HARVARDDADGRAD
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01-26-18 08:24 PM - Post#244724
Wow! Amaker has Harvard ready!
20-5
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SRP
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01-26-18 08:33 PM - Post#244725
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
I suspect that in his heart Amaker loves this team because the defense is so nasty. Towns looking very smooth offensively both passing and scoring, Johnson not missing from outside certainly perks things up on the other end of the floor. Yale's D not too impressive and they are turning the ball over at an alarming rate.
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SRP
Postdoc
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01-26-18 08:50 PM - Post#244726
In response to SRP
Crimson go cold from 3, 0-6 on their last 6, Yale holds onto the ball better, and the lead is down to 6 with 1:04 left.
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SRP
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01-26-18 08:55 PM - Post#244727
In response to SRP
Yale cuts it to 4 at the end of the half, Phills embarrasses Aiken with a steal at the end after Aiken tries to embarrass him in the open court.
The Towns-Onye battle within the game has also been entertaining, with Towns getting some nice scoring moves in.
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84grad
Junior
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Reg: 11-09-17
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01-26-18 09:07 PM - Post#244728
In response to SRP
0 free throws for Harvard. Again. That ‘s a problem we have to fix.
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SRP
Postdoc
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01-26-18 09:18 PM - Post#244729
In response to 84grad
They're letting Lewis score in the post and not fouling him. Not too many drives to the rim, so not too many chances to draw shooting fouls. Yalies drive a lot, although Harvard getting a lot of the block/charge calls with their quick feet.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:26 PM - Post#244730
In response to SRP
Harvard up 5 with about 12:00 left. Yale showing some excellent ball movement and cutting, while Harvard looks a bit lost on offense the last few minutes, especially when Lewis is out. Still, the margin is bigger than it was at halftime, so not so bad for the Crimson.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:34 PM - Post#244731
In response to SRP
I don't understand why Harvard doesn't get the ball back with their basket wiped out as a "do over" given the shot-clock error.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:40 PM - Post#244732
In response to SRP
Hadn't realized Bassey was such a playmaker.
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TigerFan
PhD Student
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Reg: 11-21-04
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01-26-18 09:42 PM - Post#244734
In response to SRP
Just clicked on the game. The shooting is woeful!
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:47 PM - Post#244736
In response to TigerFan
Tied with 6:25 left. Yale swarming on D, deflecting balls and getting easy buckets.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:51 PM - Post#244738
In response to SRP
Still tied with 3:56 left. Not much scoring. Towns with a couple of forced-looking trey attempts. Lewis is still the only reliable option in the post for getting a good look.
Can't understand how anybody lets Copeland drive with his right hand down the right side of the lane. He is pretty lethal when he does that.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:56 PM - Post#244739
In response to SRP
Phills fouls out hitting Bassey putting up a trey. Horrible play, but Bassey did a good job drawing the contact. He's been good tonight.
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TigerFan
PhD Student
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Yale
01-26-18 09:58 PM - Post#244740
In response to SRP
Oni takes a lot of bad shots and Lewis is awful from the FT line. Ugly game.
Edited by TigerFan on 01-26-18 09:58 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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SRP
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01-26-18 09:58 PM - Post#244741
In response to SRP
After Bassey hits all three, Harvard lies in wait for Copeland on the drive to the right side of the lane and forces him to turn it over for a breakaway opportunity. Good awareness by the Crimson.
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SRP
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01-26-18 10:02 PM - Post#244742
In response to SRP
Towns clanks two free throws, Yale takes a tough shot in the post that misses, Harvard bleeds the clock and gets a brick attempt from Bassey way outside, now Yale down 3 with the ball with :55 left and Onyi misses the trey.
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SRP
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01-26-18 10:04 PM - Post#244744
In response to SRP
Yale's last timeout with 12.5 seconds, down three. Harvard doesn't seem to be thinking foul.
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SRP
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01-26-18 10:07 PM - Post#244745
In response to SRP
Onyi's trey attempt blocked, not sure who got it. Towns closes out with a couple of FTs. Excellent road win for the Crimson. Entertaining game.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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01-26-18 10:49 PM - Post#244750
In response to SRP
Defense and Chris Lewis. Harvard's guards got tired and finished 2-19 on 3's after starting 5-6. Glad to see Bryce back and moving well. Rusty though, kept losing control of his own dribble. Great weekend for Bryce to work himself back in.
