy was as scathing about the refs as I've ever heard. At one point following the Harney travel and the makeup 3 second call, he stated something to the effect of "these refs should never be allowed to officiate a game ever again".

I used to really enjoy listening to Frenchy. After the Miami of Ohio (football) game this year and all the ref complaining, if there is another option other than Reghi, I'll take it. I can only take so much. Mac refs suck, always have, always will, paint me another picture. I tune in for entertainment, I don't enjoy that. If this changes, someone let me know.

I keep using the words "Lack of Focus" to describe our offensive woes. We must get it figured out.

I forgot to mention in the Marshall thread. I got to witness someone moving on offense without the ball. Deji lost his defender, cut to the hoop, (I would give credit here for the player that passed the ball, but I missed it) got the pass, and dunked it. More of that please (moving without the ball). Play of the year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

General Observation: Over the past few seasons, opponents would marvel at the fact that the Zips could substitute a 2nd wave of players that was still better than their own starters. That is not the case this season.

Specific Observation: McAdams, Evans and Kretzer need to get on track. Our entire offense is predicated on them hitting the open 3.

When they are chucking bricks from 23 feet, Tree gets pissed down low. When Tree gets pissed, he saunters. When Tree saunters, and we hoist up 23 foot bricks, we get run out of the gym.

Our point guard deficiencies are well known. But our outside shooting woes have officially surpassed the PG woes in my book. OU will beat us by 30 if Evans, Kretzer and McAdams don't start hitting their open shots. Several teams will.

[jjackson123]

When they are chucking bricks from 23 feet, Tree gets pissed down low. When Tree gets pissed, he saunters. When Tree saunters, and we hoist up 23 foot bricks, we get run out of the gym.

This sounds like a cable commercial and is very true. You should have ended with "Don't chuck bricks from 23 feet"

[zippy5]

General Observation: Over the past few seasons, opponents would marvel at the fact that the Zips could substitute a 2nd wave of players that was still better than their own starters. That is not the case this season.

Specific Observation: McAdams, Evans and Kretzer need to get on track. Our entire offense is predicated on them hitting the open 3.

When they are chucking bricks from 23 feet, Tree gets pissed down low. When Tree gets pissed, he saunters. When Tree saunters, and we hoist up 23 foot bricks, we get run out of the gym.

Our point guard deficiencies are well known. But our outside shooting woes have officially surpassed the PG woes in my book. OU will beat us by 30 if Evans, Kretzer and McAdams don't start hitting their open shots. Several teams will.

Yep. I think the best our offense has looked in the past years is when J-Wood touched the ball almost every possession. We need to work inside-out, Tree needs to touch the ball most possessions. Seems like we've got it backwards lately.

[Hilltopper]

The team still hasn't found its identity yet. Everyone is still not sure when to shoot and when to pass. We pass up wide open shots and take contested ones with nobody in position to get a rebound. Still comes back to the lack of good point guard play. Only 10 assists last night.

[Dr Z]

Yep. I think the best our offense has looked in the past years is when J-Wood touched the ball almost every possession. We need to work inside-out, Tree needs to touch the ball most possessions. Seems like we've got it backwards lately.

I like your thinking. Seems like we could run multiple plays off the 1-4 stack to get him the ball, we just don't. I watched SC doing consistently against us. Please spare me the "we need a pg to run the plays", I can get freshman off any mac bench to run these elementary plays. The horns offense plays too far away from the basket, if we don't hit threes, we're doomed. Doesn't seem like it takes advantage of our current talent IMO. By the way, I thought this when Zeke was on the team too.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Only 10 assists last night.

Tough to get an assist when the guy you're passing the ball to cannot hit the open look.

[phil]

Q knows when to shoot. He was looking for his shot all the time and kept this team in the game. KD indicated on the postgame that the "team gutted one out" Using coach speak that means we did not play well and still won. This team is struggling and we won our last 2 games. But it is not pretty basketball.

