vs Murray St - 12/3/23 - 2 pm - MVC TV Network/ESPN+

[Dmills]

Pence definitely played with a lot more confidence. Loved seeing that.

 

[Hamdonger]

This product is so much more enjoyable to watch. Win or lose the obviously dumb basketball plays have decreased dramatically from the Muller era.

We had one decent game. We need a string of them. Two games ago was Wright State. We have not been an enjoyable product to watch for a number of seasons, certainly including the last year and a half. The only truly enjoyable game I've seen in that time is the Horton game, which I thought was our best-played game in Pedon's time. We've got a long way to go. However...today felt different. Especially with how we started each half. That's encouraging.

 

[Birdswin]

This team is growing - good to see. Yes, much better than in the previous 4-5 seasons - at least there is some hope.

Yes, each home game the crowd has gotten a little bigger - mu guess was around 4,000 - good to see that was close. Also, Good to see the Sarge in attendance!!! One big disadvantage - no media talking about the Redbirds on a consistent basis. No TV sportscast, no radio, and the Pantagraph has destroyed itself. Used to be - Don Munson would talk Redbird basketball on WJBC in the mornings - nothing anymore. Several people at church today - who used to be season ticket holders - did not even know there was a game today. Email should not be the only way to try to generate sales.

 

[SgtHulka]

We had one decent game. We need a string of them.

We gotta two game string going there brother

 

[TBS_20]

i get it...just going to take time that includes some serious winning to get peeps back. also gotta factor in the opponent...not like anyone circles murray when the redbird calendar released.

overall not a pretty game but got the another much needed w and ended a losing streak (vs murray). hopefully we can end that 10 game siu losing streak in one of our upcoming mvc games.

It won't happen this year unless they beat Kentucky and go 10-3 into January. Next year should be great with almost everyone coming back

 

[SgtHulka]

This team is growing - good to see. Yes, much better than in the previous 4-5 seasons - at least there is some hope.

Yes, each home game the crowd has gotten a little bigger - mu guess was around 4,000 - good to see that was close. Also, Good to see the Sarge in attendance!!! One big disadvantage - no media talking about the Redbirds on a consistent basis. No TV sportscast, no radio, and the Pantagraph has destroyed itself. Used to be - Don Munson would talk Redbird basketball on WJBC in the mornings - nothing anymore. Several people at church today - who used to be season ticket holders - did not even know there was a game today. Email should not be the only way to try to generate sales.

Hopped back in the car 30 minutes after the game for an errand and they were already flipping to the Money guy

 

[Hootyhoofan]

I can tell you one thing ... Mr Pemberton (and me) doesn't like when Myles shoots the 3.

pretty sure he doesn’t cares what you like. #rollbirds

 

[SlackBooDom]

pretty sure he doesn’t cares what you like. #rollbirds

Imagine how much he will like it when one goes in, considering he's 0/8 in his career from 3.

 

[Hootyhoofan]

Imagine how much he will like it when one goes in, considering he's 0/8 in his career from 3.

It’s gonna be party in Normal!

 

[Redbird222]

pretty sure he doesn’t cares what you like. #rollbirds

I am pretty sure he doesn't care what i like and nor should he. I like a lot of aspects of his game and I would feed him in the post all day. He brings a physicality to the post that has been sorely lacking. He shows the ability to put the ball in the hole and alieve some pressure off of the guards which is a breath of fresh air. I have seen some passing from him and I think he is capable there although sometimes I believe he pre-determines he is going to shoot. I thought him and Leeis should have been the starter from the beginning of the season and I am glad he is making an impact on this team.

I am not a fan of his three point shot though. I am fully aware that the game has transformed and many bigs shoot the 3 .... that's not my issue. I dont see his 3 point shot as a consistent weapon at this time. He is not Brooks Lopez instead he is 0 for 9 in his career from 3 so far.

 

[Dmills]

Lieb did not look good IMO. I didn't think he was moving well. He looked out of shape - I wonder if he was not 100%. I hope he figures out how to be a more consistent threat for us. We will have to continue to lean heavily on Lewis and Foster until then.

 

[Dmills]

Next MVC game will be a tough one on the road against Drake (1/2/24)

 

[Dmills]

Kinziger has been impressive defensively. I'm not sure who he guarded primarily, but there were multiple possessions where he was matched up with Brian Moore Jr. who tried to take him 1 on 1 and Kinziger did not give in. Moore was a highly regarded JUCO player who was recruited by Muller. He is 3rd on the Racers in scoring (13.7 ppg) and was limited to 9 points.

It was cool listening to Pedon's take on the final offensive play for the 'Birds. I remember the ending to the Murray St. game last year was gut wrenching but didn't remember it exactly. Pedon said Burford had the ball with the game on the line and we came up short. He gave him another opportunity today and he came through with a HUGE bucket. Burford is that get a bucket guy for us. He's had a few rough games, but the last two games he is has shot 65% from the field (*81% from inside the arc*). Additionally, in his last 4 games, he has 4 turnovers. That's 1 turnover per game. He has been a trustworthy guy with the ball in his hands the last couple of games and I think that was his biggest limitations.