Looking more and more like Chris Lewis is the best big in the League- as a sophomore. Double-double (16-11) and held Yale's only 2 non-guards to 2-12 in shooting. You know Brown is going to double him after Dartmouth's Emery went off for 18 pts on 7-8 tonight.
Despite my preference for Egi over Welsh, gotta give Henry credit for two efficient games.
Oh, and great block on Oni trey inside of 10 seconds. Bassey? Towns?
Onto Providence. 3-0 after two games on the road. 4-0 after 3 road games is meaningful.
Finally, what's with that shot clock call? With Harvard on offense shot clock erroneous reset on a miss. Djuricic, obviously watching a new 30 second shot clock posts and scores, but not only is basket removed (understandable), but Yale gets the ball on shot clock violation. That's plain wrong. If the clock was erroneously reset and the offensive team relies on it, why would they be penalized. Go back to the point where the clock reset and play on with the offense losing the basket but not the possession.
Winning UGLY!
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SRP
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01-26-18 10:55 PM - Post#244753
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
HDG, that's exactly what I said about the clock business at 8:34PM above.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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01-26-18 10:58 PM - Post#244754
In response to SRP
Yes, I saw that you did that - you were spot on. So frustrating I kept adding 2 points to Harvard's total all game in a sort of 'what if.' Couldn't believe that by relying on the official posted clock Harvard would be penalized.
In the game aftermath I wanted to underscore and expand on the ridiculous of it. Remember Munich 1972? Russians got 3 chances because clock wasn't right. Guess I'm on the side of the Russians now. Crazy world.
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digamma
Masters Student
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Loc: Minneapolis
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01-26-18 11:11 PM - Post#244757
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
The defense tonight was incredible. In the last five minutes of the game I almost felt more comfortable when Yale had the ball than when we did.
Had the same thought on the shot clock violation. Did anyone see what Bassey did to earn the flagrant 1 earlier in the game? I never saw a replay.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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01-27-18 12:37 AM - Post#244760
In response to digamma
Replay was showed about a minute after play resumed. He sort of boxed out by lifting his right arm up and back, clipping a Yale guard. Didn't look intentional, but the rules don't care any longer.
Brown is going to try and run and gun. Juzang, Bassey and Johnson will have to work hard. Concerned that the shooting will suffer as they tire. Wonder how much Aiken can play on consecutive nights.
Read on Brown Board that Dartmouth Zone frustrated Brown and made that game close. That could help. Brown slashes more than they shoot 3's (32.3%)
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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01-27-18 12:43 AM - Post#244761
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Video is up on Harvard site. Bassey blocked Oni's 3 with six seconds left.
Guess defense wins games - just like the NFL.
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mobrien
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01-27-18 01:42 AM - Post#244762
In response to SRP
I trekked up to New Haven for the game. A few thoughts:
- The first eight minutes might have been the best Harvard has played all year. It helps when Corey is making threes, but the defense was excellent (as it was most of the rest of the game), and the offense wasn't turning it over.
- Bryce was rusty. He turned it over on a bad pass his first possession, and didn't look confident trying to score on his own. Still, it was great to see him back on the court, and hopefully he can get back to what we need him to be...
- Because the offense is still god awful without him. Juzang competes really hard on defense, but he's a walking turnover on offense. Seth still settles for too many contested threes/long twos when he can generate better looks on his own. Lewis carried us for stretches, but the guards really struggle just entering the ball to him in the post. They try to do it almost straight on instead of from the wing where they have an angle. It remains the case that our offense is entirely dependent on hitting threes just to be okay.
- On a related note: the late game playcalling was pretty atrocious too. I would have liked to see a Seth/Lewis pick and roll from the middle starting with 12-15 seconds left on the shot clock, but instead we ended up waiting till there was 6-7 seconds left and giving Seth the ball deep on the wing/baseline. A bunch of possessions that had no chance when we were clinging to a three point lead.
- The good news, though, is that the defense continues to be nasty. We have a bunch of quick, physical wings who can switch a lot of actions. The communication between them all when they do it is impressive too. It doesn't hurt that Lewis is behind them to clean up anything that gets past them.