I did not see the entire game but what I did see was Bentacourt and Evens struggling. They cannot penetrate. Evens loves to dribble East and West. Our offense looks so stagnent. I hate seeing Kretzer and Q lauching threes several feet behing the 3 line. Reggie shot a three off a screen when he rushed the shot. Both of them missing open threes. The good new is I saw both of them drive to the basket. They need to learn to penetrate. Harney, Q and Tree can penetrate a defense but if they pass off to a wing who misses an open 3 in does not help.

This team needs to get better to make a run for the Mac championship. Cheatham got a few minutes and had only one shot, an outside 3. That is not the way to get more playing time. Also, our 3 balls were not even close.

Winning ugly is still winning. They will have to play better to win at OU

[Hilltopper]

Tough to get an assist when the guy you're passing the ball to cannot hit the open look.

So what do you think is the reason they can't hit the shots? They made them last year.

[Hilltopper]

I like your thinking. Seems like we could run multiple plays off the 1-4 stack to get him the ball, we just don't. I watched SC doing consistently against us. Please spare me the "we need a pg to run the plays", I can get freshman off any mac bench to run these elementary plays. The horns offense plays too far away from the basket, if we don't hit threes, we're doomed. Doesn't seem like it takes advantage of our current talent IMO.

I guess the reason I'm so stuck on the point guard play is because in the past that guy has been the leader on KD's teams. This years team is really lacking a leader on the court. During KD's tenure we had Dru then Steve and then Alex. Diggs seems to be trying at least.

[Dave in Green]

Looking at a few areas in a little more detail:

Shooting -- Everyone is focused on 3s right now because last night's 3-23 (13%) performance continues a several-game cold streak. This will correct itself. The Zips have several players who can hit their 3s at a 35%+ rate over the season, and they will have runs where they hit above that average just as they are now hitting below. On 2-point field goals, the Zips were 23-42 (54.7%). That's above average, and a good sign that the inside game is working when it's used properly. On free throws the Zips were 17-24 (70.8%). That's slightly above the NCAA average 69% -- not great but acceptable compared with the Zips' season free throw percentage. All other things being equal, if the Zips had an average 3-point shooting night against BSU they easily win by double digits.

Ball protection -- I already mentioned that the Zips had only 8 turnovers. How good is that? Wisconsin leads the country in fewest turnovers per game, averaging 8.2. If the Zips had only 8 turnovers per game as they did last night, they'd be leading the country in ball protection. Of course they haven't shown that they can come anywhere near averaging only 8 turnovers per game. But they deserve credit for doing it last night, and need to continue working on bringing down the average number of turnovers.

Rebounding -- Once again the Zips were outrebounded. What's this all about? A lot of fans used to post here that Zeke was a weak rebounder, so surely the Zips aren't missing him? What about Tree? You'd think with Zeke gone that Tree would be grabbing an even bigger share of rebounds. Yet even though he's averaging almost 2 minutes per game more playing time than last season, his rebounding average is down from 7.9 to 7.6. Is that because with Zeke gone defenders can focus more on boxing out Tree? If so, where is his help on the boards? The Zips' roster averages slightly more height this season even with Zeke's departure. Why can't they outrebound shorter teams? Last night 6-4 guard Rian Pearson led Toledo with 13 rebounds. When's the last time a Zips big had 13 rebounds? Bottom line is that when it comes to rebounding, heart matters more than height, and the Zips need more heart when it comes to crashing the boards.

[Captain Kangaroo]

So what do you think is the reason they can't hit the shots? They made them last year.

If you want my honest assessment...I think McAdams is rushing his shot. He's a catch-and-shoot guy, so he needs to get it off quickly. But he is rushing his shot too much at the expense of accuracy.

I mentioned in the Hawai'i tourney that Kretzer's form is off. His shot is typically text book. But I see his elbow and arms drifting to the side on his follow through. That could be due to being off-balance. Or it could be due to him shooting from distances too far from the hoop...the further away you are, the worse your form becomes.

If I'm McAdams, I start pump-faking more, sliding to the right, and hitting my shot more in rhythm. If I am Kretzer, I focus on my footwork and balance, and I start taking shots closer to the line.

And for both - if the outside shot isn't falling, drive to the hole. It is amazing what a couple lay-ups can do to improve the confidence in your outside shot.

