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Username Post: Brunch With Bruno
Eric Von Zipper
Senior
Posts 343
 03-15-24 05:44 PM - Post#365276    

Opens Princeton -10 1/2 O/U 141

Way to high for my betting blood.

11:00AM tip-off
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-15-24 08:48 PM - Post#365296    

If we fall, may Bruno take it all!
whitakk
Masters Student
Posts 523
 03-15-24 09:12 PM - Post#365299    

I know I'm not supposed to say things like this, but I'm not worried about Brown tomorrow. Sure, anyone can lose in a 4-team tournament, but Brown struggled 2/3 of the year for a reason, even in their hot streak they've had some bad stretches, and underdogs have done really poorly in this event.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-15-24 09:30 PM - Post#365300    

Coming in with 6 game win streak including wins over both Cornell and Yale? Challenged Tigers in both previous games? I’m worried.
TigerFan
PhD Student
Posts 1892
 03-15-24 11:30 PM - Post#365308    

Less than 12 hours to tip off and this thread needs to be at the top, not the other one with wild speculation. The Tigers come off a break week and I assume they will be locked in tomorrow. I watched a little of ESPN+s Ivy Madness hoopla and our guys seemed relaxed and rested in their interviews, with Cade saying the team is excited to be playing in Levien, which they seem to think is a shooter’s gym. Go Tigers!
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-15-24 11:37 PM - Post#365310    

Make shots!
LocalTiger
Masters Student
Posts 437
 03-16-24 07:26 AM - Post#365316    

Three hours to game time.
Let's light them up!
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:06 AM - Post#365321    

We Pacific zone folks are not loving the early start. Blake Peters awake though!
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 11:11 AM - Post#365322    

3 TOs already. Must be more efficient.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:13 AM - Post#365323    

Also not nuts about letting Brown alone defensively on the perimeter. I get the need for help inside, but Brown is vulnerable to ball pressure.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:19 AM - Post#365324    

Some bad decision-making early, bad passes and too quick shots. But otherwise pretty good.

I expect this game to be close at halftime (maybe even trailing) and then hopefully pull away in the 2nd half.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:21 AM - Post#365325    

At least no second-chance points allowed. But Brown is shooting well. Touch block call on Pierce.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 11:23 AM - Post#365326    

Brown shooting 60+%. And another TO.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:24 AM - Post#365327    

These TOs are terrible. Way too sloppy/casual.

Now Pierce has 2 fouls - playing with fire early.
Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts 412
Tiger81 		03-16-24 11:27 AM - Post#365328    

Princeton is having to work a lot harder for its shots than Brown so far. Two starters on the bench right now.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:30 AM - Post#365330    

Officials not giving Pierce much of a break. Two bad calls.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 11:31 AM - Post#365331    

Really don't like this reliance on 3pta.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 11:32 AM - Post#365332    

So far, my dreaded nightmare. Brown scoring easily. Princeton fouling and Pierce out with 2 fouls. Brown offense vastly improved. They could win it all.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:32 AM - Post#365333    

Brown is making a lot of tough shots - give them credit. But we came out too soft, relying on hot 3pt shooting.

I keep saying this every game and every game (except Penn) it turns out to be true. Early 3s falling = fool's gold.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:35 AM - Post#365334    

Down eight with 5:49 in H1. No need to panic, but give me some 1-3-1 please.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:35 AM - Post#365335    

41-27. This is a disaster so far.

Brown playing the game of their lives. We're playing a friendly scrimmage.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 11:35 AM - Post#365336    

Brown scoring effortlessly inside. No D.
Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts 412
Tiger81 		03-16-24 11:37 AM - Post#365337    

Tigers offense is not flowing and they can’t stop Brown at the other end. Princeton needs to increase its intensity on the defensive end if they are going to get back in this game.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:38 AM - Post#365338    

Lilly and Owusu-Anene are going wild one on one Orin transition. Got to break out some of that secon-half mojo right now.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:43 AM - Post#365339    

Pierce is having the worst game of his life. Missing every bunny, making terrible TOs.

