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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jan 25, 2021 15:17:33 GMT -6
Since the games this week are against the current first place team I thought we might want to get the thread up and running earlier this week.
The game is at 6pm on Friday on ESPN3.
Cleveland State likes to pick up full court and plays a fair amount of zone if I remember correctly. Their calling card is their defense. It is active and they play lots of guys so it is always fresh.
Their offense talent isn't super impressive top to bottom but they always seem to have enough guys stepping up. Gomillion makes a lot of difficult shots. Beaudoin is streaky. Hodge and Patton seem fairly consistent.
Cleveland State has an energetic team but other teams are starting to figure out if you match that energy you can out play them talent wise. I don't think a lot of teams at first understood just how hard they play and how much they feed off of that energy. Milwaukee brought a lot of bench energy this past weekend and earned a split for example.
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Post by phearthephoenix on Jan 29, 2021 9:49:40 GMT -6
It's weird to see "first place" in a Cleveland State game thread. They haven't finished above .500 in 5 years and were an absolute dumpster fire in the 4 years before Dennis Gates got there. What a great hire he has turned out to be for them. When CSU came to the Kress last year you could just see that he has the "it" factor. They play with a lot of energy, their bench is always up and into the game, and that's a reflection of their coach. It'll be interesting to see if he takes a mid-tier job like DePaul (he's from Chicago) or waits for a big time job like Florida State to open. Unfortunately it's only a matter of time for CSU.
As for the games this weekend, CSU is really solid defensively. They play really aggressive but the result is that they foul a ton. It would be nice to get into the bonus early and get some easy points at the line. Also, GB's bigs will have to be strong with the ball because they will be actively reaching trying to strip the ball away.
GB has a little momentum again after an impressive sweep of PFW last weekend. CSU absolutely choked away a double digit lead late against UWM in their last game so we'll see how each team responds this weekend.
A sweep would be fantastic but as a former coach used to say, let's go out and try and get a split this weekend.
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Post by phoenixphan87 on Jan 29, 2021 12:31:49 GMT -6
It's weird to see "first place" in a Cleveland State game thread. They haven't finished above .500 in 5 years and were an absolute dumpster fire in the 4 years before Dennis Gates got there. What a great hire he has turned out to be for them. When CSU came to the Kress last year you could just see that he has the "it" factor. They play with a lot of energy, their bench is always up and into the game, and that's a reflection of their coach. It'll be interesting to see if he takes a mid-tier job like DePaul (he's from Chicago) or waits for a big time job like Florida State to open. Unfortunately it's only a matter of time for CSU. As for the games this weekend, CSU is really solid defensively. They play really aggressive but the result is that they foul a ton. It would be nice to get into the bonus early and get some easy points at the line. Also, GB's bigs will have to be strong with the ball because they will be actively reaching trying to strip the ball away. GB has a little momentum again after an impressive sweep of PFW last weekend. CSU absolutely choked away a double digit lead late against UWM in their last game so we'll see how each team responds this weekend. A sweep would be fantastic but as a former coach used to say, let's go out and try and get a split this weekend. I sat behind the scorers table for that game at the Kress vs Cleveland State last year. Gates had all 15 or so guys engaged the entire time. So much energy and that energy was almost enough to knock off the Phoenix in a game they had no business winning. Most of those guys are back and they have brought it just about every night. CSU has lots of balance but who exactly is the guy in crunch time that will take the big shot. I think GB will have a chance to get a split this weekend and be competitive both games.
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Post by shooting the J on Jan 29, 2021 12:57:11 GMT -6
CSU enters the game with an RPI of 51. Tall task for GB, but also a huge opportunity.
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Post by uscg2012 on Jan 29, 2021 20:27:14 GMT -6
Hard fought game for GB and a game that reminded me a lot of the second game with Milwaukee.
Forget about it and let’s get it done tomorrow
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Jan 30, 2021 9:27:06 GMT -6
I think frustrating is a good word to describe the loss on Friday night. I thought it was fun basketball game against two teams that are pretty evenly matched but this is one GB should have won.
Green Bay beat CSU on the glass, 35 to 33. That was great to see. They lost the TO margin 11 to 8 but 11 is pretty good against the CSU defense. GB with way better shooters struggled from 3 going 5-21, while CSU with guys who aren't as good shooting went 9-18. Some of that is GB guys not making the open shots they had but some of that is due to how hard CSU contests 3's. I can't see CSU going 9-18 again tonight though.
The end of the first half had GB up 5 with 39 seconds left. Hodge hits a really tough 3 and then GB doesn't get a good look that leads to a Gomillion 3 in transition. That hurt and good teams know how to finish a half. I expect the lesson was learned last night for GB.
Then in the second half GB fought back from down 10 to down 3 with the ball under 2 minutes left in the game. CSU turned up the defense and GB barely got a contested running 2 pointer up and didn't get the board. Patton came down and hit a side step 3 to go up 6 and the game was over.
GB is right there against the first place team, need to tighten things up tonight now that they have played them once and know what CSU can do.
Also, for as much as CSU has brought it's own energy this season I actually thought that was a non factor last night. The CSU team has shifted their mindset from upstart to league leader. They played with arrogance about being in first and kind of looking down on GB. I think CSU is ripe for a loss, when you lose what made you successful in the first place it often leads to disappointment.
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Post by shooting the J on Jan 30, 2021 10:10:11 GMT -6
The Horizon League will be back on the rise with coaches like Gates and Ryan on the sidelines. GB hits a few more 3s and they've gotten this win. The Nix are right there with a pretty serious team.
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