I spent the past 11 hours trying to find something to write about
Saturday’s 67-64 loss to Troy. I’ve got nothing. There’s just no way to sugar
coat it. Bad loss.
We'll get on with the rest of this bit anyway.
BURN BABY BURN
UALR’s radio broadcasts are hard to listen to. Last night’s was brutal.
The pregame show consisted of a stirring rendition of George Clinton’s Atomic
Dog. The postgame show consisted of the interview with Coach Steve Shields
getting cut off a couple of times. It’s brutal.
INJURY UPDATE
Ben Dillard returned from injury but didn’t score in 11 minutes on
Saturday. John Gillon did not play. He will undergo further testing in Little
Rock on Monday. Right now, it’s expected he’ll miss at least a couple of weeks.
STAT OF THE GAME
6-14 UALR made just 6 of 14 free throws on Saturday, costing them any opportunity
to win.
KEYS REVISITED
Freedom: UALR made 6 of 14 free
throws while Troy made 15 of 18. UALR only attempted two free throws in the
first half. They were more aggressive in the second half but didn’t make them
when they got there. Grade: F.
70th Heaven: 70 had been UALR’s defensive magic number this
season. However, Troy didn’t get there and UALR lost. It’s the first time UALR
has lost when giving up less than 70 points. Grade: A.
Will to win: Junior forward Will Neighbour had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2
steals and 1 blocked shot. For the most part, he was pretty good. However, 2 of
5 free throw shooting doesn’t cut it. And making 1 of 2 free throws twice in
the second half when the game was tight was huge. Grade: B.
THE GOOD
Freshman point guard Josh Hagins finished with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4
assists, 4 steals and only 1 turnover.
THE BAD
UALR got a combined 6 points and 5 rebounds out of its post players in
25 minutes.
THE UGLY
No excuse for losing at Troy. Even if Mississippi State lost there,
plenty of Sun Belt teams are going to get victories there this season.
VEGAS, BABY
UALR was a 2-point favorite at tip, making them a Vegas loser.
PREDICTIONS
Winners included Omni Rankings and The Sports Network. Both predicted a 67-65 Troy victory. OmniRankings
is now 7-1 and has nearly nailed the score on every game it’s predicted this
season.
UP NEXT
Struggling North Texas visits the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday. At
some point, North Texas, which has the best talent in the Sun Belt, figures to
break out of its slump. Hopefully, it’s not then. UALR can ill afford to go
below .500 in conference play.