Wake up, Cade. Or it's the worst NIT ever.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:43 AM - Post#365340    

Giving us the Vermont audio is a nice touch by WSPN
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 11:43 AM - Post#365341    

Nice of espn to give us audio of another game that is competitive
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:46 AM - Post#365343    

Everything about this game is embarrassing.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:47 AM - Post#365344    

Ferrari is at fault for that hit to his head. Way too close too Martini there.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 11:48 AM - Post#365345    

Yes, but even if he were scoring better you still have to deal with a Brown team shooting 55%.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 11:49 AM - Post#365346    

The early fouls on Pierce are an unpleasant flashback to the St. Joes game. Need to pick up the intensity on both ends.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 11:49 AM - Post#365347    

Only silver lining is that the defense tightened up at the end. Need to simplify the offense and let Lee take over - drive and kick.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 11:54 AM - Post#365348    

HT B44-P31. A very deep hole to climb out of. Don’t give up.

GO TIGERS!
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:06 PM - Post#365350    

Looks like our guys have quit. You'd think they'd come out fired up but... nope.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 12:07 PM - Post#365351    

When is the first round NIT?
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 12:07 PM - Post#365353    

50-33. Brown is not throwing this one away. Stay tough tomorrow, Bruno. Looking ahead, Brown will be very tough next year.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:08 PM - Post#365354    

Collapsing now.Really don’t know why we haven’t seen the 1-3-1, if only to get Brown out of rhythm and protect Pierce.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:09 PM - Post#365355    

This is shaping up to be the worst loss in Tiger history.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:12 PM - Post#365357    

I never expected them to come out so flat. Lee wasn't at the shootaround yesterday - I wonder if he's playing hurt or something.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 12:13 PM - Post#365359    

If the players want it, fine. But I hate the damn meaningless NIT.
Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts 412
Tiger81 		03-16-24 12:13 PM - Post#365360    

Brown is playing very loose and Tigers are playing super tight. They are both packing the interior and challenging on the perimeter and playing with more energy. Very late to change this dynamic, let’s see if they can make this competitive in the next 10 minutes.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 12:13 PM - Post#365361    

Annoincer said he has an illness. That is not the reason for this team display.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:13 PM - Post#365362    

The 1-3-1 appears five minutes late and now Brown is fouling a lot. The push starts now.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:19 PM - Post#365363    

This is why I was rooting for Harvard. We're cooked.

So depressing to see such a poor effort - I knew they were in trouble as soon as the first couple 3s went in. All physicality instantly went out the window.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:24 PM - Post#365365    

Owusu-Anane was a first-teamer on my ballot for a reason. Lee and Pierce haven’t shown up tonight. Allocco trying to will the team back but it’s not going to happen without a little help and a lot of luck.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:26 PM - Post#365366    

Pierce has been terrible - Davis setting him up and he can't even handle the passes.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:28 PM - Post#365367    

Jack Scott goaltends an easy and-1. That says it all today - team-wide mental breakdown.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 12:29 PM - Post#365368    

Team looks worn out to me. Took a loy of energy to get here, and not enough left.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:31 PM - Post#365369    

I think they look sloppy and lethargic. They came out soft after making some early 3s... it's happened in 2 of 3 losses and a couple of wins.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:32 PM - Post#365371    

Davis and Scott playing better than the older guys. Bad day for the mainstays to have their worst performances of the year.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 12:43 PM - Post#365372    

Not giving up, but neither are the Bruins.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:46 PM - Post#365373    

Not hating the Dalen Davis show..But Pierce can’t squeeze the ball for the nth time.
jeromelh
Junior
Posts 215
 03-16-24 12:46 PM - Post#365374    

Martin is a superb coach. He had his team ready to neutralize Pierce and Lee. Brown exposed our weakness which is a lack of inside height.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:47 PM - Post#365375    

Dalen Davis is a fighter. Wow. Just let him cook.

Lee and Pierce don't have it today.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:49 PM - Post#365376    

Davis makes it 9. At least we won't go down like chumps losing by 20.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 12:54 PM - Post#365377    

The pressure and DD have finally put a little stress on Brown. Still a long shot but looking competitive
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 12:54 PM - Post#365378    

Ugh, another brutal miss by Lee.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 01:00 PM - Post#365379    

Ton of missed FTs to add to the misery.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:00 PM - Post#365380    

If that 3 by Peters went in, we'd have a chance.

