@Murray St - Tuesday 1/30/2024 - 7 pm - ESPN+

[Birdswin]

I would like to see a LOT more Kinzinger & Walker - and less of Lewis & Banks. I can see Foster & Walker becoming a tandem like Lamb & Cornley

 

[Redbirdmike]

I wondered the former, too. On the final shot, he was 3-5 feet behind the arc with a hand in his face. I thought we defended it well.

Agree. Not sure why you choose to foul a 70% FT shooter voluntarily when not necessary. They make two and if you miss one on your end (which we did) you can now LOSE the game on a three. I believe the clock differential was about 3 seconds so we would have had a last shot. Weird, but we got away with it!

 

[Redbird222]

Lewis played better and it would be great if he can help contribute again on a consistent basis.

Our rebounding differential was incredible and the last 12 minutes of defense was stellar.

We should forbid Pedon/Judson from playing that zone. I have seen it 3 times ... 3 strikes and it should be out.

We will playing a good team on Saturday. Let's get a quality home win.

 

[Redbird222]

I would like to see a LOT more Kinzinger & Walker - and less of Lewis & Banks. I can see Foster & Walker becoming a tandem like Lamb & Cornley

I actually thought Lewis played well today and one of the better players especially in the second half.

 

[cpacmel]

I actually thought Lewis played well today and one of the better players especially in the second half.

11 points (3-5 fg 4-4 FT, 1-1 trey) and 8 boards.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

Some of these experienced guys (that some don't want to see playing) will be key to winning Saturday. Hickman is like a coach on the floor for them... they get shaky when he's not out there. I really think leadership could win this for us in the end. I think Banks, Lewis and Mal provide that.

 

[Hootyhoofan]

Where’s Foster going to go? 2nd time transfers weren’t permitted in a vast majority of cases this year. The institution schools demanded NCAA crack down.

if he graduates in the spring he can leave as a grad transfer.

 

[SgtHulka]

Some of these experienced guys (that some don't want to see playing) will be key to winning Saturday. Hickman is like a coach on the floor for them...

Tonya can fix that

 

[Redbird222]

if he graduates in the spring he can leave as a grad transfer.

Correct, our 4 year seniors could graduate and transfer without having to sit a year even if it's their second transfer. Technically I think they could graduate by the end of the summer ... it just has to be prior to enrolling at the next school.

 

[MadBird]

Nice win, on the road, at Murray, not an easy place to play, the three point "problem" is no help. Not great matchups for us, so pulling it out was a struggle.

Nice numbers from the front line - Foster 10pts and 12 rebs, Lewis 11 and 8, Chase 12 and 4. CHASE WALKER WAS THE LEADING SCORER!!

Kinziger's getting a lot of praise on the board, he had a nice game, but his numbers weren't great, 1-6 from the field, 1-4 from 3. He's a liability on D lots of times, especially the way we switch. But damn he's nice to have out there, he's smart. I love to see him cheat on D, he has a great sense of how far he can drift off his man to help. He's tough above the shoulders. I hope he's here for a while and gonna grow into his slot. He's good. Still a ways to go.

I like Burford. I like his game.

Chase Walker, your table is ready.

Kasubke I can do without. To me, it isn't just that he's missing his shots, it's when he launches them. Not a very instinctive player, to me. Hard nose on D, but I'm not sure he's all that helpful there either.
.
What can we do to get Poindexter back on track??? Damn.

All in all, a nice game. Hollered at the TV a few times, but felt pretty good down the stretch!

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Walker!
Build on him and let Jkinz run the point.