Lots of credit to Pedon for getting the guys ready for conference play this week. Looking forward to Wednesday against a respectable NKU squad. Hoping for a better turnout for the students. Wednesday is free admission for all students. We desperately need to grow the fanbase organically - through the student experience. I'm willing to bet there aren't a lot of remaining dedicated ISU supporters who have graduated in the last 10 years. Heck, the majority of seniors at ISU will probably be stepping into CEFCU for the first time at their graduation ceremony.

 

[BirdGrad2011]

The vibes tonight and worlds apart from the vibes on Thanksgiving.

 

[Redbird222]

Kinziger has been impressive defensively. I'm not sure who he guarded primarily, but there were multiple possessions where he was matched up with Brian Moore Jr. who tried to take him 1 on 1 and Kinziger did not give in. Moore was a highly regarded JUCO player who was recruited by Muller. He is 3rd on the Racers in scoring (13.7 ppg) and was limited to 9 points.

It was cool listening to Pedon's take on the final offensive play for the 'Birds. I remember the ending to the Murray St. game last year was gut wrenching but didn't remember it exactly. Pedon said Burford had the ball with the game on the line and we came up short. He gave him another opportunity today and he came through with a HUGE bucket. Burford is that get a bucket guy for us. He's had a few rough games, but the last two games he is has shot 65% from the field (*81% from inside the arc*). Additionally, in his last 4 games, he has 4 turnovers. That's 1 turnover per game. He has been a trustworthy guy with the ball in his hands the last couple of games and I think that was his biggest limitations.

Lots of credit to Pedon for getting the guys ready for conference play this week. Looking forward to Wednesday against a respectable NKU squad. Hoping for a better turnout for the students. Wednesday is free admission for all students. We desperately need to grow the fanbase organically - through the student experience. I'm willing to bet there aren't a lot of remaining dedicated ISU supporters who have graduated in the last 10 years. Heck, the majority of seniors at ISU will probably be stepping into CEFCU for the first time at their graduation ceremony.

We sat next to a group of about 15 to 20 alumnus that graduated in 2018 at the UIC game. They of course had the 2017 season and a few trips to the MVC Championship game.

You have a great point though. We have already one four year class that graduated and didn't experience a winning season. I wouldn't expect much in donations or future ticket sales from the class that graduated this past year.

 

[Redbirdmike]

Just a good solid win all the way around.
11/11 Free Throws, 50% from the field, 38% from three land. Imagine what this team could be like if we can ultimately cut down on the 15 turnovers! Murray only had nine. Good crowd and starting to build some momentum. Would like to keep winning and get the students more involved. When I went there for undergrad the games were “the” place to be. Nothing like college basketball when there is excitement on the campus! It is a Pedon process. Let’s keep the “MO” going! Go Birds!!!

 

[Redbirdmike]

Check that 10 turnovers, but it would be nice to get that down to single digits.

 

[DWRedbird]

The vibes tonight and worlds apart from the vibes on Thanksgiving.

100% agree, the chemistry, flow, and attitude of the whole team (coaches and players) looked way different. This was a solid team win. And I hope we can keep this momentum going.

Some other thoughts:

• Foster and Lewis are a perfect conference combo for post forward. KLew can pop out on occasion offensively, he and foster can work high low, and defensively they are both extremely athletic, and its going to be fun to watch them going forward.
• Offensively the flow looked much better today than I've seen all year and most of last year. For 75% of the game we were working the offense towards the basket. When we stalled out late offensively it seemed to be, because we started playing it around the perimeter and not moving towards the basket.
• Having true PGs in Banks and Kinziger makes a huge difference. When Murray pressed us, I didn't feel like we were ever really in danger with either one of them controlling, getting the ball up the floor.
• Pence looked more comfortable than he has all season. Hopefully this is when things settle in for him and he tears it up from here.
• I would love to see Lieb post up more, and throw in some baby hooks or go the Tim Duncan route and put it off the glass. There won't be a ton of guys who can't guard him if he does that offensively and I think once he starts making a few shots in close and he gets confident, his other shots further out might start falling.

 

[Redbird222]

100% agree, the chemistry, flow, and attitude of the whole team (coaches and players) looked way different. This was a solid team win. And I hope we can keep this momentum going.

Some other thoughts:

• I would love to see Lieb post up more, and throw in some baby hooks or go the Tim Duncan route and put it off the glass. There won't be a ton of guys who can guard him if he does that offensively and I think once he starts making a few shots in close and he gets confident, his other shots further out might start falling.

Great post and I agree 100% on this last point.

 

[Baltimore Bird]

I agree the flow in the last 5 minutes was not as good as before that. However, I do remember Foster posting up and missing a short shot, Mal missing an open 15 footer and I think there was one other miss that was an open shot. A couple of those go in and we see it differently. Also, during that time, we made every free throw which reduced our possessions/shots.

I was very pleased with what I saw from our Birds. They looked like a very competitive team. I am really looking forward to the next string of home games and seeing how we do at UK. GO BIRDS!