BURN THE HORSE
I remember when they used to call basketball guarantee games
body bag games. Maybe they still do. UALR certainly got their money’s worth out
of a couple of body bag games this year.
 |
BTH MORNING AFTER |
I guess I’m attempting to be funny when I write that. But I’m
also pretty serious. UALR got exactly what it wanted out of a 40-point loss at
Ole Miss and a 34-point loss at Cincinnati.
Obviously, they didn’t want blowout losses. But what they
did want is cash. And what they did with the cash was as successful as it could
be.
UALR took the money it received from the guarantee games
with Ole Miss and Cincinnati and bought four home games with it – three of
which they wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.
The games included:
- An 84-68 victory over Tennessee-Martin;
- A 59-43 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee;
- A 78-56 victory over Jacksonville;
- And a 91-30 victory over St. Gregory’s.
The rest of UALR’s nonconference schedule included games as
part of a home-and-home series with Louisiana Tech and Tulsa and two games in
Mexico against SMU and South Carolina.
So, UALR is 7-4 on the season and right where we hoped they’d
be at this point. They’ve won the games they were supposed to win and lost the
games they were supposed to lose. No reason to panic yet in spite of the
lopsided totals in the losses.
BURN BABY BURN
At one point during Thursday’s game UALR had 25 points and
24 turnovers. If you want to look at the positive, UALR scored its next 28
points with only 8 turnovers. It’s not much, but we’ll take it on a night like
this.
STAT OF THE GAME
32 Hey, here’s another positive. Believe it or not, UALR’s
32 turnovers on Thursday were not a school record. The record of 35 was set in
1985 in a loss to Providence. Of course, that Mike Newell-coached team turned
its season around and eventually beat Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament.
THE GOOD
Junior Will Neighbour had 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
a steal and a blocked shot on Thursday.
THE BAD
UALR turned the ball over on 39 percent of their possessions
on Thursday. Honestly, it felt like more.
THE UGLY
UALR’s four losses this season have come by an average of
26.0 points.
KEYS REVISITED
The matchup: Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick had 18 points in
27 minutes. But UALR did a good job on him early in the game. That keeps it
from a total failure. Grade: D.
Toughen up: UALR was beaten 39-32 in rebounding and didn’t
handle Cincinnati’s physical pressure. Grade F.
Jump around: UALR did shoot 40 percent when it managed to
get the ball across half court. Grade: C.
VEGAS, BABY
UALR was a 20.5-point underdog and lost by 34.
PREDICTIONS
Everyone took Cincinnati in a blowout. That makes all
predictors winners tonight. Real Time RPI continues to lead the season standings.
UP NEXT
UALR goes through final exams and has 10 days off until
taking on Tulsa at the Stephens Center. Probably the best thing that could come
out of this week is the consecutive days of practice this team hasn’t had since
the season opener.
