Davidson Game

[WyomingGrizFan]

Another great challenge coming up on Sunday in Milwaukee with a team that plays a totally different style than Davidson. If the Griz play like they did tonight but cut the fouls, they can win that one going away. But, Milwaukee is a very physical and aggressive team, so UM needs to move the ball just a bit faster...I feel good about this team even when they lose..This is so much more fun to watch than what we've been used to for the past few years.

Should be able to watch it Live on: http://www.wiziwig.tv/competition.php?part=sports&discipline=basketball" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ...as it's scheduled for viewing on the 15th.

thanks..will hopefully watch it but it is on Sunday the 14th...

You're right, the game is scheduled for the 14th, a sunday. Hmmm. I wonder why the link I found has it for the 15th. Tape-delayed? Should be Live, though. I'd have to check it out come game time, if possible.

 

[PlayerRep]

Giving up 110 points in regulation is not good defense. DeCuire sites two 3-pointers in a row by the same guard, at a critical point. One was a very long shot, but both were uncontested.

“It was team defense; you can’t say it was a one-on-one deal,” said Griz junior Martin Breunig, who led Montana (3-5) with a career-high 30 points. “Our team had mental lapses and we weren’t where we were supposed to be on defense and it allowed them to play a one-on-one game for like 35 minutes.”

"Time and again, Gibbs, Kalinoski and Sullivan were able to get past their defenders for high-percentage shots at the rim."

From today's Missoulian article.

 

[bigforkgriz]

Part of the reason it was such high scoring game was the refs. It was a constant start and stop game. They did not let them play. Touch fouls were the norm. The Griz could not get through the constant screens and rubs without a score or a trip to the foul line for Davidson. Also, No one could guard Gibbs. I was somewhat surprised we didn't at least try going zone.

Edmonds helped keep us in the game in the first half,but he was frequently a defensive liability and was pulled more than once because of it.

As for Dunn, he had some sort of physical problem and was off and on a stationary bike at the south side of the stands for much of the latter part of the secon half.

 

[EdG]

From AKA Dumb Ass:

We have a new coach and need to support this - I think there is potential here

He seems like a great guy and I want his time here to be successful

Yes- I miss the spark and excitement Wayne installed during the game - that is obviously missing.

Wayne would have never allowed so many easy shots by the opposing team- I hope I am wrong and want to be corrected - we do not play defense

I think we have more talent then the record shows

Before you jump in about how tough Davidson is if you were at the game last time they made way to many easy shots

Still hopeful!

PS Mike was missed last night

 

[GrizWhiz]

From AKA Dumb Ass:

We have a new coach and need to support this - I think there is potential here

He seems like a great guy and I want his time here to be successful

Yes- I miss the spark and excitement Wayne installed during the game - that is obviously missing.

Wayne would have never allowed so many easy shots by the opposing team- I hope I am wrong and want to be corrected - we do not play defense

I think we have more talent then the record shows

Before you jump in about how tough Davidson is if you were at the game last time they made way to many easy shots

Still hopeful!

PS Mike was missed last night

Were you at the game last night?....just a question, no smack laden reply is necessary. :thumb:

 

[Agent G]

This team plays better defense than they did most years under Tinkle. They work on it a lot more and it shows. Yes, Davidson did have some open looks but more often they just hit big shot after big shot. Those killer 3's during the last 2 minutes were both deep & at the end of the shot clock. Also, Davidson is the best offensive team the Griz have faced so far this year with great discipline & effective scorers in every position. The Griz will analyze the let downs closely & will get better from it.

 

[grizzlyjournal]

Re: Davidson Game
This team plays better defense than they did most years under Tinkle. They work on it a lot more and it shows. Yes, Davidson did have some open looks but more often they just hit big shot after big shot. Those killer 3's during the last 2 minutes were both deep & at the end of the shot clock. Also, Davidson is the best offensive team the Griz have faced so far this year with great discipline & effective scorers in every position. The Griz will analyze the let downs closely & will get better from it.

THIS post by Agent G is the most concise and accurate analysis of the "offense-defense" issue on the entire thread. In short: Montana was facing one of the most potent offensive teams in the nation and they had to decide whether to defend the perimeter first & try to help on ensuing penetration drives by the outstanding trio of Davidson combo guards... or vice versa. They got burned a few times, but still played quite well, given the pace of this game.

