Game 6: Fresno State University (in Cancun, Mexico), Wednesday, November 22nd, 6 PM, CBSSN

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

I'm not upset. This team is figuring out who they are. A week of rest and films will do this team wonders.

Prediction: We will look MUCH better against JMU. Probably not what people on the boards want to hear right now but bank on it.

This team is resilient despite being one of the youngest (if not the youngest) teams in the NCAA. These are the dues a team must pay to grow.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Oh and A10 0-4 so far tonight. Tough day.

 

[MasonSAE4]

3 bench points is uhhh....something

 

[hoops10]

Its only appropriate that we decided to play the "Ole"defense. We finally started sinking some buckets only to let FS just drive to the basket time & time again. Its a shame we just cant seem to recruit better big men. My guess is that all remaining games will feature the same strategy from our opponents.

 

[Five Two]

Anyone else feel like Boyd looks uninterested on the defensive end?
I think we have to play more zone. We just can't control the paint; way to many easy baskets.

I love Otis, but his last two minutes were rough. Bad shot selection on a wild layup attempt (I had no problem with the three point attempt) and then gets the ball stolen. On the turnover, he wasn't even close to Mar who was setting that pick. Run his man off Mar, and he doesn't steal the ball. Maybe he is tired because he has to play 38 minutes a game.

Mar continues to be a beast.

I give the boys credit for fighting back. This game could have gotten out of hand. Still, this was a game they could have won.

 

[GMUgemini]

Its only appropriate that we decided to play the "Ole"defense. We finally started sinking some buckets only to let FS just drive to the basket time & time again. Its a shame we just cant seem to recruit better big men. My guess is that all remaining games will feature the same strategy from our opponents.

He had Shevon and Jalen on the roster when he got here. Dixon was a reach. Relvao and Temara turned out to be huge disappointments. Calixte seems to be slowly coming along. Reuter is waiting in the wings.

At the very least, we've got the 4 nailed down for the next four years. Got to find that anchor.

 

[JimP]

Lotsa heart. Easy to root for. However, is this team plus Reuter really a big time threat to make the NCAA's next year? Not so sure about that.

Probably being too harsh, but the only thing this years team has proven is that it is capable of beating the bottom 100 of the NCAA at home.

 

[GMUgemini]

Lotsa heart. Easy to root for. However, is this team plus Reuter really a big time threat to make the NCAA's next year? Not so sure about that.

Probably being too harsh, but the only thing this years team has proven is that it is capable of beating the bottom 100 of the NCAA at home.

I think so. I mean, you're talking about a team with three injured starters and one true forward in an 8 man rotation, which starts one PG and 4 wing players.

I mean, obviously it really depends on what happens with AJ, Greene and Calixte's development as well as how good Reuter actually is.

 

[JimP]

I think so. I mean, you're talking about a team with three injured starters and one true forward in an 8 man rotation, which starts one PG and 4 wing players.

I mean, obviously it really depends on what happens with AJ, Greene and Calixte's development as well as how good Reuter actually is.

I haven't been keeping up on the extent of the injuries - so perhaps I'm being too harsh. However - injuries do demonstrate that GMU has very little depth.

 

[GMUgemini]

I haven't been keeping up on the extent of the injuries - so perhaps I'm being too harsh. However - injuries do demonstrate that GMU has very little depth.

GMU has no depth right now...

 

[PoorManProfit]

The lack of defense has got to be killing Paulsen. Looks like a Hewitt team with how many open 3’s we are giving up these past 2 days.

I'm sure it's been brought up here before, but Paulsen's teams at BUCK were not good on defense. I believe they were close to the bottom nationally.

 

[GMUgemini]

I'm sure it's been brought up here before, but Paulsen's teams at BUCK were not good on defense. I believe they were close to the bottom nationally.

I'm pretty sure they were usually top 100 actually.

For instance, the last time they made the tournament (2012-2013) they were ranked 4th nationally in field goal percentage defense, 14 in scoring defense, 30 in rebounding margin, 32 in scoring margin, and 40th in 3-point FG percentage defense.

In 2011-2012 (NIT second round) Bucknell was 26th in field goal percentage defense, 16th in rebounding margin, 36th in scoring defense, 50th in scoring margin, and 174th in 3-point FG percentage defense.

 

[PoorManProfit]

I'm pretty sure they were usually top 100 actually.

For instance, the last time they made the tournament (2012-2013) they were ranked 4th nationally in field goal percentage defense, 14 in scoring defense, 30 in rebounding margin, 32 in scoring margin, and 40th in 3-point FG percentage defense.

Hard to argue those numbers. Just one year, but impressive nonetheless.

 

[GMUgemini]

Hard to argue those numbers. Just one year, but impressive nonetheless.