But now, we're pulling into Choke City.
jeromelh
Junior
Posts 215
 03-16-24 01:00 PM - Post#365381    

Davis is gassed. The others are tired also. The press took a lot out of them.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 01:00 PM - Post#365382    

Too little, too late.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:01 PM - Post#365383    

Congrats Brown. You had more heart. We wet the bed.

Really disappointed in our guys. If they didn't wait until the middle of the 2nd half to play hard, they would have won.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 01:03 PM - Post#365384    

Can’t buy a trey. Waited too long to exploit Brown’s iffy ball handling.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 01:06 PM - Post#365385    

Down to three after Allocco’s clutch trey. Brown a bit dazed.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 01:07 PM - Post#365386    

Pierce has mishandled so many balls.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:07 PM - Post#365387    

Shameful After all that, they had a chance if they didn't make 50 mental mistakes today.

March Madness is ruined for me.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:08 PM - Post#365388    

Let me predict MH's postgame presser: "It's hard to beat a team 3 times."
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:11 PM - Post#365389    

MH's one weakness is that his teams come out soft too often. Part of that is foul-avoidance but man, why couldn't they play with this energy 2 minutes earlier?

That said, Pierce and Lee were so bad today that they likely would have lost to Yale/Cornell tomorrow.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 01:11 PM - Post#365390    

That was a poor performance by the key guys, and Brown was hot. MH didn’t have a great game plan—all three games against Brown they only got stops when they applied pressure.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:13 PM - Post#365391    

Jack Scott fouling Lilly down 3 with 44 seconds was terrible. I read Mush's lips in the huddle: "No foul!" He just wanted to play it out - hate that he has to go out like this.

I don't care what they say - they were 100% looking past Brown to Saturday.

Pierce and Lee and Scott need to learn from this. Do what the team did in 2023 after losing in 2022 - make up for lost time.

Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 01:16 PM - Post#365394    

Great season. We deserved a better finish. We won the League. That’s the most important goal. The NCAA bid is a fun reward that we deserved but for the asinine ILT and the NCAA anti Ivy bias.

Good luck, Bruno. I hope you get to the dance tomorrow.

24-25 should be exciting.
1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts 2277
1LotteryPick1969 		03-16-24 01:19 PM - Post#365395    

Brown guarded the perimeter very well, as well as the passing lanes. And if we got into the lane, their bigs were ready. Very well coached and motivated.
sparman
PhD Student
Posts 1348
sparman 		03-16-24 01:24 PM - Post#365398    

Also they did not get rattled when Tigers started hot, looked to be focused and cslm. At least until the pressure came (much too late).
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:25 PM - Post#365399    

Strange to see Mitch get coached but he did. On both ends.

Where was the 1-3-1 earlier? Why not attack Brown's weak defensive guards like Davis did? Why wait until down 23 to press?

But in the end, they had plenty of chances to win. Just too many mental mistakes - missed open shots by Lee, bad TOs by Pierce, dumb goaltend and late foul by Scott.

Davis was amazing. He's surefire All-Ivy/POY candidate. But when a lone freshman has to save the rest of the team... yikes.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 01:47 PM - Post#365405    

This games encapsulates MH's one weakness - his teams wait too long to get tough.

Refs were letting both teams go for steals and stuffs and traps but our guys just did their usual foul-avoidance schtick. The problem rears its ugly head every few games and today it happened on the worst day possible.

Mitch and his staff are amazing at scouting and development and strategy, so he's still an elite coach. But this softness is something he needs to address. Laissez-faire Ivy reffing isn't new. Gotta adjust to the physicality of the game.

Brown was on fire but there's no excuse for losing today - just look at what happened when they played with fire down 23. Had it down to 3 with 44s left! Play like this earlier and they win. It wasn't too little, but it was too late.
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 02:01 PM - Post#365410    

Pierce got called early for two questionable fouls. In general the refs weren’t “letting them play.” The only coaching issue that recurs is playing without ball pressure against teams that are big inside and having success running their stuff. The double-teams of primary scorers or inside mismatches are fine, but sometimes you face a team whose offensive weaknesses are ball-handling and foul shooting, and you have to exploit that instead, even if it makes rebounding harder and you give up a few open shots.