- Random observation: I'd like to see more of Djuricic. He's really active on the glass, is a better athlete than people realize, and, although he didn't show it tonight, can stretch the defense. In the right matchup (i.e., against a team without a big center), I wonder if it'd be worth trying him as a smallball five when Lewis needs a breather instead of going big with Welsh (who was admittedly okay in his minutes).
- Put it all together, and it was a good win in a tough environment that, if we can get Bryce healthy, gives us some hope that the team might be able to start living up to the potential we thought it had before the season. The defense is elite, and if a healthy Bryce can just make the offense slightly below average, we should have a very good chance to win the Ivies.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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Yale
01-27-18 02:03 AM - Post#244763
In response to mobrien
Gotta love statisticians. Bassey blocks Oni’s 3 in the biggest play of the game but finishes the night with no blocks in the box score.
Why even keep stats if you can’t get this one right
Was Devin Nunes keeping the books?
Edited by HARVARDDADGRAD on 01-27-18 02:04 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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bradley
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01-27-18 09:59 AM - Post#244766
In response to mobrien
As you state, very hard fought game. Even though it was at home, it says a lot about Yale to be down 20-5 at the 8 minute mark and be down by 4 at the half and it should have been 2 if Phils had dunked the ball after the turnover right at the end of the half. It says even more that Amaker got the ship steadied at HT on the road and the Crimson pulled out a very good road win in the waning minutes.
Other obvious takeaways are that Harvard an excellent defensive team and not a very good offensive team. Harvard scored 34 points over the last 32 minutes even with a dominant competitive advantage at center.
Why? To me, it is primarily a function of poor team passing and a predictable offense. Defense is indeed very good. Yale's best offense was to penetrate, kick out, pass the ball one or two times and someone was open but they shot poorly. Monroe was simply brutal at PG as he held onto the ball way two long and got harassed by Juzang and trapped by team defense. As Harvard fans have pointed out, the Crimson definitely need a healthy Aiken on the offensive end.
At the end of the day, it does not appear that any IL team is dominant as they are strengths and weaknesses for each team but time will tell. It should be a battle every weekend but for NCAA tournament purposes, it will only come down to a weekend -- how silly.
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JadwinGeorge
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01-27-18 10:41 AM - Post#244768
In response to bradley
Bryce Aiken gives H a huge advantage going forward. No other team has won on the road. Nothing else to say. Harvard projects at 12--2 or at worst 11-3. 5 teams for 3 spots. Should be a fun ride
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mrjames
Professor
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01-27-18 11:17 AM - Post#244769
In response to JadwinGeorge
Bryce was a negative last night. He’s a talent that can take the pressure off the rest of the offense, and he’s elite in PnR action. There’s no doubt at 100%, Harvard takes a big leap with him. Can he get to 100% and integrate back into the offense (he and Seth were very out of sync last night) fast enough to keep Harvard from taking on multiple losses over the next five games where Harvard won’t be more than a slight favorite in any of them?
I think Harvard’s easily more likely to have two losses (or more) over its next five games than finish 12-2.
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bradley
PhD Student
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01-27-18 11:44 AM - Post#244770
In response to JadwinGeorge
With Aiken on the court, Crimson's offense obviously improves dramatically but there are still issues with the offensive play on the court from others as displayed last evening. Harvard's shooting percentage is not helped by ball movement and passing by four guys other than Bryce but their defense can certainly carry them a long way.
It would have been fun to watch the game with a healthy Bryce, Maki Mason and Bruner -- certainly would have been more points for both teams. I am sure that it would be very challenging for all IL teams including the Tigers to have Mason vs. Monroe on the floor and Bruner with Atkinson as a back up -- very different team.
I do not have a clue as to what the record will be for the top IL teams but probably, there are going to be losses along the way.
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mrjames
Professor
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Reg: 11-21-04
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01-27-18 11:54 AM - Post#244772
In response to bradley
Here are the odds for the number of wins the 1st place team will have:
14 - 1%
13 - 9%
12 - 31%
11 - 41%
10 - 16%
9 - 2%
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mrjames
Professor
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01-27-18 12:20 PM - Post#244774
In response to mrjames
Wonder if the narrative is a little different if Harvard doesn’t miss 6 FT opportunities (2 front-ends and a 2-shot foul that could have easily been called intentional) down the stretch and wins that game by 7 or so.
