ISU at EVAN

[BirdmanBB]

Crazy comeback. Last couple of games I thought we would win. We have been so close at times here and there at being decent on the road. Good news is that 3 of the last 5 games of the season are home games and I think we would have a shot to win @ SIU. My guess is we close out with a 4th or 5th place finish this year. I wouldn't be upset with that considering we have pretty much an entire new roster and were predicted to finish near the bottom.

[Redbird23]

I don't have access to a box score right now (it's not on ESPN), but I've heard there were 88 FT's shot. 88FT's? Combine that with a 20+ comebaack followed by OT...I'm at a loss to tell if this was the most boring game ever (88 FT's) or a really exciting game (212 total points - amazing comeback, tight game down to about 30 seconds in OT).

Evansville had 56 FT's (Ballentine had 25 of them if that's fair at all?)
Birds had 32 FT's

Tough loss to come back from 25 down with just under 12 to force OT and lose...it seemed to me that the refs swallowed their whistles during that run for the first time (Gerry Fuckin Pollard at the helm)

[sixth ace]

I don't have access to a box score right now (it's not on ESPN), but I've heard there were 88 FT's shot. 88FT's? Combine that with a 20+ comebaack followed by OT...I'm at a loss to tell if this was the most boring game ever (88 FT's) or a really exciting game (212 total points - amazing comeback, tight game down to about 30 seconds in OT).

Evansville had 56 FT's (Ballentine had 25 of them if that's fair at all?)
Birds had 32 FT's

Tough loss to come back from 25 down with just under 12 to force OT and lose...it seemed to me that the refs swallowed their whistles during that run for the first time (Gerry Fuckin Pollard at the helm)

Funny I was there and ISU got every break they didn't deserve. The switch from zone to man to man startled the Aces and they had turnovers they normally wouldn't . ILSU hit every 3 point from nowhere they threw up to close the margin and force overtime.. sorry bout your luck The Aces have had their share also...

[uniftw]

I don't have access to a box score right now (it's not on ESPN), but I've heard there were 88 FT's shot. 88FT's? Combine that with a 20+ comebaack followed by OT...I'm at a loss to tell if this was the most boring game ever (88 FT's) or a really exciting game (212 total points - amazing comeback, tight game down to about 30 seconds in OT).

Evansville had 56 FT's (Ballentine had 25 of them if that's fair at all?)
Birds had 32 FT's

Tough loss to come back from 25 down with just under 12 to force OT and lose...it seemed to me that the refs swallowed their whistles during that run for the first time (Gerry Fuckin Pollard at the helm)

The UNI/UE game in CF Ballentine shot 21 FT on his own...UNI shot 28 as a team. He never got within 15 feet of the basket for 95% of the game (the closest he got was the free throw line).

He managed to get every single call any time someone blinked at him wrong.

Seems to be a theme with him.

[SHOXMVC]

Is the game over yet?

[purple&orange]

Evansville shredded the ISU zones, both 2-3 and 1-3-1 in the first half. What struck me most was how decisive they were with the ball, at times with really quick ball movement via reversals and going inside-out, but also showing patience in finding the open player in a position where they could score. From what I heard pregame, ISU typically plays zone all 40 minutes and Evansville was able to get them to go man late 1st half for pretty much the rest of the game.

Credit ISU for continuing to play, they hit a barrage of 3's late and with some UE help (turnovers and missed FTs) actually took a one point lead late in regulation, typically trading 3 for either 0 or 1 during that stretch. The more attacking, trapping full court forced Evansville out of that comfort zone it lived in most of the first 30 minutes or so. Starting to foul with about 3:00 left allowed the Redbirds to have a chance and not let UE just run 30 seconds each possession to really shorten the game.

DJ can and will put it on the floor and does a good job of drawing/finding contact as he goes to the rim. He's not just a stand still jumpshooter. 8 of those 25 FT attempts were from being fouled on jumpers where the close out/block attempt was too aggressive and they made contact.

Great to see Brown hit his 4 FTs down the stretch, he's a better shooter than his 44% from the line coming into the game. Also Blake hit 2 key FTs after ISU took their 1 point lead with about a minute left. Hopefully both freshman can gain some confidence from this, especially Brown.

It was a good win for Evansville, a wild comeback between two teams that have played two OT games this season. Best half I've seen from UE this season in the 1st half, at times this group has put together some very impressive stretches, now the struggle is to put two halves together. Consistency can probably be echoed from just about every fan base in the country, but to me the biggest factor for this Evansville group is finding ways to break the long negative stretches that they can't overcome.

[pafan]

it'll end in a tie! LOL

Well played, sir. Well played.

I would bet that 30 of the Aces' free throws came in the final 12 minutes of regulation + overtime. ISU switched their defense to Hack-An-Ace around that time, and the game ground to a halt.

Personally, I'm a fan of UE scoring a hundred.

[Redbirdfan21]

Only 4 FT's were in OT at the very end when ISU was trying to foul to extend the game. Another 16 in the finals 10 mins of regulation. I don't believe ISU was doing a Hack-an-Ace because most of the fouls were in the middle-to-late portion of the shot clock. That leaves another 36 in 30 mins of play... awful

[hot nuts]

This usually means the Birds need to do a better job moving their feet on defense. Hard to blame the refs for that.

[ACECARD]

What if free throws were eliminated from basketball? Count personal fouls, but don't shoot free throws. The team that makes the most field goals, wins the game. If that were the case, the Birds win that game last night. If that were the case, the Shocks would not be undefeated. They would have lost to the Aces, and Salukis. Good, or bad, free throws are a part of the game, as are referees. And, most times, home teams are the ones that benefit.