All that said, the players lost the game. Brown was fantastic on both ends and the Tigers didn’t make shots, with Pierce having perhaps his worst game overall at PU and Lee being a non-factor.
jeromelh
Junior
Posts 215
 03-16-24 02:11 PM - Post#365413    

The problem is that a press requires enormous energy you can’t do that for a whole game especially when you don’t have any depth.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 02:13 PM - Post#365414    

Pierce's 2nd foul was because he was trying to draw a charge on Owusu-Anane - same mistake he made against St. Joe's. Refs are always gonna call two guys crashing onto the floor. I just mean that refs were letting both teams be very handsy, resulting in lots of Tiger turnovers and stops for Brown. But we didn't follow suit until midway through the second half.

  • Quote:
sometimes you face a team whose offensive weaknesses are ball-handling and foul shooting, and you have to exploit that instead,



I certainly agree with that. Which why I thought we should've been more aggressive/handsy earlier. Get in their grille, trap hard, sneak in behind bigs for steals.
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 476
umbrellaman 		03-16-24 02:39 PM - Post#365420    

Back from Levien. Decided to go with my son and another alum who is a more casual fan, making more about the experience instead of bunkering with die hards. Sat adjacent to the Brown section (wonder how they worked that out?). Didn’t think that Brown was going to keep up shooting but the early second touch foul on Pierce was the game changer. They couldn’t contain Owusu-Anane without him, then when they brought him back he lacked aggressiveness on both defense and offense. Lack of interior threat hurt the offense. Likewise, Lee was off - didn’t see the drives which we were accustomed to - again without that threat to open up threes. There was the tournament feel - no neutrals that were going Brown’s way but their fans going crazy and Princeton and their fans getting quiet and nervous.

If something is wrong with Lee - illness, being worn down - that’s the trouble with the tournament format.

One thing I have been harping on is the lack of frontcourt depth - Brown was just too big to deal with Pierce is early (and IMHO, cheap) foul trouble. You would hoped that one of the many underclassman bigs could have developed into a workable backup. Kellman would be a higher end version of that but there have been a lot of Princeton players that have filled in a spot - not necessarily a complete offensive player but a large body than can rebound and defend - to keep Princeton in the game at that point. Without that I couldn’t see them making a run in the tourney anyway.
Anyway, I thought to myself I would be less upset at losing this game than losing tomorrow - and I think that is right. No autobid to the NIT, but I hope they do that.
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 476
umbrellaman 		03-16-24 02:48 PM - Post#365421    

Agree that the refs generally were letting a lot go. That facilitated the comeback as well but it seemed like a flashback to old school handchecking at times.
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 476
umbrellaman 		03-16-24 02:57 PM - Post#365424    

Seeing the replay of the offensive goaltending at the arena, I thought that the ball was down when he grabbed the rim - but I am not sure about the rule.

Down 3, no timeouts without the ball with 44 seconds - I think the right play is to play defense and hope for a possession to tie with 15 seconds to go - with no timeout to get a good three after a stop and a rebound is stil a tall order.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 03:05 PM - Post#365425    

Yeah, I think the ball has to be through the net to officially count. It was already past the rim, which is what made the goaltend so painful. Everyone could see that was going down.

I wouldn't have minded fouling a weak FT shooter like Owusu-Anane with 40s left. But to commit a ticky-tack foul on Lilly like that was brutal.

Losing on so many mental mistakes is what hurts so bad. Missing open shots happens. The other team making tough shots happens. But a notoriously "mistake-free" team playing so sloppy was gut-wrenching. Sorry you had to see that in-person. Not sure I can enjoy March Madness this year. I'll be rooting for the Ivy rep but only checking in occasionally.
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 476
umbrellaman 		03-16-24 04:11 PM - Post#365431    

Well, at best IvyMadness is only going to be at Levien once every eight years, so I think I was right to go, (and not wait until tomorrow).
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 04:36 PM - Post#365437    

I hate that homecourt doesn't go to the #1 seed - Vermont won their autobid at home in a nailbiter. You can be sure they were happy for the advantage.

