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Username Post: Fordham        (Topic#20802)
84grad 
Junior
Posts: 277

Age: 64
Reg: 11-09-17
12-06-17 11:21 PM - Post#239428    

At Rose Hill. Egt dressed, but didn’t play. Baker (street clothes) and Bassey (not there) not available. Bassey took a bad hit to the head in the Kentucky game.

1-19 from 3 until Seth’s 3 gave us our only lead with around 10 seconds to play. Most of the 3s were good looks by the right people. 0-5 for Bryce, 0-4 for Danilo and 1-5 for Seth (he hit the important one). Hard to explain. We’ll see a lot of zones until we start making them pay.

Fortunately, Fordham didn’t shoot well either. 30% overall, 21% from 3.

Only 13 total free throws. Fortunately, Bryce had 5 of them (all of which were critical to the comeback).

12 turnovers, half by Seth, some of which were ugly. Only 9 team assists.

Solid rebounding effort by Seth and another athletic block.

Bryce played 38 minutes. No one else was over 30. 80 minutes from the freshmen and Juzang. Djuricic fought for rebounds (got 7) and may be our highest energy guy. If he gets his stroke back, he’ll be a very key contributor.

Thought the defense was pretty solid for most of the second half. Unlike most games this year, I thought we were getting the better looks from 3. Really closed out nicely on most of the 3 attempts by Fordham.

Good job by Chris staying out of foul trouble. I believe we had only one foul called against us in the 1st half. Only 7 for the game.

We NEED to get Corey more than 2 shots

Props to HARVARDGRAD for calling the last shot.






 
mrjames 
Professor
Posts: 6062

Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
12-07-17 09:35 AM - Post#239455    
    In response to 84grad

The injury bug has certainly been sneaky this year - losing players at the Wooden and not having folks available last night (maybe not having TMac and Egi all year, but I'm not convinced how integral to the rotation they'd be even if healthy).

I'm excited about this team, if they can get full strength over the exam break. There's a rotation of 8 really good players there (Aiken, Johnson, Towns, Haskett, Djuricic, Baker, Bassey, Lewis) with a few more that can slot in as needed.

I still believe that the 3PT shooting will turn, and I think it's great that Harvard is figuring out how to maintain in games when it can't shoot from 3 (not sure going to tough 2PT Js is the answer, like last night, but they've frequently started feeding Lewis, which is higher percentage and the preferable option).

We have to remember that this is the ninth-or-so youngest team in America still. Young teams get better over the course of the season in two areas where Harvard is getting destroyed right now (TOs and rotation defense). Also, the missed 3s and TOs are causing opponents to get a LOT of quick shots at the rim (~50% of shots within 10 seconds of a rebound and ~74% of shots within 10 seconds of a steal are at the rim) and that's about 17% of opponents initial FG attempts right now. As Harvard makes more threes and commits fewer live-ball turnovers, there should be some residual benefits to the defense not being put in bad spots.

I remain less worried than most. That being said, I'd like to see some of this snap back soon...

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
12-07-17 11:52 AM - Post#239479    
    In response to mrjames

Although our discontent has been temporarily quelled by Seth's game saving shot, it was definitely a tough win over Fordham.

Thanks for the spot on analysis and Shout Out '84. Although it was my son who mused that after a 1-19 long distance shooting disaster that it would be ironic for Harvard to win on a three. I noted that we should expect Fordham to clog the lane and force Harvard to chuck up another three. That's exactly what happened. Fordham's wing on the zone collapsed into the lane when Bryce drove the lane leaving Seth open. Bryce - nice job in spotting Seth. There was no way the refs last night were going to give Harvard the game by sending you to the line.

Key points I would like to add:
- Fordham's zone frustrated Harvard. Fordham overplayed the perimeter passing lanes, making both ball movement and three point shooting difficult
- Harvard's defense really stepped it up in the second half, holding Fordham to 16 points. Chris Lewis was phenomenal, and Djuricic played as the backup center down the stretch.
- I'd expect Egi and McCarthy - as well as Baker and of course Bassey - to be part of a 10 man rotation. Missing 4 (2 of them all season thus far) is not good for many reasons.
- 3 point shooting: 10% last night, 27.9% on the season! Only Seth (46.7%) and Corey (33.3%) shooting above 25%!
- Fordham utilized a Princeton tactic of not pursuing offensive rebounds so it could get back quickly, set the zone, and avoid any transition baskets.
- Fordham double and even triple teamed Chris Lewis, and the refs weren't calling anything.

Opposition strategy is obvious. Stop the transition, force Harvard into a bogged down halfcourt game, overplay the wings and collapse on Chris. It's up to Harvard to reverse the ball and hit the three's. I will say that Harvard did adjust and had open looks at the elbow and, near the end, off ball cutting to the hoop. That and a stifling defense is what won this game.




 
mrjames 
Professor
Posts: 6062

Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
12-07-17 12:36 PM - Post#239498    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

The refs not calling anything was important too. If you're not hitting from three, and you're not getting calls at the rim, it can force you to settle for 2PT Js, which are garbage.

If Harvard had been getting calls they deserved at the rim, it could have ignited their offense. And given that Fordham was mostly playing the 3PT lottery on the other end, a more tightly called game on both ends would have led to more FT opportunities for Harvard.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
12-07-17 03:44 PM - Post#239543    
    In response to mrjames

Yes, but Harvard was also missing key guys in its rotation. Any starter or Seth getting in foul trouble would have been an issue.

By the way, I have NEVER seen refs call less than I did last night

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
12-11-17 11:22 PM - Post#240008    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

From the Boston Herald:

"Harvard is off until Dec. 21 for exams, and that could be useful as the Crimson try to rediscover their shooting stroke. After going 2-for-20 from beyond the arc in a win against Fordham, Harvard ranks 333rd (out of 351 teams) in 3-point shooting percentage (27.9 percent).

It shouldn’t stay that way. Harvard shot 35.7 percent from deep last season and returned its best shooters. Bryce Aiken (24.6 percent) and Corey Johnson (33.1) are both shooting well below last season’s numbers."

Saving that law of averages payoff for League play? I hope?

 
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