Post by mh05 on Jan 21, 2009 8:51:16 GMT -5
Exciting day for Bonnies fans as the 13th ranked team in all of the land visits the Reilly Center this evening. The Bonnies have found ways to beat highly regarded X teams at home before(98, 02), maybe a little of that magic can be found again tonight against the 12.5 pt favorites.
Having seen X play a number of times this year, they are a solid, deep team that can play with anyone in the country. But they certainly arent a team without their flaws. Their combination of inside bruisers and outside shooters is enough to cause any team fits. But there are a few ways to slow this X team down;
1.Defending against the perimeter shot;
X shoots at a 38% clip from 3. This is scary considering our perimeter D can be down right awful at times. Duquesne game anyone? Consistantly contesting shots is a must or it will be a long night. Half heartedly sticking a hand up isnt going to cut it. Redford and Raymond will make us pay.
2. Turnovers. Get pressure on the ball, especially on frosh pg. Terrell Holloway;
Holloway can make a lot of plays for a youngster, but he forces the ball at times and can give points right back to the opponent. Sound familiar? X as a team has a -2.29 assist to turnover ratio, so turnover's should be had with ample pressure. Turning the to's that are there into points will be key.
3. Match their depth down low, use our fouls while not allowing easy buckets;
X has horses down low that work hard and get easy buckets, but they are not the most comfortable bunch on the line, as they shoot 66% as a team. Let's let their bigs earn it. We have some depth off the bench to try and bang down low with them. Obviously, Andrew and Grease cant take on their stable of bigs and be giving fouls all night, but Carter and Cook (even Benson) certainly can help. If we can "steal" some physical minutes mixed in here and there from those 2 or 3, it could eventually put some pressure on X to earn it at the line.
Having seen X play a number of times this year, they are a solid, deep team that can play with anyone in the country. But they certainly arent a team without their flaws. Their combination of inside bruisers and outside shooters is enough to cause any team fits. But there are a few ways to slow this X team down;
1.Defending against the perimeter shot;
X shoots at a 38% clip from 3. This is scary considering our perimeter D can be down right awful at times. Duquesne game anyone? Consistantly contesting shots is a must or it will be a long night. Half heartedly sticking a hand up isnt going to cut it. Redford and Raymond will make us pay.
2. Turnovers. Get pressure on the ball, especially on frosh pg. Terrell Holloway;
Holloway can make a lot of plays for a youngster, but he forces the ball at times and can give points right back to the opponent. Sound familiar? X as a team has a -2.29 assist to turnover ratio, so turnover's should be had with ample pressure. Turning the to's that are there into points will be key.
3. Match their depth down low, use our fouls while not allowing easy buckets;
X has horses down low that work hard and get easy buckets, but they are not the most comfortable bunch on the line, as they shoot 66% as a team. Let's let their bigs earn it. We have some depth off the bench to try and bang down low with them. Obviously, Andrew and Grease cant take on their stable of bigs and be giving fouls all night, but Carter and Cook (even Benson) certainly can help. If we can "steal" some physical minutes mixed in here and there from those 2 or 3, it could eventually put some pressure on X to earn it at the line.
