@SMU

[jacobkdoyle]

Originally Posted by waterhead

Really hoping that Troy steps his game up coming down the stretch of his senior year. He's been an emotional leader for us and I don't think we have seen as much emotion from him this year as in the past because he hasn't been asked to do as much.

Caupain has been a great emotional leader imo. He's just a mature player now and he's been through it all. Remember this lol?

@GoBearcatsMBB
https://t.co/0PYL0vyZCI

[WAITE HOYT 2]

They are long athletic and hit shots. Beating them at Moody will be a tough assignment. Tough not impossible. This team has battled all year and found ways to win games. I see that trend continuing on Sunday. This Team understands what is at stake on Sunday. I think they get the job done.

[GoCats88]

I have a feeling Cumberland is gonna need to hit a couple big shots in this game, and I have the feeling he will. Would be huge confidence builder for the tourney, having a big night away from fifth third.

[juckerrules]

Originally Posted by waterhead

I at least have hope for Evans to figure it out at some point. Troy and KJ have 4 years to show they just aren't great shooters. At least Troy is getting better at rebounding and assist-turnovers to show at least some improvement. The year over year shooting is not good.

That being said...Troy has shown to play a little better in big games so that is another plus on his side over the years. Experience in tight situations and being thrust into the role of end of game play maker is invaluable. I expect him to make a couple big plays Sunday.

I would rather see more minutes from Cumberland at this point because we have seen what KJ can do over 4 years. Coach just needs to keep telling Jarron to be aggressive and at some point it will stick.

We will need at least 2 out of 4 of these players to play well to win Sunday.

I disagree with only your last statement. We need every single player to play really well to win there.....everybody!

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by WAITE HOYT 2

They are long athletic and hit shots. Beating them at Moody will be a tough assignment. Tough not impossible. This team has battled all year and found ways to win games. I see that trend continuing on Sunday. This Team understands what is at stake on Sunday. I think they get the job done.

I will be happy if we....

Bring intensity on defense and rebounding for 40 minutes. Know where you have to be on D and box out. On offense set picks, move the ball and make the extra pass. If the shots don't fall I can live with that.

We can win with this strategy.

[justinhub2003]

This game @SMU is Kenpom Tier A game (Top 50 opponent adjusted for location).

We've played 5 Tier A Games so far this year

Below is a breakdown of our main guys ORTG in Tier A Games:

Kyle Washington: 106.7 (110.8 on the season)
Jacob Evans: 96.3 (120.9 on the season)
Troy Caupain: 109.6 (114.8 on the season)
Gary Clark: 132.2 (127.7 on the season)
Kevin Johnson: 92.3 (101.1 on the season)
Jarron Cumberland: 73.2 (120.6 on the season)

What sticks out to me is that:
1. Gary Clark rises to level of competition and plays better in bigger games
2. Kyle and Troy show not much deviation from season average to Tier A game which is nice for consistency
3. Jacob is below average in top tier games. A 24 point difference between season average and top tier game is huge and I'd guess you could blame that on being only a sophomore and facing better defense
4. Jarron is by far the most different player offensively when we play top tier opponents. A near 50 point separation is just bad news. He is a freshman and this is to be expected but we still need him step up in these games
5. Not a huge difference for KJ.. He is an average offensive player and slips below that for big games.

[justinhub2003]

Lets look at SMU and how their guys play in Tier A games.

They have also played 5 Tier A games


Semi Ojeleye: 106.2 (122.9 on the season)
Sterling Brown: 115.7 (116.6 on the season)
Shake Milton: 109.3 (124.6 on the season)
Ben Moore: 94.9 (119.3 on the season)
Jarrey Foster: 99.3 (121.2 on the season)
Ben Emelogu: 73.2 (96.9 on the season)

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by justinhub2003

This game @SMU is Kenpom Tier A game (Top 50 opponent adjusted for location).

We've played 5 Tier A Games so far this year

Below is a breakdown of our main guys ORTG in Tier A Games:

Kyle Washington: 106.7 (110.8 on the season)
Jacob Evans: 96.3 (120.9 on the season)
Troy Caupain: 109.6 (114.8 on the season)
Gary Clark: 132.2 (127.7 on the season)
Kevin Johnson: 92.3 (101.1 on the season)
Jarron Cumberland: 73.2 (120.6 on the season)

What sticks out to me is that:
1. Gary Clark rises to level of competition and plays better in bigger games
2. Kyle and Troy show not much deviation from season average to Tier A game which is nice for consistency
3. Jacob is below average in top tier games. A 24 point difference between season average and top tier game is huge and I'd guess you could blame that on being only a sophomore and facing better defense
4. Jarron is by far the most different player offensively when we play top tier opponents. A near 50 point separation is just bad news. He is a freshman and this is to be expected but we still need him step up in these games
5. Not a huge difference for KJ.. He is an average offensive player and slips below that for big games.

Jarron as a frosh understandably hasn't shot much in tier A games. The only one he shot more than 3 times was Xavier. I assume that was tier A. I don't know all the tier A games but I assume Butler, ISU, Rhode island, Xavier, Houston and SMU cover them.

We need him to be more aggressive and confident in his abilities. I really think that's at least half the problem. Also, we played 3 of those games before he gained any confidence at all in knocking down shots. Early season freshman issues.

Since then he has gained confidence but perhaps not enough to not doubt his importance just yet. Shoot and drive Jarron...You have the game!

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by juckerrules

I disagree with only your last statement. We need every single player to play really well to win there.....everybody!

Tobler better get his act together

[Big Perm]

Bearcats win by double digits. SMU is a joke.