Montana plays Texas A&M in NIT

[Umista]

Still needed is a good big man. Can't win with out one! Lets wish for a tall "leaping" big for next season.

 

[AZGrizFan]

Sure am tired of hearing how the Griz continually run out of gas. Is conditioning an issue?

No, Depth is the issue really. We had 3 very tough games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then quickly travel to Texas to play a game against the 4th place SEC team on Tuesday while still banged up from the previous games (Krslovic). That's pretty brutal for any team that isn't very deep on the bench.

Griz also played most of the year minus two scholarships basically (after Edmonds became ineligible). Griz only suit up 10 players and Texas A&M has 11 guys who average around 10 mins or more per game. They had a 17 different players play in games for them this year

As a not very deep mid major team we're going to notice the drop off big time when the starters go out. A team like A&M is going to have a dropoff, but the people coming in off the bench are often players that would start for most Big Sky teams no problem.

That of course also makes foul trouble a huge issue for the Griz. Have Breunig get into foul trouble and the main piece that your offense runs through is on the bench. The player that opens up those 3s by being double teamed inside is no longer a factor which allows other teams to just focus on stopping the 3s, and our offense grinds to a halt against very talented teams.

With the incoming players next year, Krslovic continuing to develop and Edmonds returning (hopefully) we won't be nearly as short handed as we were for much of the season this year and hopefully be able to get bench players more consistently involved and contributing.

As I've said before in other posts losing DeShields to transfer hurt a lot as well. I'm confident DeCuire will rebuild the depth of this team and we'll see some good results over the next few years. Already saw some pretty amazing results with him leading a team picked to finish 8th by the coaches to a 1st place finish in the Big Sky and giving a good SEC team a game on the road

Thanks for that excellent, well thought out response. :thumb:

 

[statler & waldorf]

At least they had a two point lead for a while, before the real Griz team took over. Compared to the 45-50 point losses in the NCAAs the last few years, a 17 point loss, in the NIT, seems like a breath of fresh air. Anxious to see what TD can put together next year.

 

[GrizWhiz]

At least they had a two point lead for a while," before the real Griz team took over. Compared to the 45-50 point losses in the NCAAs the last few years, a 17 point loss, in the NIT, seems like a breath of fresh air. Anxious to see what TD can put together next year.

"before the real Griz team took over"?.....what is that supposed to mean?

 

[statler & waldorf]

Whatever you think it means. Meaning is in the mind of the reader. My intent was the Griz dug themselves a hole, hustled and played out of their regular ability to gain a lead, then dropped back into mediocrity, thus a 17 point loss. They proved they are capable of much better, but couldn't sustain it. Decuires comments after the game show the disparity.

 

[IdaGriz01]

Had hoped that A&M would show better, but they couldn't shoot worth s**t, especially treys, and lost to La Tech by 12 points. Oh well.

 

[Agent G]

I guess it's pretty easy for some to be critical of this team & the coaching staff about the way the last two games ended up, and over a few other games they should've won. But this team & the coaching staff did a hell of a job & over achieved in pretty much everybody's eyes!

While they lost some close ones they also won some games they probably should've lost. There's definitely a lot more to be positive about than negative...the "real Griz team" had a great year!!!

 

[AZGrizFan]

Whatever you think it means. Meaning is in the mind of the reader. My intent was the Griz dug themselves a hole, hustled and played out of their regular ability to gain a lead, then dropped back into mediocrity, thus a 17 point loss. They proved they are capable of much better, but couldn't sustain it. Decuires comments after the game show the disparity.

The "real Griz team" started out the season 3-7 and proceed to go 17-6 the rest of the way. Unless your team is named Kentucky, there will always be periods during a game where "mediocrity" seeps in....not every shot falls, and not every shot by the opponent can be defensed perfectly.