Thoughts

[hawgfan4life]

1.  Ugly win better than a pretty loss but not better to watch.  That was a fugly game!

2.  We struggle inbounding the ball everytime a team pressed us hard on inbound.  Why do we consistently throw into a corner and get trapped?  Will cost us a game eventually.

3.  Fans that harp about CJ Jones are driving me crazy.  First off, none of them know if his practice justifies anymore than he gets.  Secondly, these fans act like he was a recruit of can't miss ability and he barely was a major program recruit.  Better he be brought along slowly than play before ready.  Nobody knows how ready he is.

4.  Moses being pre season SEC POY seems insane at this point.  He can't even get Player of Game right now.

5.  I wish the mods would create two threads for each category.  One for haters and one for discussion and positive posts.  Create a CJ Jones thread and put all CJ playing time posts in it.

[hogwood]

Lol. Thanks

Hogs did what they needed to do tonight which was win. They played pretty bad most of the game and still won. If we could just do a little better things could be easier for us with our remaining schedule.

[azhog10]

Defensively that was a very pretty game to watch. Thought it was our best defense all year. Rebounded well, did a good job of scrambling out of trapping the post. Lost shooters just a few times, and we did a fairly good job not fouling late. Offense was ugly, but that Macon crossover was sick. He broke Hogue's ankles.

[hawgfan4life]

Defensively that was a very pretty game to watch. Thought it was our best defense all year. Rebounded well, did a good job of scrambling out of trapping the post. Lost shooters just a few times, and we did a fairly good job not fouling late. Offense was ugly, but that Macon crossover was sick. He broke Hogue's ankles.

Defense was good and offense was moving around good in 2nd half.  A$M made it look ugly too.  Generally, the ugly games we win.

[azhog10]

Defense was good and offense was moving around good in 2nd half.  A$M made it look ugly too.  Generally, the ugly games we win.

We were able to force more turnovers in the second half. Obviously we made it interesting late with missed free throws and dumb turnovers.

[J-Five]

Some takeaways from last  night's game:

1. I just don't know what Moses is doing.  He just looks lost a lot of the time.  He's not aggressive enough and gets used in the post and outrebounded every game by players shorter than he is.
2. I liked seeing Manny hit some big 3s...I hope he has been working on his jump shot because we need more out of him than just defense, IF he can provide it consistently.
3. Rebounds...I know our style of defense doesn't help in this category, but it's just depressing seeing teams get 2-3 chances at the basket before we get a rebound....FRUSTRATING!
4. I liked our defense in the second half.  Perhaps it was because we were down most of the 2nd half, but either way, they were scrappy and played with some fight.

[azhog10]

Some takeaways from last  night's game:

1. I just don't know what Moses is doing.  He just looks lost a lot of the time.  He's not aggressive enough and gets used in the post and outrebounded every game by players shorter than he is.
2. I liked seeing Manny hit some big 3s...I hope he has been working on his jump shot because we need more out of him than just defense, IF he can provide it consistently.
3. Rebounds...I know our style of defense doesn't help in this category, but it's just depressing seeing teams get 2-3 chances at the basket before we get a rebound....FRUSTRATING!
4. I liked our defense in the second half.  Perhaps it was because we were down most of the 2nd half, but either way, they were scrappy and played with some fight.

So what about the possession where we had 3 or 4 offensive rebounds? We outrebounded TAMU by 4 AND had four more offensive rebounds than them.

[PonderinHog]

Pronounced Hogue, actually spelled Hogg.

Carry on...   

[The_Iceman]

In response to #2, our cuts on inbounds passes are as sloppy as our cuts on offense. We don't come strong to the ball and it is easy to defend. It's like they expect just to be allowed to catch the ball

[RaisinHog]

AMEN to the OPs number 3 Jesus it's like the VIN ascolese of bball

[hogsanity]

It was an ugly game, but any conf road win is good. Played more zone and it paid off in better rebounding and fewer fouls. Took advantage of A&M's weak/inexperienced guards, and that keyed the 2nd half comeback. Too careless down the stretch, let themselves get pinned in the corner, twice, which lead to 2 turnovers. Also missed too many FT's, which to this point had been a pretty strong point for the team.

