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Post by gopheryote on Dec 27, 2016 18:05:01 GMT -6
Conference opens this week, with both a home and road game. Here are the details:
Omaha: 7-6; 4-5 on the road; RPI 94 (SOS is 88, Adjusted Scoring Margin (ASM) -6.0); Won 5 of last 7 with a win over Iowa and the 2 losses to Iowa St. & Pitt
Bunnies: 7-8; 6-0 at home; RPI 254 (SOS is 284, ASM -8.2); No wins over anyone in Top 200 in RPI
Yotes: 9-6; 6-0 at home, 2-4 on the road; RPI 175 (SOS 267, ASM -3.3); Won 3 of last 4 against teams not ranked in the Top 10
Omaha comes in hot, and it is hard to say how all those losses to P5 have prepared them (or not) for the start of SL play. Of course, the first game after Christmas break can always be a bit ugly. According to ESPN's ASM, the Yotes would be favored by 2.7 points on a neutral court.
South Dakota Second Tier College strung together 3 wins before getting blown out by Wichita St. However, on a little closer look, the 3 teams were all awful, and even Wichita St. was playing without a preseason all-conference player. Using ESPN's ASM as my meaningless guide, the Yotes would be favored on a neutral court by 7.9 points.
Based on recent history, it seems a key would be to not let Omaha go on a huge run early and then spend all the effort to come back. And, maybe we don't want to go on a huge run early against the rabbits this year?
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Post by gopheryote on Dec 27, 2016 18:16:27 GMT -6
BTW - not part of the facts noted above, but I did get a chance to watch some of the rabbits vs. Wichita State. My three observations:
- The rabbits defense is truly horrible. I would guess the WSU shots were in the 'wide open' or 'uncontested' category 75% of the time. Mostly, they line up in a 1-3-1 and pretend to have energy, but mostly don't move at all, and stand there and watch the other team shoot and hope they miss.
- Daum is good on offense, and everything flows through him - which makes sense because they have at least 2 other guys who want to shoot every time they touch the ball, even if they are 25 feet out and haven't hit a shot all night. WSU double teamed Daum right away and forced those guys to shoot instead. Shooting at home is easier of course, especially for gunners who aren't great, so that could backfire on the Yotes, but seems like a sound strategy.
- WSU has taken a huge step backwards this year. Oh well, they have been fun to watch the past couple years.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 27, 2016 19:39:28 GMT -6
There is already a thread started on the Omaha game. Don't know if you missed it but just wanted to point that out.
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Post by yoteforever on Dec 27, 2016 19:58:33 GMT -6
I also have tickets at Iowa State and I was there when Omaha got beat by a million. That night they were horrible. Worse than horrible. But they did beat Iowa at Iowa right before they got pasted at Iowa State. Then Iowa State goes to Iowa and lays an egg, so who the heck knows. I will pick us by 5.
Regarding SDSU, they are getting better. They have a long way to go, I get it, but that crap hole of an arena is filled with hostile fans. I don't think we win there unless we play our best game.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 27, 2016 21:00:59 GMT -6
I also have tickets at Iowa State and I was there when Omaha got beat by a million. That night they were horrible. Worse than horrible. But they did beat Iowa at Iowa right before they got pasted at Iowa State. Then Iowa State goes to Iowa and lays an egg, so who the heck knows. I will pick us by 5. Regarding SDSU, they are getting better. They have a long way to go, I get it, but that crap hole of an arena is filled with hostile fans. I don't think we win there unless we play our best game. I agree with your comments about the SDSU game especially if they play nervous like they did at Nebraska for awhile. Frost will be just as hostile as Nebraska was. Maybe not as many fans but they will be louder per fan. I think the Coyotes will put a butt whooping on the Jacks when they play at the SCSC especially the manufactured energy that the crowd should create in that game. The Jacks are tough at home but I don't see them winning many Summit road games this year. That is why I think the Omaha game is important. If that one goes down as a W it takes some of the pressure off the next two road games. If it goes down as an L it probably means the Denver game on the road is a near must win. Many of the Summit teams are getting their act together. Oral Roberts is playing much better now then they were at the beginning of the season. Denver is another team getting it together. IUPUI has played a tough schedule as has Omaha so both will be battle tested. The only game that is considered a should be win is against Western Illinois as it looks like they may be pretty bad and will probably remain so. Other then maybe Western every other road game will be tough. |
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Post by golfingyote on Dec 28, 2016 7:05:00 GMT -6
How in thee hell can the summit league continue to schedule so blindly? It is ridiculous that SDSU men are playing NDSU and USD at home this week. Also, whyyyyyy do we still have the state games mirroring each other? so stupid
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Post by Yotes on Dec 28, 2016 10:43:12 GMT -6
How in thee hell can the summit league continue to schedule so blindly? It is ridiculous that SDSU men are playing NDSU and USD at home this week. Also, whyyyyyy do we still have the state games mirroring each other? so stupid Truly dumbfounding scheduling by the Summit League this season. They have just so very few premier games to work around, and they seemingly tried to find the absolute worst spots to put them in on the first half of the schedule. |
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Post by usdtator on Dec 28, 2016 13:43:43 GMT -6
It's almost as if they don't want the student bodies there at these games... Like they are trying to eliminate the home court advantage these big games provide to the home team.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 28, 2016 14:21:25 GMT -6
It's almost as if they don't want the student bodies there at these games... Like they are trying to eliminate the home court advantage these big games provide to the home team. Maybe it is done on purpose to make up somewhat for the home state advantage for the SD Universities at the Summit League Tourney. Who knows. It should matter if the SD U's are playing each other though. They can either have a crowd of 4K or closer to 6K. I guess they choose the lower crowd number. |
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Post by yotefan90 on Dec 28, 2016 14:59:30 GMT -6
My guess, and I definitely don't agree with it, is the league office is trying to minimize the travel times for the student athletes over the holiday time frame. That is why we see so many regional games scheduled as more attention is paid to how quickly a team can get in and out of their destinations.