Slumps are common to all sports, and are contagious. And these guys are obviously slumping (we know they are capable of hitting the "3" at a 35+ % clip). Once one of them figures it out, the other will follow.

[Dr Z]

Once again the Zips were outrebounded. What's this all about?

On one side of the court, offensively, like I stated above, we play too far away from the rim. See my above post for solution.

[Hilltopper]

If you want my honest assessment...I think McAdams is rushing his shot. He's a catch-and-shoot guy, so he needs to get it off quickly. But he is rushing his shot too much at the expense of accuracy.

I mentioned in the Hawai'i tourney that Kretzer's form is off. His shot is typically text book. But I see his elbow and arms drifting to the side on his follow through. That could be due to being off-balance. Or it could be due to him shooting from distances too far from the hoop...the further away you are, the worse your form becomes.

If I'm McAdams, I start pump-faking more, sliding to the right, and hitting my shot more in rhythm. If I am Kretzer, I focus on my footwork and balance, and I start taking shots closer to the line.

And for both - if the outside shot isn't falling, drive to the hole. It is amazing what a couple lay-ups can do to improve the confidence in your outside shot.

Slumps are common to all sports, and are contagious. And these guys are obviously slumping (we know they are capable of hitting the "3" at a 35+ % clip). Once one of them figures it out, the other will follow.

I agree with your assessment. McAdams is rushing his shot because we are a tick slow on all our passes. I was encouraged last night that Jake had 3 2pt field goals.

[Dave in Green]

@Dr Z, in rebounds per game the Zips are currently ranked #45 in the country at the offensive end (13.4), #313 on defense (21.7) and #204 in total (35.1). Defensive rebounding is the major problem.

[lance99]

@Dr Z, in rebounds per game the Zips are currently ranked #45 in the country at the offensive end (13.4), #313 on defense (21.7) and #204 in total (35.1). Defensive rebounding is the major problem.

Yikes!

When you are 300+ in rebounding in the country, teams will pick up on that in a hurry!

[Hilltopper]

@Dr Z, in rebounds per game the Zips are currently ranked #45 in the country at the offensive end (13.4), #313 on defense (21.7) and #204 in total (35.1). Defensive rebounding is the major problem.

Where do we rank in opponents shots / possessions per game?

[skip-zip]

I forgot to mention something about my man Quincy...

Again, he's probably the best player we've had in almost 30 years who can take the ball from the perimeter and finish at the rim. However, when he's being guarded one-on-one, he seems to take the step back jumper far too often, too far away from the basket, and is rarely balanced. For the remainder of the year, I'd really like to see 80% take it to the rim, and 20% jumpers. He has the ability to destroy the MAC with that formula.

[Dave in Green]

Where do we rank in opponents shots / possessions per game?

I think what you're getting at is that teams with slower game paces take fewer shots and don't have as many opportunities to rebound, so they inherently average fewer rebounds per game. The more accurate way to gauge relative team performance is by rebounding percentage, which measures what percentage of missed shots a team rebounds. This removes the game pace factor and allows direct comparisons of all teams regardless of pace. Zips rebounding looks a little better when adjusted for pace. The Zips rebound 38.2% of all shots they miss, which is good for #27 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. But they only rebound 65.9% of all shots missed by their opponents, which ranks them #287 in defensive percentage. Combined they grab 52.1% of all rebounds, good for #98 nationally. So comparing the percentages of the 350-odd D1 teams, the Zips are darn close to top 25 performance in offensive rebounding, in the bottom 75 in defensive rebounding and just barely top 100 in overall rebounding.

[GP1]

The team still hasn't found its identity yet.

Sure they have. Sometimes the answer is very simple. It is the exact team KD has always had and the players aren't playing as well as they are capable or, they are not as good as we think.....or, they are both not as good as we think and they aren't playing well. The truth is right in front of all of us. When the players play better, the identity crisis will be solved, or not depending on the competition. They are two games away from the mid point of the season. By now, teams are what they are going to be. The Zips are what they are and while it may not look good, they still won. This team isn't going to peak late and every game is going to be a struggle.