A few other thoughts...
1) It's not that Vandy lost, but how it lost that's so frustrating. I got a chance to talk to Alex Gordon and Ross Neltner in the locker room following the game and here's what they had to say:
"I don’t know if its matchup problems or we just never get up to play them or I don’t know what is, but we didn’t have any excuse today to not come ready to play. We just weren’t ready and it showed.” -- Neltner
“We just didn’t play with enough urgency today. We’ll be ready for the NCAA Tournament I think. Hopefully this tournament and that loss can put a little hunger into us and make us want it more.” -- GordonAs disconcerting as these comments are to hear, at least they provide an explanation as to why the Commodores were out-hustled so badly. They lost the rebounding battle 45-24 and were outscored 50-20 in the paint. Just let those numbers sink in...
2) While some of you may be panicking over today's performance, this loss actually doesn't change my opinion of Vandy. It only reaffirmed what I already knew -- that the Commodores struggle mightily against athletic teams that have the ability to break them down off the dribble and attack the offensive glass.
As Stallings pointed out in the post-game press conference, the NCAA Tourney is all about match ups. If Vandy gets a good draw like it did a year ago when it played George Washington and Washington State, it has a very good chance of advancing to Sweet 16 and possibly beyond. At the same time, no one would be shocked to see the Commodores get upset in the first round either.
3) In terms of seeding, I tried to ask Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings about it, and he got somewhat annoyed.
"I'm not going to get into that speculative, we deserve this or we deserve that. The committee will decide what we deserve. I'm not I'm sorry, I just don't care to answer that kind of question because I don't think it makes any difference."
I also asked Neltner, and he said he was expecting a 5-7 seed, which I think is about right. I see the Commodores as a 6 seed given how poorly they have played away from Memorial.
Let me know what you guys think. Does today's game make you worried about the Commodores' chances in the Big Dance?
Posts
5 comments:
I guess the most worrisome aspect of today's loss was that it came in an NCAA tournament game atmosphere. They were playing another tournament team on a neutral floor, and the game felt like a tournament game in terms of intensity and flow. If they can't get up for that, why should we believe they will get up for their tournament games?
There are bright spots too though, and Stallings got some good minutes from Andre Walker and Jamie Graham. That was a welcome change from the habitually useless bench. Also, Ogilvy turned in another very solid performance, and looks more like the Ogilvy of the first 15 games than the last 15.
It was sort of similar to an NCAA tournament atmosphere, but the stands were largely empty. It made for a horrible telecast, and was reminiscent of a WNBA game. How is this tourney promoting SEC basketball?
Yeah you're right about that Chip, but Vandy's first round site might not be full either, depending on where they end up. I guess the main point is just that we all know Vandy is great at home and awful on the road, but werent quite sure what to expect on a neutral site. Today's effort cannot be described as encouraging.
A couple of points while I wait for the Miss. State-Alabama game to resume (a severe storm just ripped two holes in the Georgia Dome, causing a delay)...
1) The fact that Vanderbilt couldn't get up for today's game, which had so much riding on it, is very troubling.
2) If you can't defend or rebound, you can't win, especially in the tourney. There's little evidence to suggest that Vandy has the ability to do either very well.
3) While it's easy for us to be negative a loss, keep in mind that arkansas is just not a good match-up for vandy. Last year's team lost an identical and went on the sweet 16...
Well, I agree whole-heartedly with you about what we already knew about Vandy. We have known for about 3 months now that we have trouble with athletic teams that have quick guards who can beat us off the dribble and big men who are big AND athletic. Let's face it, Neltner, Metcalfe, and Ogilvy aren't exactly Amare or Chism when it comes to leaping ability. I have said it before, and i will say it again, when a guy is 7 foot but has a 20 in. vertical goes up against a guy that is 6'9 with a 35 in. vertical, height really is not the biggest factor and that is what hurts Vandy a lot on the boards. We can not jump high enough to secure the ball. We just tip it around.
Another thing that miffs me about the game is that all these reporters are calling this an upset!! It is not an upset. Do some research. We have lost to them 5 straight times now and last time I checked Arkansas was 34 in the RPI. How about talking about the real upsets yesterday like Xavier choking, Indiana getting upset by Minny by a former Vandy recruit FYI, or Illinois beating Purdue. If anything, yesterday confirmed my belief that the Big 10 is the weakest conference by far out of the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, Big East, and Pac 10. I think Arkansas could beat everyone in the Big 10 but maybe Wisconsin.
A note on the NCAA tourney lineup: Foster, Walker, Ogilvy, Gordon, and Beal should start with Graham (our best perimeter defender) and Darshawn getting 15 min a game and Metcalfe, and Neltner each getting just under 10 min. Neltner and Metcalfe bring nothing to the table besides size and hurt more than help more often than not. I will happy to replace those two with more athletic bigs in Steve T. and Ezeli. Ogilvy needs to play smart and let a guy score the first 3/4 of the game rather than get in foul trouble although sometimes our lack of perimeter defense exposes Ogilvy and gets him into trouble.
Lastly, when the game ended, I said to Rutz we were a 6 seed. However, after the other results yesterday, some of which i mentioned above, I would be pretty disappointed if we weren't at least a 5 with an outside shot at a 4. Our RPI is still 10 after all.
Anyway sorry for the rant, just wanted to get some stuff off of my chest. I think when it is all said and done this team just doesn't have the mental toughness/desire needed to play away from Memorial. If we get some good match-ups like last year, I think we may be able to get to the Sweet 16, but that is as far as I see us going. If we have to play someone like Arizona in the first round we will be one and done. Here's hoping the college basketball gods are with us...
Post a Comment