It’s not looking good, but I’m doubling down on: this is a really good three-point shooting team and at some point it’s gonna start clicking. If Harvard plays this level of D and is even a nationally average offense, it’s a Top 50ish team. I don’t think the D will stay this good forever, but I don’t think the O will be this bad forever and that the O growth will easily outpace the D decline.
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digamma
Masters Student
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Loc: Minneapolis
Reg: 11-27-11
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01-27-18 12:50 PM - Post#244776
In response to mrjames
There was a play last night that shows the difference between what we can do with a healthy Bryce. He broke Phills down off the dribble and easily penetrated into the lane. In the past he's buried a 13-15 footer there or kicked to Johnson or Towns. He's just not there yet. But man, the defense.
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digamma
Masters Student
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Loc: Minneapolis
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01-27-18 12:52 PM - Post#244777
In response to digamma
I care more about Harvard not getting to the free throw line until 10 minutes had passed in the second half than the misses. Towns isn't going to miss both very often.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
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Yale
01-27-18 01:24 PM - Post#244778
In response to digamma
Penetration. That's what's missing.
As someone noted in this thread earlier, Yale penetrated then passed out for open 3's - they just weren't falling last night. Harvard's current guards not really a threats to break down the defense and take the ball all the way to the hoop. That is a strength of Bryce's, and it was even more a talent of Siyani, who would be looking for the open man on his penetrations. I'm sure we all have memories of Siyani dribbing just inside the foul line - head on a pivot - as he eschewed the open shot in favor of looking for a teammate or even dribbling back outside and starting all over again.
Opponents can overplay Juzang, Johnson and Bassey knowing that it is possible they'll turn the ball over on the drive rather than finish at the rim. That translates into forced 3 point attempts and a stagnant offense as the Crimson resort to passing the ball around the perimeter.
That's where a healthy Bryce makes a big difference, but he's still a shoot first scorer. Haskett is willing to go to the hoop, but the efficiency and passing aren't there yet. This is why I think Tommy McCarthy is missed as well. He is a better passer and penetrator because I recall he maintains control and is a bit more comfortable than Juzang and Haskett. He's also a good 3 point shooter.
I guess what I'm wondering is whether Harvard's poor 3 pt shooting is due to a lack of situations where the shooter receives the ball, facing the basket and with time to set himself. Johnson has been heaving up some deep 3's and Bassey is a good shooter, but he needs to set his feet in his unique shooting style.
Combine lack of transition with lack of effective penetration, and you are left with a predictable and stagnant offense.
Edited by HARVARDDADGRAD on 01-27-18 01:27 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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SRP
Postdoc
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01-27-18 03:09 PM - Post#244779
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
One continuity from last year is that the best way to handle Harvard's offense is with ball pressure and tight perimeter coverage. Even more so without Chambers. Yale got back into the game by forcing turnovers and getting Harvard out of rhythm, leading to difficult shots late in the clock.
Lewis's value as an outlet and safe harbor was almost as great as his post scoring; his touches forced Yale to back off a bit. Sure, there were some post-entry-passing issues, but net I think looking to Lewis reduced turnovers.
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PennFan10
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01-27-18 04:46 PM - Post#244782
In response to mrjames
It’s not looking good, but I’m doubling down on: this is a really good three-point shooting team and at some point it’s gonna start clicking. If Harvard plays this level of D and is even a nationally average offense, it’s a Top 50ish team. I don’t think the D will stay this good forever, but I don’t think the O will be this bad forever and that the O growth will easily outpace the D decline.
I have seen you say this a few times. At this point, 18 games into a 29 game schedule, Harvard is shooting 29.5% from 3pt land. They are ranked 339th out of 352 teams. They are not a good shooting 3pt team. If they improve, even dramatically, they are likely to finish as an average 3pt shooting team. I don't see any scenario where we look back and say "this is a good 3pt shooting team".
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mrjames
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01-27-18 05:29 PM - Post#244785
In response to PennFan10
I understand that point and agree pretty much no matter what that the season long average will be below average. My point is that they’ve all been above average to great 3PT shooters for a season before (or in Danilo’s case - several different high-level FIBA competitions). This isn’t a “hope they improve!†type statement, but rather a “I think they should be able to replicate what they’ve done before.†Bryce, Seth, Corey, Justin were at 36+% shooters for a season and the team has just cratered. I’m betting those shooters are still in there somewhere.