[cardsNhogs]

1.  Ugly win better than a pretty loss but not better to watch.  That was a fugly game!

2.  We struggle inbounding the ball everytime a team pressed us hard on inbound.  Why do we consistently throw into a corner and get trapped?  Will cost us a game eventually.

3.  Fans that harp about CJ Jones are driving me crazy.  First off, none of them know if his practice justifies anymore than he gets.  Secondly, these fans act like he was a recruit of can't miss ability and he barely was a major program recruit.  Better he be brought along slowly than play before ready.  Nobody knows how ready he is.

4.  Moses being pre season SEC POY seems insane at this point.  He can't even get Player of Game right now.

5.  I wish the mods would create two threads for each category.  One for haters and one for discussion and positive posts.  Create a CJ Jones thread and put all CJ playing time posts in it.

Im sure we have no press offense just like we have no half court offense.

[HF#1]

This team doesn't fold like a lawn chair like past teams have when they are down on the road. We seem to be a second half team which is a good thing as long as we hang in the game in the first half.

It's funny because I found myself completely pissed for 90% of the game only to be happy to get a win. Macon is the best player on this team and as he goes, we will go.

[Atlhogfan1]

1.  Ugly win better than a pretty loss but not better to watch.  That was a fugly game!

2.  We struggle inbounding the ball everytime a team pressed us hard on inbound.  Why do we consistently throw into a corner and get trapped?  Will cost us a game eventually.

3.  Fans that harp about CJ Jones are driving me crazy.  First off, none of them know if his practice justifies anymore than he gets.  Secondly, these fans act like he was a recruit of can't miss ability and he barely was a major program recruit.  Better he be brought along slowly than play before ready.  Nobody knows how ready he is.

4.  Moses being pre season SEC POY seems insane at this point.  He can't even get Player of Game right now.

5.  I wish the mods would create two threads for each category.  One for haters and one for discussion and positive posts.  Create a CJ Jones thread and put all CJ playing time posts in it.

1.  True

3.  Not seeing too much harping on him getting big minutes.  The team would be better IF he were ready to play as he could bring some things it is missing currently.  He may not be. 

5.  3 threads:  haters, discussion, snowflakes
There is a Jones thread.

[NoogaHog]

One of my observations: We had the slowest 8-0 run in the first half I think I had ever seen. I mean it felt like it took 12 minutes to score 8 unanswered points. I don't know if that was defense or offensive incompetence, but it was not pretty to watch. But, hey, it's a road win. I'll take it every time.

[azhog10]

This team doesn't fold like a lawn chair like past teams have when they are down on the road. We seem to be a second half team which is a good thing as long as we hang in the game in the first half.

It's funny because I found myself completely pissed for 90% of the game only to be happy to get a win. Macon is the best player on this team and as he goes, we will go.

Agree to a point. I feel like as Hannahs defense goes, we go. If he can play defense and stay on the floor he spreads things out for Macon to go to work. Also, Hannahs is absolutely our best offensive guy without the ball. The movement he brings, and the way our guys play when he's on the floor makes our motion offense work. They are constantly trying to set screens for him, he's setting screens for others. It just makes it all work. But if he's having a bad night defensively or doesn't have a good matchup then he's on the bench and we are left with Macon and Barford trying to make things happen. Barford can be brilliant at times and then down right horrid with just bad turnovers. Almost Ju Nobles like with some of his decisions.

[azhog10]

One of my observations: We had the slowest 8-0 run in the first half I think I had ever seen. I mean it felt like it took 12 minutes to score 8 unanswered points. I don't know if that was defense or offensive incompetence, but it was not pretty to watch. But, hey, it's a road win. I'll take it every time.

In the first half it was more defense. TAMU only had like 3 turnovers up until the steal at the end of the half. They were getting shots and we were doing a good job at keeping it to one and done.

[HF#1]

Agree to a point. I feel like as Hannahs defense goes, we go. If he can play defense and stay on the floor he spreads things out for Macon to go to work. Also, Hannahs is absolutely our best offensive guy without the ball. The movement he brings, and the way our guys play when he's on the floor makes our motion offense work. They are constantly trying to set screens for him, he's setting screens for others. It just makes it all work. But if he's having a bad night defensively or doesn't have a good matchup then he's on the bench and we are left with Macon and Barford trying to make things happen. Barford can be brilliant at times and then down right horrid with just bad turnovers. Almost Ju Nobles like with some of his decisions.