I edited to include 2011-2012. Here is 2010-2011 (another NCAA tournament season)

16th in field goal percentage defense, 197th in rebounding margin, 61st scoring defense, 64th scoring margin, 35th 3-point FG percentage defense.

 

[GMUgemini]

And here are GMU's numbers last year (2016-2017) as a comparison:

103rd field goal percentage defense, 9th rebounding margin, 161st scoring defense, 149th scoring margin, 72nd 3-point FG percentage defense.

 

[MASONscott]

Just watched the game via DVR.

fwiw, we were considered bigger underdogs going into this game and played better than last night. Still hoped for a better showing in both games.

Kier was off at times, but I love his drives to the baskets. Against Louisville he Grayer did that frequently. We will need that often going forward. Especially in games that the refs love to call a foul on the dribble drive.

Agree that we need to play more zone. Our man defense against slashers is weak. This is especailly a problem if the opposing team's strength is dribble drive - dish - outside shooters. Not to mention the possibility of foul trouble with a tight rotation is a real threat and theoretically zone D helps mitigates that a bit. However, our zone was way too soft. One single pick on the top of the zone should not open up the defense for a drive. Our man defense seems to be a problem because of our size and youth. Our zone seems to be a problem because it needs a lot more work.

On offense - the ball needs to move faster. A lot faster. It should be drive or pass. Too much wasted dribbling.

Mar is serious good.

 

[Petey Buckets]

Points allowed per 100 possessions while Dave was at Bucknell:

2014 Bucknell 106.1
2013 Bucknell 100.6
2012 Bucknell 92.3
2011 Bucknell 95.9
2010 Bucknell 96.5
2009 Bucknell 102.3

The last year is bad but a DRating around 100 is better than average and under 97 is very, very good. I'm a broken record on this but the defense will be fine once he finds a big who can anchor it. Goanar Mar defending the five is like duct-taping your bumper back onto your car.

Other stuff:

- Only two steals tonight, eight total turnovers for Fresno State. I'm not a fan of playing straight-up defense with such an unconventional lineup. We're not nearly as good at keeping teams off the boards this year. It's never been Dave's style but I'd be fine with gambling to force more turnovers. Turnovers also lead to easy buckets, which this team could use.

- 9 assists on 25 made field goals. Ball felt like it wasn't moving well and the box score reflects that.

- Otis, Boyd, Mar, and Jaire combined for 24-47 from the field and 65 points. Kier and the bench were 1-11 with 8 points. Being forced into a short rotation is killer because there's just no room for an off night from anyone.

- Felt like Calixte gave us some good minutes but somehow he didn't grab a rebound or block a shot in 10 minutes on the floor. We don't really have the luxury of bringing him or Javon along slowly if we're going to be any good this year.

Alright, done tilting. I hope they bonded on their retreat to Cancun like the Barden Bellas did in Pitch Perfect 2, which is on FX right now.

 

[GSII]

Its only a matter of time. This is not sustainable for 25 more games. A change is needed on defense AND the rooKs need to catch up for us to be mediocre. Imo, we are staring at a 4 win conf record.

Atleast DP told us from the beginning this season was already over.

 

[sleeperpick]

Its only a matter of time. This is not sustainable for 25 more games. A change is needed on defense AND the rooKs need to catch up for us to be mediocre. Imo, we are staring at a 4 win conf record.

Atleast DP told us from the beginning this season was already over.

Gotta appreciate you being consistently negative lol. You realize we play Richmond and Fordham right? So that should be 3 wins. GW is god awful and we play them twice. You are really super negative and uneducated on the A10 this year. I'll make a friendly wager we win more than 4 A10 games. La tech could make the tourney this year and Fresno state isn't bad.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I haven't really seen enough games but I assume Mason is still mostly playing pack-line style man defense.

That defense is supposed to limit points in the paint. But we have such a height/mass/experience deficit this year down low (as frickin' good as Mar looks, he's still a skinny frosh playing out of position) that we're having to sag even lower to limit points in the paint.

So, we're giving up more threes. We're also STILL losing most of the points in the paint battles, in this case we lost 40-30 to Fresno. We did beat Lafayette in POP (which is no biggie) and La. Tech, who hit 11 threes on us as a result. C-Sun killed us in POP. So did Louisville (expected). We tied Binghamton, which, whatever.

Gonna be tough sledding this year as these guys learn the defense. To be expected. And as I said, teams are going to exploit our lack of height and beef. Simple as that.

But I better not hear anyone blame troubles on depth/injuries. That is a problem of the staff's own making.

Still optimistic. Give the home fans a decent show this year and some wins and program remains in good shape. Can't lose revenue.