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Topic: RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Topic: RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

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Andrew Ruck
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Member Since: 12/22/2004
Location: Columbus, OH
Post Count: 5,133

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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 7:32:08 AM

Ass whooping. WMU perimeter defense reminded me of us at times with over chasing the ball and leaving guys open. We did a good job exploiting and taking the right looks.

Crowd was quite bad, student section just keeps getting worse every game. It seems kids have given it a try this year and then not come back. I'll never understand it and I hate to see it.

Glad Sheldon made me look smart predicting his strong night. Clayton looked his normal self after a rough first 5 minutes. Vic back in that effective 10-15 minute role works great. Elijah is so explosive to the rim, love when he gets out front. It's interesting Elliott has gotten the starting nod recently but Elmore is still consistently getting more minutes than him.

Remember last year we started 3-4 and ended 13-5. Amazing how quickly we lost that perspective and panicked after the rough patch (aided by injuries and a tough stretch of the schedule). Hopeful at a minimum you guys can put the "We WoNt EvEn MaKe ThE mAc ToUrNeY" talk to an end.

Andrew Ruck
B.B.A. 2003

spongeBOB CATpants
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Member Since: 8/16/2016
Post Count: 1,095

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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 8:47:14 AM

FormerMember wrote:

There's some posters that should eat crow after this performance. Ohio was going to dominate this game with or without Clayton. WMU is the 307th ranked KenPom team. Ohio is 172nd.

This isn't the Bobcats team we expected before the season but the sensationalized demise of this squad the last few weeks was greatly exaggerated by many. Glad to see them destroy a team that they should handle at home.

Remember this team was picked to win the MAC so let's not get on the high horse because we obliterated a team ranked in the 300s, at home on a Tuesday night. Anything less than an appearance in the MACC game is a let down IMO and there's still a steep hill to climb to get there.

I don't think anybody predicted that AJC was coming back and I certainly didn't expect 18 points from him last night. If he's fully healthy and is back to his old self, this puts us back in the mix. On the road at BG and Kent will tell me a lot about what direction we're headed.

FJC31
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Member Since: 3/31/2022
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 8:54:56 AM

FormerMember wrote:

Eh, pummeling a 7 win team at home doesn't exactly scream "we're back".

Let's see where we're at after App State (swept JMU this season) and at BG (always a struggle) before we claim the disappointment isn't exaggerated.

This team still lacks a marquee win.

Last Edited: 2/5/2025 9:06:17 AM by FJC31

M.D.W.S.T
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Member Since: 12/23/2021
Post Count: 2,697

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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 9:12:39 AM

Good news! AJC is still good at basketball!

Sheldon was due. I hope he's shaking off the rust / yips / bad eyes.

As always, I really like Jack P's game. Led the team in rebounding again to go along with 8 assists, just one TO. Took the night off from shooting bc AJB and Elliott were going. He really just seems to know when and where hes needed. I wouldn't have expected him to be the guy this season, but I think he's fighting his way to be the leader we need. Now everybody apologize to him.

I would've liked to see Searls hold his 20 mins, and Evans getting at least 10. We need him to find consistency in his game and he's just not going to get it playing 5 mins a night in 1 minute stretches.

FJC31
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 9:15:02 AM

M.D.W.S.T wrote:

As always, I really like Jack P's game. Led the team in rebounding again to go along with 8 assists, just one TO. Took the night off from shooting bc AJB and Elliott were going. He really just seems to know when and where hes needed. I wouldn't have expected him to be the guy this season, but I think he's fighting his way to be the leader we need. Now everybody apologize to him.

+1 to this.

Cats5
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Member Since: 6/14/2017
Location: Chillicothe, OH
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 9:33:41 AM

Pav has gotten a lot more comfortable running the offense since the start of the year. If he stays consistent, we'll be just fine.

