LSF: Announcers said Dayan was sick. Also, cameras caught a quick glimpse of you and Wisconsin Colonial in the bleachers.

Thanks LSF and Wisconsin Colonial 1974 for the in-person reports.  Always helpful to receive that perspective.  Some quick thoughts this morning:

Great scouting report on the part of K State.  For starters, they were handing Jun open jump shots from distance all night if he wanted them.  Knowing he would rarely take the bait, they packed the lane making it near-impossible to blow by defenders.

Prior to the calf issue, this game was Jacoi at his absolute best.  He has often played a deferential role on offense as point guards are often conditioned to do.  On this team, the best chances for success will be when he's really looking to score when those opportunities present themselves.

Speaking of Jacoi, you may recall last season how well Jacoi and Trey Autry played together.  They not only brought energy to the court but their instincts for how one another plays were very impressive.  Pairing Christian and Trey Moss together would result in a backcourt which could be effective at forcing turnovers.  I'd like to see these guys playing primarily (not exclusively) as pairs.

This was obviously a bad matchup for Sean but what I can't get out of my mind is why he never sems to be looking to shoot.  He's a very good passer out of the high post and his pick setting is fine.  But if he can shoot the 3, on a team that needs better 3 point shooting, it's time to start letting a few fly. (He has taken 3 in 93 minutes of play so far.  And has made 2 of these.)  And yes, zero rebounds in 24 minutes is troubling. Ty Bevins grabbed 2 boards in 5 minutes of play.

I would attribute the shell-shocked nature of the first half to the team's relative inexperience playing against P5 opponents.  If K State's uniforms had read Dayton or St. Louis instead, this could very well have been a more competitive game start to finish.  This point does not solely refer to the first 4 games.  It also applies to guys like Gerald and Trey Moss who have likely had very few chances to compete against this level of competition throughout their careers.

FQ commented (I am paraphrasing) that these two transfers just may not be A10 caliber or put another way, not as sound as we had hoped.  My jury is still out on this but the possibility of this being the case is becoming more and more real after each game.

The next two games are important ones for us.  We should be better than Louisiana (we are a 7.5 point favorite) so we need to come out with energy, pay attention to detail on defense so their quick players can’t put is on our heels, and make some shots. 

If we take care of business today, we will most likely play UAB, a team we will be underdogs against but a winnable game. UAB has a beast of a center, so it would be really good to get to match up against them to help us get ready for A10 play.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

Wisconsin Colonial and I were able to watch the Liberty/Louisana game.    I will repeat that Liberty is very good and very deep.   They outrebounded Louisiana 33-18 and their backcourt was excellent, with WIsconsin Colonial comparing their point guard to Scott Skiles.  Louisiana came out against Liberty much like we came out against K State.   I accurately predicted we would not have 10 points in the first ten minutes (we had 9) and the same was true for Louisiana.  For much of the first half, they were so physically outmatched at every position that they were just firing up some wild 3s and at times looked like they were just throwing the ball at the basket.   Louisiana did seem well coached, but the talent disparity was so great that they really didn't have a chance.  They were ultimately able to get their shooting percentages up to a respectable 44.6 (33.3 from the 3), but most of their makes came during extended garbage time.   Louisiana looks beatable,    Buchanan and Castro should look more like they did during the firts 4 games, as they are not big, but they are quick and if one or two of their players goes off on us, they can beat us, especially if Jacoi is either slowed by injury or even out.  (He was hobbling quite badly the second half of the game last night).   Personally, I would like to see more Autry and Jones and less Moss and Drumgoole, but we are not quite there yet.  Although both may be valuble off the bench, I don't think we are that good when they both start...at least so far.  Likewise, I would like to see us continue to work Bevins in, but it was clear from K State he was not ready for that level of competition.    Same with Dayan.  (Thanks for the update, Poog).  CC continues to more and more have Castro and Hansen on the court together, but I am not sure if that helps us or hurts us.   Our offense is in need of more versatility, and having both on the Court at the same time really seems to tie our hands.

Special thanks to LSF for the advance scouting report on Liberty.  Was able to secure a small + number for money-lining Liberty at halftime last night and that was already with K State behind by 3.  The Wildcats had a couple of good looks to win it but the gambling Gods must have felt sorry for me, especially after the 1:00 NFL window yesterday.