Given another view: Davidson simply could not stop the ever-dangerous Martin Breunig in the post without double-teaming him... and when they did, Jordan Gregory made them pay with his patented slashing drives and pull-up long range jumpers. The result was nearly a wash... with the exception of two contested long threes by Davidson's Sullivan in the final 2 minutes.

In retrospect, this game may have been heavily weighted before it even tipped off, with the injury to Michael Weisner, which made Montana heavily short-handed because of the crippling effect of the referees' strange 2nd-half rotation to heavy handed touch foul calls that hurt Montana somewhat more than Davidson (these were NOT Big Sky refs: head ref Hampton was from the Atlantic 10, while the other two were from the Big South and Big East).

In short: Montana played a tough top-50 team (actually rated as high as 18th nationally, by USA Today's Sagarin) very tough, and will become a better team for it, for a variety of reasons. Beyond that, most folks I've talked to who watched the game live considered it one of the best they've seen in recent years. Go Griz.

 

[PlayerRep]

Sorry, I don't agree on the defense. No defense has had a good night when it allows 110 points. Davidson isn't averaging even close to that. The D gave up way too many penetrations to the hoop, and as well as few too many open looks, including at critical times. And I don't agree that this team plays better defense than Tinkle's teams in the past several years. This team needs to improve its defense significantly if it's going to make any noise in the conference.

 

[grizzlyjournal]

You don't have to be sorry about your opinion, PlayerRep. I've always considered your analysis very solid, but at this point I'll side firmly with Agent G. Note that Agent G didn't refer to Montana's defense "all" years under Tinkle; in truth, Montana's defense in 2011-13 was Big Sky's best by most measures.

I'm basing my analysis by including Montana's defense against Boise St., Cal and North Dakota State. Now, if the Griz falter Sunday at Wisc. Milwaukee & lose by 10-15 and give up +80 points, I'll eat crow. I don't think that will happen.

This may be a Montana team that allows more points on average, because they're geared to play at a faster pace. But their overall game will be predicated on stopping their opponents' primary means of offense, which they've improved at over the season so far. I believe that'll continue, particularly when they're at full strength.

 

[grizindabox]

EWU just won at USF

 

[Agent G]

PlayerRep I can understand your opinion to a point. Don't forget that 34 of those 110 points came from the free throw line due to many marginal calls throughout the game. Without that fact much more time would have run off the clock (making it a quicker game) & they probably score about 20 points less. I'm not saying UM would have won had it been different but the score would have been much lower. There definitely were letdowns against a very good offense & there were some easy buckets. But with some of those tough buckets throughout the game & especially down the stretch, sometimes the best D in the world can't stop it & Davidson had that kind of night. That just happens sometimes.

As Grizzlyjournal stated, this team's D has been very good against some very good teams so far this year. I know for a fact that much more time, effort & coaching is going into D than in recent years, especially after Evans left.

 

[grizzlyjournal]

EWU is legit. They have a very balanced, potent, outside-inside offensive attack. Clearly the best team in the Big Sky at this point.

 

[GrizPony]

Not to point fingers but I saw a little too much "juco" defense at times out there. Coach T apparently saw the same thing each time he yanked the offender.

 

[Potomac Griz]

Not to point fingers but I saw a little too much "juco" defense at times out there. Coach T apparently saw the same thing each time he yanked the offender.

He was doing fairly well on ball but got lost several times when his guy didn't have the ball. A few times he got caught by the Davidson moving screens but there were a lot of instances where he just lost his guy. He'll improve on that I'm sure (his offense is already damn good) and I doubt we'll see an offense like Davidson's again this year. Their offense is a thing of beauty to watch out there.

One HUGE positive I took away from the game was the Griz O. Davidson is probably going over all the instances where they lost their guys and why they gave up so many points along with 50+% shooting. That was the most points they'd given up this year too. The Griz kept pace with the #2 scoring offense in the country... that's pretty impressive in my opinion

 

[Potomac Griz]

Sorry, I don't agree on the defense. No defense has had a good night when it allows 110 points. Davidson isn't averaging even close to that. The D gave up way too many penetrations to the hoop, and as well as few too many open looks, including at critical times. And I don't agree that this team plays better defense than Tinkle's teams in the past several years. This team needs to improve its defense significantly if it's going to make any noise in the conference.