One one hand, all higher seeds should be hosting in a one-bid league. On the other hand, it's hard to complain when "rotating sites" helped us last year. Likely no iconic Sweet 16 run without playing Penn and Yale at Jadwin. On the third hand, it hurt us in 2022 just like 2024.

We need to end this rotating system once everyone has hosted once. Top seed(s) should be hosting. If the Patriot and America East can do it, why can't the Ivy?
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
 03-16-24 04:49 PM - Post#365442    

Yeah, frontcourt depth was a preseason concern. Martini also had a pretty quiet game in the semi. Without hitting a high trey percentage it was going to be tough.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2818
 03-16-24 07:19 PM - Post#365459    

Enough whining. Brown is a tough, well coached team. Our earlier wins over them were much tougher than scores indicated. We played hard, made our share of errors and were not 100% — Lee had to sit out practice yesterday. Brown earned the win, but we can still hold our heads high.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 07:47 PM - Post#365464    

I could take losing - I can't stand losing because of so many mental mistakes. Even at the end, we just had to play defense and I guarantee Allocco doesn't miss a game-tying 3.

We had one of the Top 3 mid-major teams in the nation this year and now they don't get to show how good they are. March Madness is the best playoff in sports.

That said, we're so fortunate that Pierce and Lee are just sophs. Next year could be even better - if they learn from this heartbreak.
1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts 2277
1LotteryPick1969 		03-16-24 08:49 PM - Post#365473    

Sad end to a fine season. I always had the feeling they were playing above their talent level (attributable to coaching and coachability). Succeeded on the basis of steady D, no turnovers, no fouls, make the foul shots, spread the opponent's D with the 3-ball, and Caden, Xavian, or Mush finishing at the rim as needed.

Ran into team that could defend the 3 and handle Caden or Mush at the rim one on one. Missing Xavian for whatever reason really hurt.

I would have liked to see the 1-3-1 in the first half.

I felt at half-time Davis would be the key to a potential comeback.

Next year we will still be undersized, IMHO.
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 476
umbrellaman 		03-16-24 09:28 PM - Post#365482    

Another nod to Brown is that Princeton had sole possession of first place by virtue of Brown defeating Cornell and Yale during this win streak.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-16-24 10:02 PM - Post#365484    

True, but we were a cut above Yale and Cornell this season. Hence the outright title and sweep of Brown where our guys handled their physicality and size. I think they just got too complacent after the 2nd win.

This loss just stinks. Reading MH's quotes afterward confirm the team's massive shock and embarrassment. It was unthinkable to lose like this - going down 22 and making so many mental mistakes down the stretch.

When last year's Tigers "upset" Yale, they were both 10-4 in the league with 20+ wins overall and solid NET/KenPom rankings. This is the Ivy version of a 15/2 upset... how apropos.
penn nation
Professor
Posts 21267
 03-16-24 10:11 PM - Post#365485    

In its last 7 games, Brown has gone 7-0 including 3-0 against the top 3 Ivy teams, all away from home.

This is no 2-15 upset. They were a buzzsaw ever since their second loss to Princeton.
TigerFan
PhD Student
Posts 1892
 03-16-24 10:20 PM - Post#365486    

Xaivian was apparently very sick. Heard he was in the hospital getting IV fluids yesterday. That explains a lot. Obviously he wasn’t himself today and his illness may have rattled the team somewhat.
Tiger81
Masters Student
Posts 412
Tiger81 		03-16-24 11:13 PM - Post#365490    

The performance today across the board came up way too short and Brown had a lot to do with that. They were more physical on both ends of the floor and Brown beat Cornell and Yale with the same formula on their home courts.

Very disappointing that the grit we have seen for the past year did not surface until it was too late. Caden Pierce has been a rock all season long but today committed many sloppy TOs and missed shots he usually makes. And Xaivian Lee was a non-factor apparently due to illness. It is a stretch to attribute any of these shortcomings to complacency.