I agree. We weren't moving without the ball early and got down pretty quick. When Dusty is effective, Macon and Barford can be unstoppable driving to the bucket. I am anxious to see what this team looks like in mid-February. Seems like they are finding themselves, it has just taken a half season.

[hogsanity]

One thing everyone needs to understand is that those may be the weakest guards the Hogs play against. Teams with good guard play are still going to give the Hogs fits.

[BannerMountainMan]

You know the crazy thing, if we would've just beaten Miss St, we'd be 15-3 (4-2) and probably ranked and at like a 5 or 6 seed, that's how close this team is.

[King Kong]

In response to #2, our cuts on inbounds passes are as sloppy as our cuts on offense. We don't come strong to the ball and it is easy to defend. It's like they expect just to be allowed to catch the ball

It couldn't also have to do with everyone on A&M having a 7 foot-wingspan

[The_Iceman]

You know the crazy thing, if we would've just beaten Miss St, we'd be 15-3 (4-2) and probably ranked and at like a 5 or 6 seed, that's how close this team is.

We were pretty close to being 9-4 in football this year as well, but the outcomes are all that really matter.

[azhog10]

One thing everyone needs to understand is that those may be the weakest guards the Hogs play against. Teams with good guard play are still going to give the Hogs fits.

Yes, but both Hogg and Gilder rank higher than Macon or Dusty in terms of shooting percentages.

LSU, UGA, ALA, Ole Miss, Mizz, and Tenn all have worse guards than TAMU according to shooting percentages along with Arkansas. So their guards are statistically a top 5 or 6 in the SEC.

[Hawg Red]

We are playing some ugly ball in SEC play. Can't remember the last time we looked good. It worries me that it will catch up to us against content opponents. Saving grace there is that there aren't too many in the SEC right now. But if we can get it all figured out (which it seems like we do around this time of late January-early February), we just might be able to win out at home and get to 6 conference road wins and off the bubble.

[J-Five]

So what about the possession where we had 3 or 4 offensive rebounds? We outrebounded TAMU by 4 AND had four more offensive rebounds than them.

I never said we got outrebounded...I was referring to a few possessions A&M had...I should've clarified.

[farfromgroovins]

It's funny because I found myself completely pissed for 90% of the game only to be happy to get a win. Macon is the best player on this team and as he goes, we will go.

This was me during the game, "What are you doing?.....Crud! Don't do that, Argh.....NO!....watch out for!......poop nuggets!!.....GOOD WIN HOGS! Way to win one on the road!"

Have to correct the mistakes. Won't have the same result against better teams but a win is a win and a road win is even better.

WPS!

[farfromgroovins]

You know the crazy thing, if we would've just beaten Miss St, we'd be 15-3 (4-2) and probably ranked and at like a 5 or 6 seed, that's how close this team is.

When did Miss St get so good? Anyone flip over to the Miss St / UK game?
They gave UK all they wanted. Looked like UK was going to run away with it but Miss St wouldn't go away. They are young and only going to get better.

[azhog10]

When did Miss St get so good? Anyone flip over to the Miss St / UK game?
They gave UK all they wanted. Looked like UK was going to run away with it but Miss St wouldn't go away. They are young and only going to get better.

Top ranked recruiting classes will do that for you.

[gmarv]

Manny had a great all around game.Lord it would be wonderful to see him keep knocking down 3s.

[The_Iceman]

When did Miss St get so good? Anyone flip over to the Miss St / UK game?
They gave UK all they wanted. Looked like UK was going to run away with it but Miss St wouldn't go away. They are young and only going to get better.

It only took Ben Howland 2 years to get talent in Starkville Mississippi.

[azhog10]

It only took Ben Howland 2 years to get talent in Starkville Mississippi.

He also just happened to have coached a team to three NCAA final four's and one Runner up. Was able to coach and recruit Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook. When coaches like that go places it doesn't take them long to get recruits. Those guys have connections that run deep. Would be the same if a Cal or Coach K went somewhere else.

Show me one time where CMA has pulled in recruits at that level? That's not who he has ever been nor will he be. We just have to hope the state keeps producing and he becomes successful enough to appeal to players. Arkansas is not that place, neither is MSU but they have a coach that hs quite a few "ins" with AAU coaches, oh and current superstars in the NBA helps.

