DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC

[SanAmaro2005]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

 

[Consigliere]

Ugly game, glad we’re leaving Hawaii. A lot of work on offense to do.

Glad Brown is starting to get hot but he needs to work on his shooting. He is 1-16 from 3PT.

 

[Consigliere]

My mom’s pus$y smells like garbage

First smart thing you said and you of all people would know.

 

[Ole Blue]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

There were a lot of questionable foul calls but that wasnt one of them

Gotta agree to disagree on the second half of that. Replay, to me, showed King being undercut by a moving defender and I'm not sure how that's anything other than a block since he wasn't screening and whoever for us was under him was not set (freedom of motion for offensive players trumps all). Sure capitalized off of it though. That will be big for ACC play.

 

[Ole Blue]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

It would have been a moving screen if he was screening. He didn't look like he was to me in my sort of unbiased opinion. A little out of control, yup he was. Don't agree that it justified an offensive foul. I can just about guarantee you that's going to be a point of extreme anger among MTSU fans in the post-game threads. Not the reason the Raiders lost but still it will give them something to complain about. But either way, Canes capitalized and that's what you have to do. Canes just made the better plays in the second half. Did what we needed to do against an NCAA tournament (and Top 25 caliber) team.

 

[Ivan The Terrible]

I’m concerned, Glad we won but man was this rough.

 

[TheRichtShow]

Glad we won.

For the sky is falling crowd, remember last time we played in this tourney, we went 1-2 including losing to an Indiana St team that was nowhere near as good as the NM State team this year

Then we went on to have the best season in program history so let"s see how we play wheh we get back first

 

[hotshot]

Any word on Walker? To be honest, at first that looked to me like an "I'm embarrassed" injury but ... maybe not. We need his scoring potential.

 

[jnf2257]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

It would have been a moving screen if he was screening. He didn't look like he was to me in my relatively unbiased opinion. Either way, Canes capitalized and that's what you have to do.

When you hand the ball off to someone you have to come to a stop because the defender guarding your teammate has the right to chase his man. Clear foul.

But yes. Miami got some gracious calls tonight. MTSU did as well early in the second half. It happens. We were the aggressor getting to the paint and it paid off in the end. I know people are upset with the quality of play but the main reason we were preseason ranked so high was Lonnie Walker, and he’s scored 2 points over the past 2 games. Once he gets going (knocks on wood) we will be in great shape.

 

[Ole Blue]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

It would have been a moving screen if he was screening. He didn't look like he was to me in my relatively unbiased opinion. Either way, Canes capitalized and that's what you have to do.

When you hand the ball off to someone you have to come to a stop because the defender guarding your teammate has the right to chase his man. Clear foul.

But yes. Miami got some gracious calls tonight. MTSU did as well early in the second half. It happens. We were the aggressor getting to the paint and it paid off in the end. I know people are upset with the quality of play but the main reason we were preseason ranked so high was Lonnie Walker, and he’s scored 2 points over the past 2 games. Once he gets going (knocks on wood) we will be in great shape.

I just don't understand what Walker's deal is. He has not impressed me at all this year. And I was saying this entire game, on defense he grabs and holds offensive players almost every time down the court. I'm amazed he doesn't foul out more often. He may do just that in ACC play if he gets playing time (which I'm not sure about especially given that injury - concerned that he didn't return)

 

[TheRichtShow]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

It would have been a moving screen if he was screening. He didn't look like he was to me in my relatively unbiased opinion. Either way, Canes capitalized and that's what you have to do.

When you hand the ball off to someone you have to come to a stop because the defender guarding your teammate has the right to chase his man. Clear foul.

But yes. Miami got some gracious calls tonight. MTSU did as well early in the second half. It happens. We were the aggressor getting to the paint and it paid off in the end. I know people are upset with the quality of play but the main reason we were preseason ranked so high was Lonnie Walker, and he’s scored 2 points over the past 2 games. Once he gets going (knocks on wood) we will be in great shape.

I just don't understand what Walker's deal is. He has not impressed me at all this year. And I was saying this entire game, on defense he grabs and holds offensive players almost every time down the court. I'm amazed he doesn't foul out more often. He may do just that in ACC play if he gets playing time (which I'm not sure about especially given that injury - concerned that he didn't return)

Walker played like 5 minutes today. That's quite the overreaction for a small sample size.

He was on the bench for the 2nd half, so it seems like its not a serious injury at least. Different knee also

 

[fraggle]

I wonder where these officials came from...they were whistle happy on what should've been no calls and silent on many obvious fouls...hard for any team to play hard with inconsistency...anyone know which conference they represented?