The Tigers were outplayed by a very good and hot team today but I disagree that Princeton was looking past Brown today or that this was a huge upset.
Bruno
PhD Student
Posts 1422
 03-16-24 11:52 PM - Post#365494    

I was at the game and said to the guy next to me that Lee looked somewhat like he was sick. Clearly not even 80 pct.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh)
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-17-24 12:22 AM - Post#365497    

  • TigerFan Said:
Xaivian was apparently very sick. Heard he was in the hospital getting IV fluids yesterday. That explains a lot. Obviously he wasn’t himself today and his illness may have rattled the team somewhat.


I noticed Xaivian was absent from the ESPN+ media feed yesterday but I didn't want to jump to conclusions. When I saw him getting off the bus on a Twitter/Instagram video, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking he was okay.

Knowing he was hospital-level sick takes a lot of the sting off today's shocker loss. This team is great because of an Iron 5 that includes two POY talents. And one was in the ER getting fluids last night.

We probably eke out a close one with a healthy Lee. Down 3 with 44s left... they just needed 1-2 more buckets.
1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts 2277
1LotteryPick1969 		03-17-24 11:05 AM - Post#365515    

One wonders if Dalen Davis should have entered the game earlier and for longer intervals.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-17-24 02:11 PM - Post#365544    

They probably wanted to but Davis had a rough start (0-4), which makes his 2nd half supernova performance even more incredible to me.

Ugh, why did Lee have to get sick at the worst time? Brown is clearly a different team than before, but we almost certainly win a close one with a healthy Lee.

Meanwhile, Yale beats Brown at the buzzer and goes to the tourney. At least the team with the second-most upset potential is going to the Dance.
Eric Von Zipper
Senior
Posts 343
 03-17-24 03:10 PM - Post#365561    

Win the tournament and they were slotted as a 12-seed. Lose to buzzsaw and they get a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

With proper seeding they can easily make the NIT final 4.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-17-24 03:18 PM - Post#365564    

NIT games are very hard to win - no adrenaline for our guys, less pressure for opponents. And Lee might not be fully recovered by that first game.

As for the NCAAs, I really believe this team would have been an 11 seed (Duquesne winning the A-10 helps) and won at least 1 game. This year's field is much weaker than last year's outside the Top 3. The hardest part was always getting there - Ivy teams know all of our tricks inside and out.

This is a total bummer all-around. I feel awful for the players and coaches. This was a special team, but Brown's shooting and Lee's immune system sank us. If Yale loses in the 1st round, it'll hurt even more ("Should've been us!").
TigerFan
PhD Student
Posts 1892
 03-17-24 04:34 PM - Post#365580    

What a deflating loss yesterday in Columbia's high school gym. My wife, who watches players' emotion's more than the xs and os, kept remarking that the Tigers didn't look like themselves yesterday. She first made the observation in the early going when the game was still being closely fought. They were missing the joy, bounce, and swagger that they typically play with (particularly Xaivian).

Despite the loss, its been a truly remarkable season--from the win over Rutgers through the near miracle comeback yesterday. If the Tigers do host an NIT game, as I heard they will yesterday, I will be there with bells on.
gokinsmen
Postdoc
Posts 3678
 03-17-24 04:56 PM - Post#365581    

  • TigerFan Said:
They were missing the joy, bounce, and swagger that they typically play with (particularly Xaivian).



I imagine his illness had them all on edge. Brown played them close both times and now their #1 scorer and #2 rebounder is in the hospital getting IV fluids. What horrible luck - I still can't believe that happened at the absolute worst time.

I fully expect this team to get back to the tourney next year (possibly as an at-large) but this year was going to be special. I just know it. They almost had a 22pt comeback led by a frosh! Just came up one shot/mistake short. Though to be fair, I doubt we beat Yale with a still-sick Lee.

On the bright side, the 2022 ILT loss fueled the Sweet 16 run in 2023. So let this pain be a prelude to a future March run. In fact, I'm calling it now: In the next two years, Pierce and Lee will lead this team to an Elite Eight.
ToothlessTiger
Senior
Posts 338
 03-17-24 05:32 PM - Post#365583    

Any reporting on a team vote to keep playing?



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