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Post by usdtator on Dec 29, 2016 19:56:57 GMT -6
Men are playing a solid game tonight after the break. Leading 45 to 23 at the half. Mooney is hitting some Looonnnggg 3s again tonight (at least 3ft beyond the arc).
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 29, 2016 20:05:19 GMT -6
The crowd is small but loud. It has helped spark the team. I dont remember a better half all year. The yotes have been ultra energetic and aggressive. They are beating omaha like a pulp in every aspect of the game. They are making the Mavs look pedestrian.
If looks like to me that this team has raised their game to conferense intensity. If the first half team is a trend this will be a fun rest of the year. Lets see if tonight the yotes can play their first complete game this year. No comebacks this year please.
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Post by Yotes on Dec 29, 2016 21:49:04 GMT -6
Very impressed with the team tonight. First time we have beaten a Summit League team by a margin this wide since 2012-13.
Still have to figure out free throw shooting. 67% just is not good enough.
We aren't going to shoot 48% from the field everyday, but I'm going to be disappointed if we can't finish in the top half of the league this year. Also going to be disappointed if we can't win on Saturday. Looks to be a game we should win.
Who else loves watching Carlton dunk? Dude just launches up there. Such a discrete guy out there yet able to make flashy plays when the opportunity presents itself.
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Post by usdtator on Dec 29, 2016 22:05:54 GMT -6
Totally agree with your comments about Hurst! Love watching what that guy does with the ball.
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Post by Coyote Fan on Dec 29, 2016 22:49:02 GMT -6
This is the game I have been waiting/hoping to see all year and the Coyotes picked a perfect time to play it. I think it is fair to say that the team put it all together and finally nailed down that complete performance. If anyone missed coach Smith's post game comments I thought they were very informative. He mentioned that the transfers that were sitting out last year after the loss to Omaha came to Smith (or at least one of them did) and said that is the last time that is going to happen (referring to the Omaha comeback win). Apparently the Mavericks were celebrating outside the dome (as they should) but apparent a player(s) saw that and it kind of stuck in their minds. Smith said he was thinking about last year during the game tonight and I am glad that he was. I was as well. The Coyotes stifled the Mavs with their defense. I can barely remember many good shots for Omaha for the entire first half. I believe it took them over 10:00 perhaps longer to simply reach double digits in points. The Yotes simply wanted this game very badly. They earned the win tonight. Smith said that during pre game warm ups that he could see a different look in the players eyes. They were locked in on their focus.
Now it's off to Brookings with a little less pressure. Hopefully the mentality up there will be strong. Just remember Yotes it's still a 5 on 5 game. The crowd can be loud but they can't get rebounds or score points. They can sure help their team gain energy but they still have to beat the Coyotes athletically and skill wise. This is an "us vs the world" kind of a game and the focus should be to do everything possible to quiet down the masses except for the Coyote fans of course.
Tonight I personally saw something different in the Coyotes. The crowd team relationship was very good. The team showed they deserved the loud cheering the the fans showed their appreciation. I think everyone in that building tonight stepped up their game for the start of the conference season and I was glad that realization was not lost. Fans and players alike. By far tonight I was the most engaged I had been all year and had the most fun all year as well. Before tonight I think the opponents haven't been real good at home but now the opponent excuse can no longer be used for explaining how well the team has played at home.
So damn pumped about the Yotes tonight. I can't wait to see how they build on this great performance going forward.
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