This D plays a different style than Tinkle's teams. The low scoring numbers often were skewed by the "slow it down" offense the Griz ran under Tinkle. That of course limited the number of possessions both teams had leading to lower scoring games.

This D is more aggressive which can lead to causing more turnovers (like against Cal) or sometimes giving up easy buckets. I can remember plenty of hiccups during Tinkle's time here where other teams seemed to get WAY too many open looks who didn't have offenses even close to as good as Davidson's was. Let us also not forget the problems on D we had after Evans left. We weren't exactly an amazing defensive team after he was no longer on the staff.

The Griz are also a young team with quite a few players getting significant minutes that didn't get significant minutes last year or weren't even with the team. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far from this team.

This team has shown a LOT of potential both offensively and defensively out there. Yes, Davidson isn't averaging 110 points a game, but they are the #2 team in the country in scoring right now. What also should be noted is that the Griz scored more against Davidson than any other team has this season so far.

It's a different style for Griz BB now. Gone are the days of slow it down & zone zone zone.... As much as I liked Tinkle as a coach I'm very optimistic about what I've seen so far with this Griz team and the coaching staff. We'll surprise some teams this year and I'm really looking forward to the EWU games!

 

[Agent G]

If you go to Davidson's website you can listen to the post game interview with their coach. He definitely has respect for UM & said his players had to really step up & make big plays to get the win.

 

[BelierPeaux]

I don't often say I enjoyed watching a loss, and while it sucks to lose, that was by far one of the more entertaining games I have witnessed the Griz play since the AJ championship affair.

In fact, I liken Breuning to watching AJ. He's just someone you have to see in person to really appreciate. I remember seeing AJ live for the first time against MSU in Bozeman and both my Dad and I went away amazed at how fluid he was and how easy he made some plays look. Breuning has that ability, too. Can't wait to get to see him in person.

 

[bigforkgriz]

Breunig is best inside presence I've seen for the Griz in the past decade. He has serious hops. There were numerous times I thought his shot would be contested and he just went up and over people.

Also, in the first half Decuire had him down low and Davidson began double teaming him after they realized his ability to score. In the second half Decuire adjusted and had him set up at the free throw line for the inlet which took away the double team and he just blew by the defender down the lane. He covers huge distances in two steps. Smooth with a very nice shot. It is so refreshing after watching a few years of no inside game. The foul trouble is going to be an issue the whole year though because of a lack of a significant inside backup.

 

[mtgrizrule]

Breunig is best inside presence I've seen for the Griz in the past decade. He has serious hops. There were numerous times I thought his shot would be contested and he just went up and over people.

Also, in the first half Decuire had him down low and Davidson began double teaming him after they realized his ability to score. In the second half Decuire adjusted and had him set up at the free throw line for the inlet which took away the double team and he just blew by the defender down the lane. He covers huge distances in two steps. Smooth with a very nice shot. It is so refreshing after watching a few years of no inside game. The foul trouble is going to be an issue the whole year though because of a lack of a significant inside backup.

Breunig will be our best paint player since Krysko. Thing is, he can handle the rock, and hit the perimeter shot too. He is a combo 3/4 in my opinion. Glad we landed him.

 

[bigforkgriz]

Breunig is best inside presence I've seen for the Griz in the past decade. He has serious hops. There were numerous times I thought his shot would be contested and he just went up and over people.

Also, in the first half Decuire had him down low and Davidson began double teaming him after they realized his ability to score. In the second half Decuire adjusted and had him set up at the free throw line for the inlet which took away the double team and he just blew by the defender down the lane. He covers huge distances in two steps. Smooth with a very nice shot. It is so refreshing after watching a few years of no inside game. The foul trouble is going to be an issue the whole year though because of a lack of a significant inside backup.

Breunig will be our best paint player since Krysko. Thing is, he can handle the rock, and hit the perimeter shot too. He is a combo 3/4 in my opinion. Glad we landed him.

I agree, he is in reality a 3/4.