FormerMember
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Member Since: 1/7/2022
Post Count: 298

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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 9:47:40 AM

spongeBOB CATpants wrote:

FormerMember wrote:

I�m not on my high horse. There were a ton of people on this board that were scared of losing to WMU at home which was absolutely ridiculous. I stated in a previous post that this team hasn�t lived up to expectations and they�re not where they need to be but some of the posters on this board haven�t lived in reality in recent weeks.

Is this team where it needs to be? No

Is the ultimate goal still attainable for them? Yes

That�s all that matters.

Last Edited: 2/5/2025 9:49:47 AM by FormerMember

FormerMember
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 9:55:24 AM

I couldn�t care less about the actual WMU game. This is about the bigger picture. With Clayton healthy, Ohio probably defeats Toledo and Miami. That�s the team we�re putting on the court the rest of the season.

With Clayton, they can win the MAC Tournament. I�d still say Akron is the heavy favorites but anything can happen in Cleveland. The point is that it never made sense to toss the season away. I�m not saying the team is back. What I�m pointing out is that they were never doomed to begin with like many have said they were. Boals never ruled Clayton out for the season so I�m not sure why people were assuming it was going to be longterm. Those assumptions are what led to some of the crazy takes on here.

Last Edited: 2/5/2025 9:56:58 AM by FormerMember

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Member Since: 7/30/2010
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:10:11 AM

FormerMember wrote:

I�m not on my high horse. There were a ton of people on this board that were scared of losing to WMU at home which was absolutely ridiculous.

Who are they? We're in the very thread where a ton of people were "scared of losing." I'm not sure I'm seeing that? I questioned a 9.5 point spread (without Clayton), somebody said "there are no gimmes", and another person said "WMU could scare us, but this is a W."

Is that what you're talking about? And then making a point to call out and insist people "eat crow" about?

Because if so, you're absolutely on your high horse and should get off it.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:18:11 AM

FormerMember wrote:

I feel like you all were watching a completely different team than me. What am I missing?

At full strength we were basically a .500 team who beat bad MAC teams, and got beat badly by the first good one we played. Our starting 5 with Clayton back is a straight up awful defensive team that has given up 120 points per 100 possessions, and doesn't score well enough to make up for that (net was negative ~12 going into last night).

Going into last night, we were also botton 6 in the entire country defending the 3. We all know about our rebounding issues.

I really struggle to see how anybody thinks of us as a favorite down Hadaway. I think it's hard to make the case that we were a favorite with Hadaway based on the actual results.

I know there's a certain type of person who doesn't like negativity and wants to insist that's an overreaction, but at a certain point, it's kind of up to you to make a compelling case that we're a good team that goes beyond "all it takes is 3 really good games in Cleveland." For the most part, it seems like the folks here down on this team provide far more support for that stance than the folks insisting now that Clayton's back all is well.

Last Edited: 2/5/2025 11:18:26 AM by Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame

shabamon
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Member Since: 11/17/2006
Location: Cincinnati
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:21:25 AM

At full strength this would have been the outcome I'd hope for. No qualms or asterisks on the win.

The injuries forced us into a four guard lineup on the floor at all times, so a bit interesting that with Clayton back, at no moment did we ever have two of him, Searls, and Evans at the same time. I think the steady improvement of Elijah Elliot (who is now playing at a MAC all-freshman team level), the possible return of Sheldon's outside shot, and the statistical ineffectiveness of Ayden Evans plays into all of that. It's time to win now and this eight-man rotation looks to be our best shot.

No surprise at the report of a weak crowd. Losing four of the last five, midweek, soft opponent with whom we don't have much of a rivalry. Saturday sibs weekend might get 8K in the house.

shabamon
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:27:52 AM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

FormerMember wrote:

The MAC is ass and you don't need to be statistically "good" to win it. Down two starters we were in it against Toledo making lots of "bad" looks and fought back to make it anyone's game at Miami. Sure, Akron opened up a can, but look at any of our past four championship teams and you'll find blowout losses. Are we the favorite? No. Do we have enough to win it? More than enough.

We are beating Akron in the Convo. Carve it in marble.

