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Post by Grizzfan1 on Feb 4, 2011 21:58:35 GMT -5
Big game coming up in Indy. The Jags will be looking to knock the Grizz off from the ranks of the unbeaten and are certainly capable of doing it. Will they do it? Who knows, but one thing is for sure. I love the mindset the fellas have taken this entire season with the one game at a time approach. They have not allowed themselves to get "too high" during this streak nor have they gotten "too low" with some of the close losses earlier this season. If they can get through the Jags we are very likely to see history in the making but "one game at a time"  . |
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Post by Garry Gilbert on Feb 4, 2011 22:37:19 GMT -5
This is a very interesting matchup, isn't it? I expect OU to win by double digits. Why? There is the obvious revenge angle -- IUPUI is the only SL team to beat Oakland in two seasons. Remember, that game was played in the Jags' Jungle gym in front of a full house. It seats just 1,200 people. espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300280085Saturday's game will be at cavernous Conseco fieldhouse, which seats 18,000. Looking back, Thursday's IUPUI-IPFW rivaly game at Conseco drew only 1,600 -- that creates a much different dynamic that should benefit OU. Also, I saw both IUPUI and Oral Roberts at the O'rena in January and walked away thinking ORU is the superior and more scary team. Also I note that IUPUI lost at home to ORU in early December by two points. espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=303380085No doubt the Grizz will be emotionally charged for this game. Let's just hope that doesn't lead to excess turnovers and poor foul shooting -- the two flaws that might mean the end of this 20-game winning streak. |
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Post by blackandgold on Feb 4, 2011 23:58:13 GMT -5
Very excited for this game as I think we'll learn a lot about both of the league's premier teams this season. IUPUI has been on a roll as of late with Young/Nobles/Thomas/Siakam all playing extremely well in the last few games. They had a guy step into the starting line-up in place of Ashworth recently (Sean Esposito) and he hit something like 6 of 9 three pointers against IPFW. If they get that kind of production outside of their big four guys, then they are much formidable than I would like to see  But I like the Grizzlies defense to prevent those kind of nights from unsuspecting players. I'll be at the game tomorrow night and looking forward to seeing how the dynamic that garrygilbert mentioned is inside an NBA arena. Preview: grizzliesgameplan.blogspot.com/2011/02/game-preview-oakland-at-iupui.html |
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Post by nate on Feb 5, 2011 9:17:06 GMT -5
You could tell when these two teams faced of in the O'rena that the gameplan was to attack Kito. Siakam was trying to use his weight advantage to backdown Kito. The goal was to see if Kito would go for the block and they would draw an easy foul. It worked because Kito only played 23 minutes and spent a good amount of time on the bench. As soon as the back of his numbers touched the back of the chair, Alex Young was high flying like a super hero in the O'rena. The Jags started attacking the basket. I think they will carry a similar gameplan tonight at Conseco. I think our success against IUPUI is to use our advantage at the guard position, and effectively use Will. They really don't have anybody that can guard both Kito and Will. Therefore, if Kito stays out of foul trouble, we should win. I think it will be a good game, but if 2,000 fans show up in Conseco..........Advantage: Oakland. GO GRIZZLIES!!!
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Post by Dan Fenner on Feb 5, 2011 11:01:09 GMT -5
I'm predicting a seven point margin of victory for OU today.
And I'm on board with the idea that Oral Roberts is ahead of IUPUI in terms of teams that could knock off OU come tournament time.
Just as it did in last year's championship game in Sioux Falls, I think the Jags' lack of depth is going to cost them. On a one-for-one basis, they can come very close to matching our starting 5 (minus Benson). But when a shooter like Wright, a defender like Bass, and a backup 7-foot center like Ilija come off the bench, they just can't match that.
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Post by Germane on Feb 5, 2011 11:50:12 GMT -5
In the latest Coach's Corner, Kampe said the team had big travel problems yesterday. Plane issues forced them to wait around in Macomb all afternoon, and they weren't able to get into Indy and practice until last night.
Benson has to stay out of foul trouble this time around, so that he and Hudson can be on the floor at the same time. Last month in Rochester our guards supplied the offense, and I hope to see us dominate in the paint tonight.
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Post by Germane on Feb 5, 2011 20:28:47 GMT -5
Benson fouls out and Oakland is down 11 midway through the second half. Can't watch the game, so no idea if the fouls are bad calls or not.
Bader just hits a 3 to cut the deficit to 8.
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Post by Dan Fenner on Feb 5, 2011 20:31:55 GMT -5
I tweet back and forth with the writer of the IUPUI fan blog and he admitted there were a lot of calls that shouldn't have been in the first half.
I've always thought Summit League officials try very, very hard to keep fouls pretty even. Not the case tonight.
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Post by Leobrn12 on Feb 5, 2011 20:32:31 GMT -5
Once again Benson struggles against IUPUI. Doesn't look good for us.
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Post by Germane on Feb 5, 2011 20:55:27 GMT -5
Judging from comments by Mario and Neal, maybe Benson didn't so much struggle as get jobbed with touch fouls.
Anyway, losses happen. Disappointing.
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