Wasted some good play

[niels_boar]

I rewatched the game.  We played very well in the first half at both ends.  The defense was active, and, except for a bad stretch at the end of the half, we got good looks on almost every possession.  We just didn't make enough of them.  We should have scored 40+ in the first half, which should have had that game going to the wire, even with the reversal of fortune in the second half.

I have no complaints about the defense in the first half.  We got deflections and challenged ferociously.  The offense was very good as well, but we didn't get the results that we earned.  Players aren't going to magically shoot 100%, but here are the possessions that we didn't score on in the first half:

- Thomas drops pass from Macon that would have been a layup.  Right idea.  Led him a little too much.
- Beard misses open corner trey
- Beard misses uncontested elbow jumper
- Jones misses open corner trey
- Beard And-1 taken away by erroneous charge call
- Thompson misses open mid-range jumper.  Hall fails to control tip opportunity.
- Barford takes unbalanced step before making pass to Gafford for an uncontested layup
- Cook misses bunny jumper in lane
- Barford misses uncontested trey from top of key

Followed by Barford loses balance on Davis missed FT to get half a foot in the lane that results in an A&M 3-point possession.

- Macon misses open trey

Then a bad stretch at the 5:35 mark:
- Hall out of control for charge
- Beard, ice cold in last two games, passes up open elbow jumper and throws ball away
- TO Barford
- TO Barford

- Macon misses wide open trey from good inside-out pass from Thompson
- Beard misses open trey

We can scream about the defense to open the second half, but none of the above opportunities were better contested than the ones A&M made in their run.  My biggest complaint would be that Thomas and Jones, two guys that can shoot, only got three looks in a game in which we had so much trouble making open shots.  In any case, we should have been in control to start the second half.  The missed opportunities on O continued in the second half.

As for the D during the run, there was a clear difference in energy in the D between the first and second half.  We looked like we had just woke up from a nap to start the second half, and it was a team effort, though it wasn't all bad defense.  A common theme was being overly worried about Davis and Williams while the guards were killing us from the arc.  I posted yesterday that the Auburn formula has been giving up some inside stuff in order to shut down the perimeter.

Here were the A&M treys to start the second half:

-  A&M beats press that results in 2 on 2.  Barford winds up down low on Davis.  Gafford leaves Hogg wide open to double Davis.

- Beard backs up in transition defense deep into the lane and A&M pulls trigger from the top of the key.  He was unnecessarily deep, but Starks is a 30% arc shooter.

-  Barford leaves Gilder to double Williams even though Cook has pushed him well out of lane.  Gilder gets uncontested trey.

- Hogg hits two treys with a hand in his face in the halfcourt.  Beard and Hall perhaps should have closed out more forcefully at this point, but perimeter defenders are taught not to foul a three-point shooter.  Not terrible defense.

- Starks hits trey from deep corner behind the basket.  Just tip your hat.

- Macon doesn't locate Starks in the halfcourt after going deep in the lane in transition defense worrying about a potential pass to Williams, who was sufficiently guarded.

Three were made by Starks  in that stretch, who is 30% from the arc on the season and 26% in SEC play even after hitting 4 of 5 last night.  It wasn't completely insane to not pay him a lot of attention.  Role players having big nights will swing games when this little separation is present.  He had made more than one trey in a game once this season.  Their supporting cast made us pay for gravitating the defense towards their stars.  Ours didn't reciprocate.

Unlike the losses to LSU and Houston, this wasn't a case of not showing up.  A&M hasn't lost at home with their full roster. I can live with this one, but we need to cash in some wins on the road in February.

[hobhog]

Wow.

[bvillepig]

Great break down and thanks for the hard work.

[dsims2k3]

Well said. 

[HF#1]

When we lose on the road, it's the same ole song and dance and it's usually by 15+ points.

[hogfanny]

+1 niels. good accurate read as usual.

[PonderinHog]

Three were made by Starks  in that stretch, who is 30% from the arc on the season and 26% in SEC play even after hitting 4 of 5 last night.  It wasn't completely insane to not pay him a lot of attention.  Role players having big nights will swing games when this little separation is present.  He had made more than one trey in a game once this season.  Their supporting cast made us pay for gravitating the defense towards their stars.  Ours didn't reciprocate.

Aaaaaaaand another star is born - at our expense.