ND proved last night…

[bbwvfan]

that size doesn't matter.

I have heard and read all season long about how certain teams were match up problems because of the length of the front court compared to WVU.

ND played 7 kids last night.

Auguste 6-10
Jackson 6-1
Vasturia 6-5
Grant 6-5
Connaughton 6-5

Off the bench…

Colson 6-5
Beachem 6-8 (he played a total of 3 min. last night)

UK went 9-9 down the stretch to narrowly defeat the Golden Domers. A great basketball game, and one of the few times I ever cheer for ND. I hate UK… and I hate Pitt. The only other team I would route for ND against their opponent.

ND is smaller than WVU… yet they finished their shots at the rim. Only made 4 three point shots for the night.
Weird huh…

 

[Mac_Bridger]

Auguste 6-10 JR
Jackson 6-1 SO
Vasturia 6-5 SO
Grant 6-5 SR
Connaughton 6-5 SR

----------

J Holton 6-7 JR
D Williams 6-9 SO
D Miles 6-3 FR
G Browne 6-1 SR
J Staten 6-1 SR

We're still smaller than ND...

 

[SteelersPride]

ND got some serious shooters

 

[GoldRusher]

Makes me excited for next year. We develop or bring in a good shooter or two then we could be looking at a very good season again next year. Feels strange saying that losing a senior player like Staten and a senior like Browne but I think its true.

 

[bbwvfan]

Auguste 6-10 JR
Jackson 6-1 SO
Vasturia 6-5 SO
Grant 6-5 SR
Connaughton 6-5 SR

----------

J Holton 6-7 JR
D Williams 6-9 SO
D Miles 6-3 FR
G Browne 6-1 SR
J Staten 6-1 SR

We're still smaller than ND...

Off the bench for WVU…

Adrian 6-9
Macon 6-9
Carter 6-2
Phillip 6-3

WVU's starting 5 was shorter at two positions, and the WVU bench was much larger…

 

[bbwvfan]

At such a definite height disadvantage, you would have thought ND stood no chance against UK… being such a poor match up and all…

 

[Slaton10]

ND got some serious shooters

I agree...Wv has an incredibly hard time hitting open mid range and 3 point shots consistently...ND has reliable shooters...Kentucky felt that Wv wasn't going to beat them from the outside..so they packed in...ND was made Kentucky move around...and that my friends was the difference between the two teams and two games...

 

[bbwvfan]

ND had an excellent offense. They shot the ball well from the floor. 51% overall FG shooting... 39% from the 3. At season's end, WVU had a few of their players shooting around 38% from the 3... Miles, Paige and Browne.

ND shot 4/14 from beyond the 3 against UK... WVU shot 2/14.

The difference... ND passed well... took the ball to the rim without double clutching and altering their shot... and took many reverse layups using the basket to protect against the shot blockers.

ND is a great passing team. More impressed with how they defended UK... being so undersized...

 

[DCWV4life]

Are we still on this....39 points BB.

Plus no one said that a smaller team could not beat a bigger team that is just ridiculous.

If you want to break it down that way Kentucky's size and length sure as heck made it hard for ND to get a good shot off its last three possessions.

 

[DCWV4life]

Did Notre Dame stop Townes at all during the second half of that game? He powered over them to the tune of 25 pts 10-13 FG. Difference in game since the rest of the team shot the ball very poorly.

 

[GoldRusher]

We were just 6-8 shots from winning that game vs. UK.
But Cal won't let them drink on the bench so....

 

[bbwvfan]

Are we still on this....39 points BB.

Plus no one said that a smaller team could not beat a bigger team that is just ridiculous.

If you want to break it down that way Kentucky's size and length sure as heck made it hard for ND to get a good shot off its last three possessions.

Was it simply a matter of their size and length... or that they are great defenders?

 

[bbwvfan]

Did Notre Dame stop Townes at all during the second half of that game? He powered over them to the tune of 25 pts 10-13 FG. Difference in game since the rest of the team shot the ball very poorly.

Auguste was 10-13 as well...

Towns took advantage of the fact Auguste had 4 fouls, and ND had a short bench.

Unlike our knuckleheads who make stupid fouls... even when in foul trouble... Auguste played smart and did not foul out.

Point to take home... WVU was a challenged team offensively. They did not pass well... they did not have a bunch of great shooters.

UK's size was a difference maker... but, when you have a good offensive team... lack of height will not cause the offense to become totally inept...

 

[Anotherwvufan]

Big difference in personnel between ND and us. They have 3 point shooters that demand attention and forced Kentucky to play outside which opened up the inside where Auguste was able to compete and get his shots off. Having 3 point shooters and a big man who can score against big men plus the fact that Kentucky may have played their worst game of the year is what made that game close.

I was very surprised to see a close game. I'm back to thinking that Kentucky could not beat any NBA team is given the chance.

 

[WvuDieHard]

BB--Notre Dame got ripped off big time. As a referee, the biggest cardinal sin in basketball is blow that whistle with less than 10 seconds in the game on a very questionable block. And yes, ND shoots ball way better than WV and did you see how they move without the ball? Much like the old Belein teams huh? WV has match up problem with other teams with size and length because they cant shoot very well. Size and length make you a) shoot well from the outside or B) spread 'em out and back door cut them. When a team knows you can't shoot from the scouting report, they take the back door away and force you to shoot. Hence, the reason for WV 39 points in a game. Is it a match up problem, yes due to our shooting problem. So there is coorelation when you think of it that way.

 

[bbwvfan]

Could not agree with you more DIEHARD.

That is why I provided my take home point in my last post.

Don't say a team is a bad match up simply because of the height differential. UK was a great defensive team... Their height just contributed to the problem. BU's height meant little... Texas' height meant little in affecting the outcomes of those games. Both teams had really good defenses. OU had a great defense... but did not have a height advantage on WVU... yet OU enjoyed a blow out win in Norman.