UNM Game

[YellowSpinE]

Nice game. Low turnovers. 6 pts off turnovers compared to 20+ last couple games. Which is the difference in winning tonight and loosing. Did well on the boards. Good team play. 35ish pts off the bench!?!? That's pretty monster. Zimm with a nice double double.

Maybe would have liked to have seen Cook near the end helping with handles on the ball. Got a bit sloppy with their press.

Early in the conference play, still a lot that can happen. Have the talent. Lets see if these guys can get on a roll now.

 

[Dirty Vegas]

This is the way we all thought our guys would play at the beginning of the year,,still bummed it didn't work out for CDR .. Definitely have time to turn this group into a MW contender just less room for error ...... Great job tonight

 

[willlevi]

Definitely looked like a smarter team, though there were the usual dumb three point attempts.
The full game effort and half court basketball decision seemed to be much improved in game one of the post CDR era.
Air Force will be a great test in game two but there is now hope for a major run during conference play.

 

[chitownrebel]

The defensive strategy was great. Mixing up where and when they trapped in the full court and half court really messed up new mexicos offensive flow.

Offense we actually went inside and outside. I thought Seagers looked excellnt running the point tonight.

 

[JTthe2nd]

Seemed like a team more sure of themselves. Less second-guessing and overthinking the problem. These guys are elite athletes and the coaching staff let them loose! Hopefully it's not too little, too late.

 

[Vegas007]

It was hard to recognize the team out there. They even made free throws. They also did a much better job of playing to their strengths on offense and went inside more. I felt more confident that the team wouldn't blow a lead this time because the team was playing a much smarter, more solid game. Where was the offensive drought (or 2 or 3 offensive droughts) that happens game after game?

86 points on offense. That's the highest the team has scored all season against quality competition. And it's the first time in conference play the team scored at least 70.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

It was hard to recognize the team out there. They even made free throws. They also did a much better job of playing to their strengths on offense and went inside more. I felt more confident that the team wouldn't blow a lead this time because the team was playing a much smarter, more solid game. Where was the offensive drought (or 2 or 3 offensive droughts) that happens game after game?

86 points on offense. That's the highest the team has scored all season against quality competition. And it's the first time in conference play the team scored at least 70.

I think Zimmerman played his best game of the season. Not based on the stats, but because of the physical presence he brought on both sides of the court. He did a much better job establishing position in the post. I thought up to this point in the season he had struggled some in that department. He was a much more physical player tonight.

 

[rebelluver]

Turnovers and free throws. The two things that decided the game.

 

[UNLVAlumni]

I liked that they kept attacking. And they didn't have those strange lolls where they didn't really know what offense to run. Instead they would quickly go into the offense and penetrate the middle. Good things always happen when you play unafraid.

 

[MonsterJam]

I thought Seagers looked excellnt running the point tonight.

There needs to be an APB on the lookout for Jerome. The guy out on the Thomas and Mack floor wearing Seagers jersey #2 was phenomenal last night. A consummate point guard. THAT is exactly what we need at the point.

I also noticed that the passes were more crisp and purposeful - making them harder to steal.

And finally, it was GREAT to see the coaches collectively get animated and actually inspire the players last night. Augmon, Good, Miller, and Simon gave the team energy. We need that every game.

 

[chitownrebel]

Did anyone notice after Jones picked up his 3rd foul he was walking off the floor looking sad and dejected? Simon yelled something to him and then he began jogging instead of walking. These kids need a fire lit under them, not to be babied.

I wonder if anyone said anything to Zimm at half time. He was horrible in the first half as he was getting pushed around and taking bad shots. In the second half he looked like an all-american.

And finally, it was GREAT to see the coaches collectively get animated and actually inspire the players last night. Augmon, Good, Miller, and Simon gave the team energy. We need that every game.

 

[tarkaniancourt...nm]

Seagars had his moments and Lapses. Took bad 3s that lead to a 8-0 NM run. Stop shooting it Seagars, drive and dish.

 

[Mjs_702]

There needs to be an APB on the lookout for Jerome. The guy out on the Thomas and Mack floor wearing Seagers jersey #2 was phenomenal last night. A consummate point guard. THAT is exactly what we need at the point.

I also noticed that the passes were more crisp and purposeful - making them harder to steal.

And finally, it was GREAT to see the coaches collectively get animated and actually inspire the players last night. Augmon, Good, Miller, and Simon gave the team energy. We need that every game.

Agree with all of this. Great post.

I've been critical of Seagears. He took a couple bad shots, but I thought he played far more under control than previous games.

Loved the tempo of the game. Guarding all the way up the court. Urgency. There was some clear verbal "motivation" coming from the sidelines, I agree. Different vibe.

It's one game, but it was better. Show me two games now.

Go Rebs.

 

[rebelluver]

I am not seeing it with Seagers. I saw the same the same player buy maybe I am wrong and watched him with to critical an eye.

We will see what happens.

 

[Mjs_702]

It was a long ways from perfect. He's still not a PG.

To me Poyser/McCaw is the best answer, but if Seagears can play with 1 TO in 30 minutes, I'll take that.

 

[TarkisGod]

Certainly the most entertaining Rebel game since Oregon. It was refreshing to see the Rebels play a nearly complete game for 40 minutes. If there was any sign of the change in leadership, I would say it was the continual play through the paint. In previous games, it seemed that one-on-one play and ill-advised jumpers would characterize the inevitable scoring droughts that led to blown leads.

So this was refreshing, and brought hope for the remainder of the conference schedule. But it was one game. One home game, following an emotional week for all involved. And despite New Mexico's 3-0 record coming in, I don't think they're very good. They have a similar problem as the Rebels. Lack of quality play from the PG position. The coach's son can shoot, but he's no ball-handler.Also, NM chose to run with the Rebels. Generally a poor strategy. Let's see how we handle Air Force. I doubt that they will try to out-run us.

Anyway, I'm encouraged by the play of the Rebels last night, but we'll have to see this kind of effort on a consistent basis before I'm ready to believe that things have changed.


Go Rebels!

 

[TarkisGod]

Lost, however, in the euphoria of a dominating win, was the fact that the Rebels had a 20-point margin at the five-minute mark, yet managed only a 12-point victory. They still gave away eight points in the closing minutes. Had it been a closer game, we might have found ourselves in another late-game disappointment.

Have we turned a corner, or just had a one-night emotional lift?

 

[rebelluver]

Lost, however, in the euphoria of a dominating win, was the fact that the Rebels had a 20-point margin at the five-minute mark, yet managed only a 12-point victory. They still gave away eight points in the closing minutes. Had it been a closer game, we might have found ourselves in another late-game disappointment.

Have we turned a corner, or just had a one-night emotional lift?

And if Ike misses that huge 3 pointer that stopped the bleeding things may have been different. A long way to go.

 

[Vegas007]

The team having a 20 point lead with 5 minutes left was very encouraging to me. In previous games we wouldn't even be up by 20. We would be up by a smaller margin that was easier to overcome because we couldn't put teams away. We pretty much had New Mexico put away at the end of the game.

Also, the team scored 52 points in the second half. I doubt this team has done that this season against a real opponent.

I wasn't really that nervous in the final 5 minutes because the game was played so well up until that final 5 minutes. In previous games I was much more uncomfortable because we had so many scoring droughts and often looked lost in the half court game, and many late game possessions are going to be half court possessions. But in this game the half court offense looked much better. Also, the games tended to be closer with 5 minutes left in previous games.