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bradley
PhD Student
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01-27-18 05:37 PM - Post#244786
In response to mrjames
Odds make sense -- two or three teams finish at 11-3??
Another possibility is that Aiken comes back healthy, Amaker figures out the offense, some 3 pt shots actually drop, a few more nail biter wins and the Crimson reach the 1 percentile by going 14-0. Reward, if Penn continues to play well, Harvard avoids a road game on Saturday, March 10th -- IvyLeagueMadness weekend.
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mrjames
Professor
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01-27-18 06:01 PM - Post#244787
In response to bradley
I could check that. I only checked for how many wins the first place team had, not whether there were others tied there. Overall there was a ~25% chance of a “playoff,†but obviously there’s more of a chance at lower 1st place win totals.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
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01-27-18 07:00 PM - Post#244791
In response to mrjames
I understand that point and agree pretty much no matter what that the season long average will be below average. My point is that they’ve all been above average to great 3PT shooters for a season before (or in Danilo’s case - several different high-level FIBA competitions). This isn’t a “hope they improve!†type statement, but rather a “I think they should be able to replicate what they’ve done before.†Bryce, Seth, Corey, Justin were at 36+% shooters for a season and the team has just cratered. I’m betting those shooters are still in there somewhere.
So you're saying there's a chance!
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PennFan10
Postdoc
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Reg: 02-15-15
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01-27-18 09:18 PM - Post#244859
In response to PennFan10
I understand that point and agree pretty much no matter what that the season long average will be below average. My point is that they’ve all been above average to great 3PT shooters for a season before (or in Danilo’s case - several different high-level FIBA competitions). This isn’t a “hope they improve!†type statement, but rather a “I think they should be able to replicate what they’ve done before.†Bryce, Seth, Corey, Justin were at 36+% shooters for a season and the team has just cratered. I’m betting those shooters are still in there somewhere.
So you're saying there's a chance!
And on cue, as soon as I mention it, Harvard has a 61% 3pt night.
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Old Bear
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01-27-18 11:14 PM - Post#244917
In response to PennFan10
Ya, why tonight? H's FT shooting was off the charts, as well. Aiken had something to do with that.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
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01-28-18 12:24 AM - Post#244933
In response to Old Bear
Aiken shot 88.4% last season on FT's. Like Brown must do with Hunsaker and Cambridge, Harvard tries to inbound the ball to Bryce in intentional foul situations. Don't know if anyone noticed it, but after leaving the court with a twisted knee, Amaker inserted Bryce with 32 seconds left just to take the inbounds pass, hit 2 FT's and then be removed at the 30 second mark.
Old Bear, just when I was noticing that Harvard had held the vaunted Brown offense to 10 points in 10.5 minutes, I decided that it was much too soon to conclude that Brown had been contained. Brown went on to score 67 points in the final 29.5 minutes. Kudos to Brown's talented guards.
On the other hand, the two games against Dartmouth and the fast starts against Yale and Brown - all spearheaded by impressive defense, requires an intensity that's hard (impossible) to maintain throughout an entire game.
Good Luck to Brown the rest of the way (except for Feb 16th at Lavietes)
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mrjames
Professor
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Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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01-28-18 08:28 AM - Post#244942
In response to PennFan10
Ha - can’t this team just go 9-for-25 each night? Next week they’ll still find a way to go 10-for-39 at Columbia or something.
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JadwinGeorge
Senior
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Age: 75
Reg: 12-04-15
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01-28-18 10:03 AM - Post#244954
In response to mrjames
Special defense and a return to form from beyond the arc...looks like 12-2 to me. 7-3 from here would be a slump!
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Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts: 3994
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01-28-18 03:15 PM - Post#245004
In response to JadwinGeorge
Thanks HGG, when Harvard shoots 60% (11-18) from 3, and 86% form the line (25-29) they are unbeatable in the League. Towns was unstoppable and Aiken played 20 mins and was 11-12 from the line.
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yoyo
Senior
Posts: 365
Reg: 03-25-09
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01-30-18 04:44 PM - Post#245171
In response to Old Bear
sounds like some good defense being played
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