[daprospecta]

1.  Ugly win better than a pretty loss but not better to watch.  That was a fugly game!

2.  We struggle inbounding the ball everytime a team pressed us hard on inbound.  Why do we consistently throw into a corner and get trapped?  Will cost us a game eventually.

3.  Fans that harp about CJ Jones are driving me crazy.  First off, none of them know if his practice justifies anymore than he gets.  Secondly, these fans act like he was a recruit of can't miss ability and he barely was a major program recruit.  Better he be brought along slowly than play before ready.  Nobody knows how ready he is.

4.  Moses being pre season SEC POY seems insane at this point.  He can't even get Player of Game right now.

5.  I wish the mods would create two threads for each category.  One for haters and one for discussion and positive posts.  Create a CJ Jones thread and put all CJ playing time posts in it.

I honestly feel like CJ does not play more because Dusty is a senior and he would take minutes from him. I will give DH credit, he seems to keep his cool in pressure situations which we often need. With that being said, CJ is a taller,more athletic DH.  I support CMA but if CJ Jones leaves,  it would be the first time I would seriously be upset with his actions.

[razoredge178]

We trailed 37 minutes of the game, most of time by 6 points or more. They lost the game a hell of a lot more than we won it.

Those of you drumming up how "we took advantage of" and how "we made it interesting late" must've not have been watching.

If basketball were trash those two teams needed lots of dumpsters to throw their goodies in.

[hogsanity]

Yes, but both Hogg and Gilder rank higher than Macon or Dusty in terms of shooting percentages.

LSU, UGA, ALA, Ole Miss, Mizz, and Tenn all have worse guards than TAMU according to shooting percentages along with Arkansas. So their guards are statistically a top 5 or 6 in the SEC.

much more than shooting, they had almost zero ability to get to the rim. Their PG is a former walkon and he looked like it. Guards that can penetrate or beat their man off the dribble will still do 2 things, draw fouls and kick to open shooters. A&M did little of either.

[RagingHawgOn]

It's funny because I found myself completely pissed for 90% of the game only to be happy to get a win.

Exactly how I felt.

[Kevin]

Face it there is lots ugly basketball in the sec

Right now, just end the game with more points than the opponent

[RagingHawgOn]

When did Miss St get so good? Anyone flip over to the Miss St / UK game?
They gave UK all they wanted. Looked like UK was going to run away with it but Miss St wouldn't go away. They are young and only going to get better.

Great recruiter that develops his young talent. His track record speaks for itself.

[farfromgroovins]

Great recruiter that develops his young talent. His track record speaks for itself.

Totally agree he can get the recruits, he's proved that wherever he has been. I guess it was just the sign of a young team when they had some bad losses earlier in the year. If this is a sign of young talent correcting mistakes and getting better, then be afraid.....very afraid.

[Biggus Piggus]

When did Miss St get so good? Anyone flip over to the Miss St / UK game?
They gave UK all they wanted. Looked like UK was going to run away with it but Miss St wouldn't go away. They are young and only going to get better.

They were down by 18, then outscored UK 35-24 over the last 12 minutes.

MSU had 28 fouls. Weatherspoon, Herard and Stapleton fouled out. The officiating was tight. Adebayo got two fouls and played only six minutes in the first half. Both teams had five players with at least two fouls in the first half. Herard got three in seven minutes.

Howland had to put guys back in the game with two fouls, because he had no choice.

That kid Peters finished with 25 points. He went to the hoop very well and exposed the defensive inability of Kentucky's guards. Quick is the thing in the SEC right now.

MSU beat Kentucky downcourt several times in the second half. They really put on a helluva flash run, closing within 66-62 at the 8:56 mark after trailing by 18 (64-46) at 12:20.

Weatherspoon went to the line at 7:49 and made 1-2 FT to make it 69-66. Then MSU turned it over twice and the Cats scored a quick 7.

It was a 4-point game at 1:49 after Monk fouled Peters, who made 2-2 FT. MSU couldn't get a stop on the next two possessions, and Weatherspoon and Stapleton fouled out on the same play (as Briscoe and Weatherspoon were called for a double-T).

Nobody in the league has a defensive answer for De'Aaron Fox. He can make shots whenever UK gets in a tight spot. Peters outscored him in the second half though.