 

[johnnytsunami01]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

Hold on, what? Is this real? I can understand being a MTSU alum and a Canes fan, but a Canes alum and a MTSU fan? Either you are from Middle Tennessee or you're trolling

 

[IndayArtHauz]

Walker tweeted that he’ll be fine.

Interesting post game comment from L. Said he made a mistake practicing the team the day of the NMS game and felt it was too much (travel/game/prax/game). It’s not an excuse for losing, but it’s interesting.

 

[Consigliere]

Walker tweeted that he’ll be fine.

Interesting post game comment from L. Said he made a mistake practicing the team the day of the NMS game and felt it was too much (travel/game/prax/game). It’s not an excuse for losing, but it’s interesting.

Honestly, I hate that Hawaii tourney. It has nothing to do with the field, it just has to do with the layout and travel.

I also don't understand the advantage for Hawaii besides not traveling. Why would you want to play in the late game the first night? You're the only team that has to play 2 games in less than 24 hours.

 

[Consigliere]

I wonder where these officials came from...they were whistle happy on what should've been no calls and silent on many obvious fouls...hard for any team to play hard with inconsistency...anyone know which conference they represented?

46 total fouls seems a tad above average.

 

[obfan]

Recap

Game one - team looked fresh,focused and confident. Ball movement was the best since mid season last year.
Game 2 - team looked hungover and disinterested. Ball movement disappeared
Game 3 - team had little energy. Half court offense was school yard most of the time. Huell continues to amaze with his development. Izunu continues to foul people. My favorite AmP was completely lost on defense last night. Very embarrassing. BB is playing well. Newton is too offensively anyway. The little guy Lykes is doing well. DJ can contribute but without much better ball movement he won't get many chances in the ACC. IMO we miss Murphy. I was hoping Amp could be that hustling rebounding defensive guy but he doesn't block out and loses his man over and over. lot of work to be done

 

[hotshot]

No question we miss both Murphy and Reed. Oh, and what will it take for Bruce Brown to do something about his 27% 3 pt shooting percentage. Like, maybe stop shooting them. It's not impressing the NBA scouts. Neither is JaQuan's 14%. At least JaQuan seems to better know his limitations (only 14 attempts vs BB's 36).

 

[casualcane]

D didn't look great, especially in the second half. Nick King looked like a player in half two. MTSU shot 52%/47%. Then again, we shot 60% for the game.

Huell is emerging as a serious threat. His athleticism can be a game changer. His D still needs improvement.

The assists from Lykes to DJ for 3 in the 1st half (4:50 mark) and from Newton to BB in the 2nd (around 14 minute mark) were highlight stuff. Newton 6/1 assist to TO. Still, I like the look when Lykes and him are on the floor at the same time.

FT shooting, while better, is going to cost us in conference play.

Nice to see us win this at the end, after losing it at the end vs NMSU.

Not a fan of this tournament. Bring on the ACC schedule.

 

[Fightinibis]

Canes alum here and life-long MTSU fan -- gotta say I am very disappointed on how this game ended up. Was really hoping it would be a cleanly-called game and two teams battling it out to the end but **** that "offensive" foul at the end against Nick King (in my opinion as a fan of both programs, that was a missed call - and Canes took advantage with a three right after, final margin... 3) was just killer for the Raiders. So glad to see the Canes finally doing something GOOD on offense in the second half but the way this game was won for UM makes me nauseous as a fan of both programs. I am disappointed in how questionable the ending appeared, but glad Miami got the win.

That aside, I think the team definitely started to show some more confidence on offense, especially in the last 3/4 of the game. A lot of that seems to come from the defense. First ten minutes the guys just kind of watched MT shoot at will. But changing that really turned the tides. When driving inside, guards can make big plays happen and draw fouls from bigs like Walters who reach literally every time (a pet peeve of mine). The 1-3-1 defense the Raiders run is hard to play against but the passing especially late in the game was on point for the Canes. MT is probably better than half of ACC teams so hopefully this will give the guys some confidence for conference play.

I think the refs were too whistle-happy for sure, but that was an easy call in my opinion. Definition of a moving screen. He wasn't in control of himself and ran into the defender.

It was a simple fact that the officials were too whistle happy...and quite a few premature and late whistles against the Canes.

Coming from some USC family in town watching the last 2 games the Canes played...."these officials clearly want to make sure you guys don't get it going." The sad part...we got very little going anyway.

UM