Opens Princeton -11 O/U 147
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Mitch playing a lot of guys. Tigers playing up 16 with 3 and a half to play in the half.
Lead 52-29. What a first half! Tons of energy on the boards and on defense. Lots of fouls, but lots of TOs forced.
Only problem is that Xaivian has 3 of those fouls (2 of them very clumsy). That said, it seems to have forced other guys to contribute.
Love what Happy and Seals have given us. Maybe next season won’t be the post-Lee letdown I was expecting.
Tigers drop 52 on the Pilots in the first half without turning the ball over a single time. Lead 52-29. Lee with two early fouls (and eventually a third) sits on the bench for much of the half and accounts for just two of Princeton’s points.
Portland’s play is so ragged; hard to judge ours. Like what I see of Stanton.
Bang! Tigers go up 32. Passing beautifully and knocking down threes with abandon. Not sure how this Portland team took Oregon to overtime.
Great therapy session. Tigers up 39. The freshmen are showing a lot of game.
This is delightfully bizarre - absolute domination with the bench. I hope this energizes the team before the long break.
We may have found something with CJ Happy. 6-9, strong, skilled. Plays both ends of the court. I’ve give him a chance to start.
Both teams treating this like a scrimmage now - all bench players.
This freshman class could be something special. Not just the talent but the balance - Happy, Abdullahi, Seals, Stanton. Just need one more ballhandler to have a great starting 5.
I’d love to see CJ, Malik, Cade, Xaivian, and Dalen on the court together.
The D3 game would be a good chance to test that out.
I’m still not a fan of Hicke. He keeps driving into the paint with no plan. Picks up his dribble in a crowd, makes a bad TO or takes an ugly shot. He’s also not strong or athletic enough on defense - gets pushed around easily.
Seals really impressing me with his all-around play. And he’s very big and strong for a SG. Can definitely body up wings too.
Don’t want to get too excited about the freshmen, but even if this against the Portland bench, this is not the d3 game. Freshmen look more advanced mentally and physically than you normally see. Stanton and Happy look like they can contribute. Seals looks like he can handle the ball and has good vision. Abdullahi has already played first team minutes.
It may take time to get these guys integrated but it’s the new Ivy League- we have more time with the tourney.
Agreed. We gotta use these remaining non-conf games to get ready for the Ivy and ILT. I’ll take 2023 (frustrating non-conf, amazing March) over last season (great non-conf, ILT choke).
Malik is the one freshman I know will be a future star, but Happy and Seals may be more important this season. We need a true big man at center. We need a wing with some size.
In addition to the St. Joe’s game. Furman is having a hot start and will be eager to avenge last year’s heartbreaker. Let’s see what these guys are made of.
I may be a little irrationally exuberant here coming off the last two disappointments but I can’t remember four freshmen looking this good this early in the season.
Same here, it’s not just today, it was the comeback last game too. The defense, shot selection, spacing can be freshman like, but the game doesn’t appear too fast for them like you would expect.
It’s also worth noting that the lead grew to 40 (twice) under the mostly freshmen lineup. It wasn’t like the starters gave them a 40 pt lead that came down to 27. They were easily outplaying Portland’s bench until the final garbage time minutes.
Even before the season began, I thought CJ Happy looked like a potential freshman contributor. He plays within himself and doesn’t get pushed around. Has the moves, strength, and can shoot a little too.
Tigers have had a lot of trouble when opponents get physical with them. CJ, Malik, and Peyton play big and hopefully can address this.
Mitch has always harped on foul avoidance but I’ve never agreed with that approach. Basketball is played on the court, not on a computer. If you don’t play physical, you’re letting the opponent off the hook.
You also get called for very soft fouls when you finally DO decide to play physical. Refs are human and let physical teams bump and grab while whistling our guys for light contact.
Pierce and Lee need to avoid foul trouble, but literally everyone else should be bumping, shoving and reaching in every chance they get. Unfairly or not, small players get away with a lot of contact against bigger players. Just ask Zach Edey.