Kentucky's home/road differential is large (+29 home, +12 road). They might lose a couple of SEC road games down the stretch.

The Bulldogs played the Cats as well as Vanderbilt did, fwiw. The Commodores are 8-10, 2-4 SEC.

[Marshfieldhog]

I need more CJ Jones.

[The_Iceman]

I need more CJ Jones.

Would be surprised if he does not see the court at home against LSU.

[rude1]

3. When a player has shown from his first appearance on the court he can be offensive lightening rod but some how the coach doesn't seem to  notice this, you wonder what's going on in said coach's head. How can you  make any determination about him when you won't  play him to find out if his shooting is a fluke? 

[TexArkHogFan]

Their freshman big man made our senior big man look silly at time.  Until MA recruits a legitimate big man we are what we are.  They killed us in the paint.  It was 35 minutes of frustration watching that game but glad we won the last five minutes.

[Biggus Piggus]

Their freshman big man made our senior big man look silly at time.  Until MA recruits a legitimate big man we are what we are.  They killed us in the paint.  It was 35 minutes of frustration watching that game but glad we won the last five minutes.

Killed us in the paint? They made 13 out of 30! That was almost identical to Missouri's stats. And Mississippi State's. MSU didn't beat us inside, not even close. If we'd had any perimeter D at all we would have killed them.

Kentucky, they killed us around the basket. They had 27 2-pt baskets, more than 2x what aTm got.

Did you watch like three minutes of the game or something? Tyler Davis made 4-5, Robert Williams 4-8, rest of team 5-17. If Davis and Williams had gotten more chances, maybe they could have killed us.

And let's not ignore the fact that aTm had 7 offensive rebounds in 32 opportunities. Arkansas dominated the defensive boards. Killed them in the paint. Killed them. If the Aggies had rebounded anywhere close to their usual, it would have been a different game.

[TexArkHogFan]

Killed us in the paint? They made 13 out of 30! That was almost identical to Missouri's stats. And Mississippi State's. MSU didn't beat us inside, not even close. If we'd had any perimeter D at all we would have killed them.

Kentucky, they killed us around the basket. They had 27 2-pt baskets, more than 2x what aTm got.

Did you watch like three minutes of the game or something? Tyler Davis made 4-5, Robert Williams 4-8, rest of team 5-17. If Davis and Williams had gotten more chances, maybe they could have killed us.

And let's not ignore the fact that aTm had 7 offensive rebounds in 32 opportunities. Arkansas dominated the defensive boards. Killed them in the paint. Killed them. If the Aggies had rebounded anywhere close to their usual, it would have been a different game.

Don't get me wrong, I was happy we won.  Davis and Williams were a combined 8-13, that's pretty good stats.  We won the game in the last five minutes.  I wouldn't say we killed anybody, we escaped with a win.  Out other big man is a fouling machine, but he does give Moses a rest every now and then. Davis put some nasty moves on Kingsley on some of his possessions.   

[Biggus Piggus]

Don't get me wrong, I was happy we won.  Davis and Williams were a combined 8-13, that's pretty good stats.  We won the game in the last five minutes.  I wouldn't say we killed anybody, we escaped with a win.  Out other big man is a fouling machine, but he does give Moses a rest every now and then. Davis put some nasty moves on Kingsley on some of his possessions.   

When you know you don't match up well inside, you have to limit their chances. Arkansas kept aTm from dumping it inside over and over, and the Hogs also were awesome on the defensive boards. That's how to do it. Don't get dominated. An 8-13 out of their top two big guys is not going to get you beat.

[phadedhawg]

It was fun watching Manny knock down those 3s. 

[FineAsSwine]

Pronounced Hogue, actually spelled Hogg.

Carry on...   

Sort of like the uppity Smith's who pronounce it Smythe.

[FineAsSwine]

It was fun watching Manny knock down those 3s.

I was stunned. My wife was laughing at me as I kept rewinding to Manny's shots and going "no flucking way!", over and over.

[phadedhawg]

I was stunned. My wife was laughing at me as I kept rewinding to Manny's shots and going "no flucking way!", over and over.

The last one he made I just stood up and yelled "money baby" before it rattled in...

My cat was concerned but the wife has grown used to the random silly things I yell during a game.