Ohio69
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 3,051

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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:51:04 AM

shabamon wrote:

The injuries forced us into a four guard lineup on the floor at all times

I love the 4 guard (or G/SF) lineup. Jay Wright and Villanova won big with it. OHIO should look to keep this going especially in an era where you need NIL $ to land big men.

Love the pressing every now and then. We have enough guards/SF to do this and stay fresh.

Looked like James is playing more confidently/comfortably since his short break from the team.

Can somebody hit a pull up jumper for me?.....

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Member Since: 7/30/2010
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 11:51:42 AM

shabamon wrote:

The MAC is ass and you don't need to be statistically "good" to win it.

I agree. I think your chances of winning go up exponentially if you're statistically good though, and the critiques of Boals/his performance this season are that it's very disappointing that this is another season where the hope is we are hot at the right time and beat some teams who are better than us.

shabamon wrote:

Down two starters we were in it against Toledo making lots of "bad" looks and fought back to make it anyone's game at Miami.

Yep, and down Hadaway with 11 minutes of Clayton we got beaten soundly by EMU. They controlled the game and their win probability was steady throughout. The reason I'm not convinced that getting Clayton back solves everything for us is that Clayton doesn't address a few of the things we're worst at.

shabamon
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Location: Cincinnati
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 12:11:20 PM

Ohio69 wrote:

shabamon wrote:

The injuries forced us into a four guard lineup on the floor at all times

FAU's F4 team was four guards 6'4'' or under. They did have a seven footer who was pretty good at doing seven footer things.

FormerMember
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 12:16:54 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

FormerMember wrote:

Never once have I stated that Ohio is the MAC favorite since Clayton went down and I haven't said that once during the past 24 hours since he's returned.

The only point I've made is that this Bobcats squad is right there with Miami and Toledo which the metrics indicate as well.

You're putting words in my mouth if you think I'm saying they're playing good basketball or a really good team. All I've been pointing out is that some are overly pessimistic for a team that still has a shot.

Obviously, Akron is WAY better than everyone else BUT you can't say the same for Miami/Toledo. OU with Clayton healthy is in their class. Doesn't mean I'm happy with how the season has gone but this is what they are. They've been this way under Boals the past couple seasons where they struggle in the non-conference portion and heat up in late February and I think we'll see that happen again this year.

Last Edited: 2/5/2025 12:27:01 PM by FormerMember

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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RE: Official Game 22 Thread: Western Michigan

Posted: 2/5/2025 1:12:36 PM

FormerMember wrote:

Never once have I stated that Ohio is the MAC favorite since Clayton went down and I haven't said that once during the past 24 hours since he's returned.

I wasn't trying to put words in your mouth. My post said "a favorite"; your post said that with Clayton we beat Toledo and Miami but that while Akron is the heavy favorite, we could win the MAC. If we beat Toledo and Miami, it seems like a reasonable conclusion that you'd consider us "a favorite" alongside Akron, even if you think Akron's a lot better than us. I'm less convinced that's the case.

FormerMember wrote:

You're putting words in my mouth if you think I'm saying they're playing good basketball or a really good team. All I've been pointing out is that some are overly pessimistic for a team that still has a shot.

Okay. You can probably understand the confusion though -- you want people to eat crown for feeling down about a team that you yourself do not think is good or playing well. Seems like you're talking about degrees of bad. Weird to be insisting others eat crow because this team that isn't good isn't as not good as somebody else thought.

FormerMember wrote:

OU with Clayton healthy is in their class. Doesn't mean I'm happy with how the season has gone but this is what they are. They've been this way under Boals the past couple seasons where they struggle in the non-conference portion and heat up in late February and I think we'll see that happen again this year.

I agree. I think the point of disagreement is whether that's good enough, or even good at all. I don't think many people would consider the last few years a success for Ohio basketball -- we have expectations that we should be consistently one of the top teams in the MAC, and there are programs that have done that more consistently than we have.

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