I think the reason we have poor third quarters is that the opponent's defense figures out how to play against our offense by then. For those of us who watch our offense all the time we can forget that it is unique and hard to defend against--no amount of practice can really prepare opponents for the pace of what we do. By the time they have played against it for a half they figure it out--provided they have the kind of players who can disrupt it. Both Tennessee and South Carolina keyed their third quarter breakouts by shutting down our offense for long stretches--something neither could do in the first half. If our offense were based more purely on physical talent there would be little difference between the 1st and the 2nd halves, but since it is dependent on a scheme, the opponent learns in the first half how to deal with the scheme in the second.
We scored more points in EACH of the first two quarters than we scored in the entirely of the second half. Our offense can be "disrupted" in a way that suddenly reversed success, quite clearly. Where can one obtain the +/- for this game? I suspect it will be quite revealing about who was in and who was out during our good and poor phases.
We also shot the lights out in the first quarter. It was unrealistic to assume that could continue. And one of the great advantages of shooting lights out is that rebounds are not necessary and the opponent can't fast break. Once we started missing it allowed South Carolina to do things it couldn't do before.
I agree that Belibi and Prechtel looked much better on the floor than Brink today--really for the trip. I also agree that Henderson was their key to success. Interestingly, Cooke scored 25 against us in the semis and was held to 4 today--so we did some things well on defense.
I am not disappointed to lose a close game to the #1 team on the road--but I am disappointed to blow such a big lead. It was the biggest comeback in the history of South Carolina basketball. I think we are at the point where the coaches need to think carefully about what can be done to even out our performance. These long offensive droughts need to be reduced.
Now, on the the Pac 12. The trip to Washington and Washington State is not without its risks. I hope we can stay healthy as we move into the heart of the omicron conflagration--given all the cancelled games already.
Press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEfVQR8r_yE
We scored more points in EACH of the first two quarters than we scored in the entirely of the second half. Our offense can be "disrupted" in a way that suddenly reversed success, quite clearly. Where can one obtain the +/- for this game? I suspect it will be quite revealing about who was in and who was out during our good and poor phases.
We also shot the lights out in the first quarter. It was unrealistic to assume that could continue. And one of the great advantages of shooting lights out is that rebounds are not necessary and the opponent can't fast break. Once we started missing it allowed South Carolina to do things it couldn't do before.
I agree that Belibi and Prechtel looked much better on the floor than Brink today--really for the trip. I also agree that Henderson was their key to success. Interestingly, Cooke scored 25 against us in the semis and was held to 4 today--so we did some things well on defense.
I am not disappointed to lose a close game to the #1 team on the road--but I am disappointed to blow such a big lead. It was the biggest comeback in the history of South Carolina basketball. I think we are at the point where the coaches need to think carefully about what can be done to even out our performance. These long offensive droughts need to be reduced.
Now, on the the Pac 12. The trip to Washington and Washington State is not without its risks. I hope we can stay healthy as we move into the heart of the omicron conflagration--given all the cancelled games already.
Press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEfVQR8r_yE