 

[Redbird222]

Foster continues to Amp up his game

Last 10 games including Murray
MP 28.3
2pt FG 55.4%
3 pt FG 16.7%
Ft % 69.0%
TrB 8.1
Ast 1.7
TOV1.7
Pts 12.4

12.4 ponts and 8.1 rebounds ... we have not seen that since perhaps Jackie

Edit
SY Chatman averaged 13.5 pts and 6.1 rebounds in 20 games before tearing his ACL in 2022

 

[Dmills]

Wow... what a win. We almost threw it away early in the second half but got the job done. I've been hesitant to praise Pedon lately but the team might be turning a corner. The team has now won 3 of 4 including Belmont and Murray State. IMO we are a pretty sound and disciplined team. I think our only glaring weakness is the 3 point shooting. The guys crashed the boards HARD tonight. Lots of effort plays that bought us extra possessions. Like others have said, if we just shoot decent from 3, our record is much better. Let's get hot and make some noise. A win Saturday would be HUGE

 

[Baltimore Bird]

You hate to see a 3 ball in the air at the end to decide the game. Our luck has not been there for a few years on that shot. GREAT to see it bounce high and wide. GO BIRDS!

 

[DaveBird10]

Breakout night for Chase Walker tonight!

He called it!!!

 

[StLRedbird]

Wow... what a win. We almost threw it away early in the second half but got the job done. I've been hesitant to praise Pedon lately but the team might be turning a corner. The team has now won 3 of 4 including Belmont and Murray State. IMO we are a pretty sound and disciplined team. I think our only glaring weakness is the 3 point shooting. The guys crashed the boards HARD tonight. Lots of effort plays that bought us extra possessions. Like others have said, if we just shoot decent from 3, our record is much better. Let's get hot and make some noise. A win Saturday would be HUGE

I think there were fewer mismatches in the low post due to ill-advised switches on high ball screens. Certainly hope that is a trend. Agree with what you're saying about the team being sound and disciplined though. As others have pointed out, if the team just shot the ball with avg efficiency the W-L record would be very different. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Like Rumsfeld said, you fight w the army you have, not the one you want.

 

[SlackBooDom]

if he graduates in the spring he can leave as a grad transfer.

This is the clearest sign to me Foster is gone IMO. This person is clearly related.

 

[SlackBooDom]

I’m encouraged, and surprised, by last night. I watched it back this morning and a few things stood out. The most obvious one is that we made shots. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s always going to be what separates really good teams. Not just making shots, but timely shot making. After 48-33, all of our points came from Burford/Foster clear outs, free throws, or shots on assists. I’m hopeful the coaching staff sees this. The best we look is when the offense goes through our two best players or our role players share the ball. I don’t see much reason anyone should really touch it on offense outside of Foster/Burford every possession. Murray has lost 4 of 5 and looks disjointed, out of control, and at times completely lacks effort. I think I would take our problems over theirs. I have no idea what this staff saw in Dalton Banks in the portal. Chase Walker has the skill set to be a very, very good big in the MVC. I get the sense they’re protecting him from himself so he can play more minutes in STL and isn’t injured when we get there. Great win.

 

[Phantom]

Dunno how that happened, but glad it did. I didn't watch...only followed updates...so that was probably it.

 

[Redbird28]

Boy, reading one of these things from near start to finish can show the bi-polar nature of being a die hard fan.

@SlackBooDom - " I have no idea what this staff saw in Dalton Banks in the portal." - They saw a point guard with knowledge of the league where we clearly had no PG whatsoever on this roster. At least, that's what I think went into the decision to take him on. "Chase Walker has the skill set to be a very, very good big in the MVC. I get the sense they’re protecting him from himself so he can play more minutes in STL and isn’t injured when we get there." - I've thought this for quite a while. There's a wall that freshmen often hit when they move up a level, especially a big. Hopefully by delaying his time out of the starting blocks and slow ramping him into more minutes they can push that freshman wall off until the season is over.

Loved the moxie last night to hang in there and finally get the lid off when we needed it most. We won a game we should have won with the way Murray St. came into it.

Going to be a very tough test on Saturday, but let's hope the OT loss in Terre Haute sends them on a mini tail spin and they pick up a loss tonight against UNI and then again on Saturday. Nothing makes me happier than taking down the Watchmakers.

ISU GO!