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Post by austinace on Dec 18, 2023 21:01:36 GMT -6
Looking at the stats. We win this game at the free throw line. 24-30 for us; 12-15 for UTM.
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Dec 18, 2023 21:02:34 GMT -6
Can you imagine what Hughes could've done if he had gotten to play more?
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Dec 18, 2023 21:06:04 GMT -6
Looking at the stats. We win this game at the free throw line. 24-30 for us; 12-15 for UTM. We traded field goals for free throws. Our last field goal was Strawberries at 1'34". It was foul city after that.
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Post by austinace on Dec 18, 2023 21:06:36 GMT -6
Can you imagine what Hughes could've done if he had gotten to play more? Hopefully he is ok. He was off to a great start before he got hurt: Eight points in only seven minutes.
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Post by austinace on Dec 18, 2023 21:08:47 GMT -6
Going to that zone defense made a difference in the second half as it disrupted UTM's offense for a while. On the radio they said we went on a 17-2 run at that time. I would have to double check that to verify.
Update: Looks like we went on a 21-3 run from 12:28 (down 59-64) to 6:22 (80-67). That six minute stretch definitely won the game for us.
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Post by sgace on Dec 18, 2023 21:09:29 GMT -6
Thank God we pulled this one out. We had the lead 82-69 and then proceeded to rush our shots when we should have worked the clock each possession for the best shot. We wasted a number of offensive possessions and allowed them to make a game of it. Oh well, the WIN is big. 9-2 a great start to the season. UT Martin was a great opponent to face and beat before the home crowd at the fabulous Ford Center. Tanner Cuff, in my mind, was MVP this game! Excellent overall effort by my fellow Utahn.
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Dec 18, 2023 21:12:41 GMT -6
Going to that zone defense made a difference in the second half as it disrupted UTM's offense for a while. On the radio they said we went on a 17-2 run at that time. I would have to double check that to verify. 17-2 run sounds right.
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Post by sgace on Dec 18, 2023 21:16:09 GMT -6
Going to that zone defense made a difference in the second half as it disrupted UTM's offense for a while. On the radio they said we went on a 17-2 run at that time. I would have to double check that to verify. And the Aces pressure D in the 2nd Half rattled the Skyhawks into TOs that turned into UE points! Hope to see more of that pressure as the season plays out. We have the numbers to wear down opponents that way. JMHO. Go Aces!
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Post by acesfan65 on Dec 18, 2023 21:22:38 GMT -6
Strawbridge becomes the sixth player to reach 20pts or more this season. The sixth player! I would still like to see him take fewer 3's.
I'm not sure who you give the belt to, several deserve it. Toumi? Strawbridge? Cuff? Hughes?
Hughes was robbed, what a great start for him. Totally had his feet set outside the arc. Should have been charging foul and the elbow to the face would have warranted an additional foul.
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Post by ibleedpurple on Dec 18, 2023 21:26:48 GMT -6
My two cents:
Very poor officiating in the first half, better in the second half. Horrible missed call on the Hughes charge to the face...unreal..pay attention refs. He was having a good game and it did hurt us not having him in the second half. Hope he wil be ok and on the mend soon because we will need him come Wednesday and even more later in the week on the road.
So glad our coaching staff is open minded. Open minded as to who gets the minutes, the lineup and most of all the in-game willingness to adjust, adapt and try things. This is such a pleasant change over the Simmon's era when there was never any changing or willingness to adapt. To me this won the game for us. Going to the agressive trap to start the second half got us on top, then the zone got us the big lead. Before they adjusted it was too late and we closed it out.
We still have to be better with decision making, passing and teamwork. I feel we still do too much one on one, do not make enough good decisions with the ball. What I do continue to see is guys wanting the ball when we need to score which is going to be so key when get into The Valley games when many will come down to 1 or 2 possessions.
The other thing I noticed is we seemed really gassed yet we have a deep bench with a lot of guys seeing action. We looked sluggish at Bellarmine and gassed in this game. Sure, it was up tempo but they played less guys than we did and I thought we were just as gassed if not more at times.
I cannot end this post without mentioning how good Cuff was again tonight. He was not far off a triple double and in how many minutes? I also like how Toumi is really trying to help this team and show leadership and always being active. He is very deserving of all the minutes he is getting due to his hustle and play on both ends of the court.
After this game, not sure how many more of the OVC teams I want to face if they are all as good as UTM. They had some guys who could really shoot, handle the ball and create a ton of problems. I can see them winning the conference if they stay healthy. Like our team, they also made adjustments throughout the game. To me this was the most strategic game from a coaching perspective I can remember with many changes at both ends of the court by both teams. Very enjoyable game to watch !
Lets not over look the game Wednesday and get another W before we hit the road again.
Go Aces !
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Post by sgace on Dec 18, 2023 21:28:55 GMT -6
One other note: I have been enjoying Aces games on ESPN+ so far. Will I be able to get those MVC games or do I have to buy into special package for conference games? And, as always, I wish our fans would step up and get that home attendance up...just sayin'.
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Post by austinace on Dec 18, 2023 21:49:07 GMT -6
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Post by aceloverlarry on Dec 18, 2023 22:09:22 GMT -6
All games will be ESPN+ unless flexed to a national TV network. Seemed inconceivable we’d end up on a national TV game when the season started but now that we’re looking like a top half team there’s definitely a chance we could if we keep it up.
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Post by austinace on Dec 18, 2023 22:16:12 GMT -6
Good news:
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Post by E-Villan on Dec 18, 2023 22:29:10 GMT -6
Fun game to watch indeed. I am shocked that we had that much of a rebound margin. Sitting in the arena without stats it seemed like we were getting killed on the boards.
UT-Martin was quick with some damn nice 3 point shooters. I can't imagine there really being anything stronger in the OVC this year. I haven't seen Little Rock, but they did smack Murray around tonight.
Nice crowd for the coldest night of the season so far. This town is starved for a winner.
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