3/19 NIT: LaTech at FSU

[HoDo-Tech70]

HoDo, you made the sports. Everybody saw you on TV.

Oops, my identity has been revealed. However, my reputation may be improved because I was hanging out with a different group.

On my previous post I focused on the play of our seniors. The seniors have a special incentive to play well. I hope they end their last game with a win in New York. Everyone who played contributed to the defense which wore down the Seminoles.

Offensively, we played extremely well in the second half. Again, we played better offensively, in part, because our defense just wore them down. During the media timeouts, which were not broadcast on ESPN3, you could see how tired they were getting. We were constantly substituting with fresh players but they played a much smaller bench. I had the feeling with about 10 minutes to go that we would win the game if we continued playing hard.

The upcoming Southern Miss game in Hattiesburg is one that all TECH fans should try to make. Having TECH fans at the game really makes a difference for our team. It would be great if someone would bus some of the blue crew students to the game. It's between a 4 and 5 hour drive from Ruston depending on your speed and number and length of stops.

Besides the game, another reason to go to the USM game is to see how one of our future C-USA competitors handles the game atmosphere. I was there last season for a game, which we lost. I'm interested to hear other opinions of their arena and gameday experience. It may not be the same as a regular season game but you will get a good feel for how another school provides entertainment and concessions.

Make it to the game in Hattiesburg. Show our DAWGS how much you care. You can't find any better opponent with so much at stake any closer to Ruston.

[Blue Dawg]

I'm definitely making it a priority to try and find the time. I've got an 8:00 class the next day and I know some other students who would go but also have scholastic conflicts. I'll do what I can tho to come + some. No promises.

[steltz]

Got back from Tallahassee earlier this afternoon after spending only 22 hours at home after returning from Vegas. I am tired but had a great trip to the FSU game with 4 other TECH fans who also went to the WAC tournament. Our mood on the return home from Tallahassee was much different than our mood in Vegas. We didn't give up on our team.

In better news, our team didn't give up. They came out with intensity that overwhelmed FSU. FSU had a good team and some great individual performances but couldn't handle our pressure defense. Only some amazing 3 point shooting by #21 kept them in the game. He played all 40 minutes but tired near the end so his shots quit falling. Their big guys got quite a few blocks, but our guys outrebounded them.

Brandon Gibson got the start and had some brutal battles with their bigs, Brandon got the best of them. He did pick up some fouls competing with them. In one of the funnier moments of the game, a foul by Brandon was announced while he was on the bench. The foul was actually on another of our players. We all looked at him and saw his reaction. We laughed about that several times on the trip home.

J L Lewis scored 4 of our last 6 points so he wins my player of the game award. Brandon Gibson finished a close second as he sank two crucial free throws to clinch the win. That last foul on Brandon by FSU brings me to a critique of the referees. They were fair (Ellen that's for you).

No, actually I had never seen the refs before so had no idea what to expect. They wore jackets which had a CCA logo on them. I guessed immediately that it might be an ACC plot to disguise their refs as neutral refs. Think about it a while and it will come to you. They allowed a lot of physical play by both teams but seemed to call phantom fouls on us when there was no contact. Replays at the arena helped me to determine this. The refs were inconsistent in calls on both teams, as a group and as individuals. An obvious goaltending by FSU early in the game was not called. With just seconds left in the game, a touch foul was called and Brandon got sent to the line where he sank two free throws. It was really frustrating that after all the hacking and holding (by both teams) that a touch foul was called when we were trying to run out the clock. This touch foul could have worked in FSU's favor if Brandon had not sunk the free throws.

We celebrated the win with the team, a few other fans, and lots of family members of our team. After our victory celebration, we headed back to Pensacola where we spent the night before heading for home. To the victor goes the spoils - isn't that right Tallahassee 5?

TECH fans, I know you can watch on the internet/TV for free, but there is nothing like being in a hostile environment as your team grinds out a win to silence the crowd. It is a thrilling experience. See you in Hattiesburg for a another victory celebration.

P.S. I decided not to mention the "turnover." We laughed about this one quite a bit after getting the win. You really had to be there to get the full picture. Ask any of us that went to the game and we may share it with you.

Thanks for the great report.

The only thing I am confused about is the props for Gibson.

minutes fg 3s freethrows o-reb reb ass stl blk TO fouls pts

Brandon Gibson, G

19

0-5

0-2

3-5

4

8

0

0

0

0

4

3

I thought Gibson was lackadaisical and pouty the entire game. He wasn't playing with any enthusiasm; he was passing the ball underhanded over and over (at least two that I remember were close to turnovers). I think as soon as he got off the court and Anderson became his primary replacement, the game turned around.

He did have quite a few rebounds, so maybe I'm a little overly critical; I just didn't feel good about his effort.

[theprofessor]

No, actually I had never seen the refs before so had no idea what to expect. They wore jackets which had a CCA logo on them. I guessed immediately that it might be an ACC plot to disguise their refs as neutral refs. Think about it a while and it will come to you.

Haha. The CCA is the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which has oversight for football and basketball officiating in the NCAA.

[HoDo-Tech70]

Thanks for the great report.

The only thing I am confused about is the props for Gibson.

minutes fg 3s freethrows o-reb reb ass stl blk TO fouls pts

Brandon Gibson, G

19

0-5

0-2

3-5

4

8

4

3

I thought Gibson was lackadaisical and pouty the entire game. He wasn't playing with any enthusiasm; he was passing the ball underhanded over and over (at least two that I remember were close to turnovers). I think as soon as he got off the court and Anderson became his primary replacement, the game turned around.

He did have quite a few rebounds, so maybe I'm a little overly critical; I just didn't feel good about his effort.

I'll admit to being a Brandon Gibson fan. Offensively, Brandon had a tough night shooting against the much bigger FSU players, but offense was not got him my praise. The rebounding statistic against the much bigger FSU players was a major factor in the props I gave him. Also, he was very effective at putting pressure on them. It was the constant pressure on defense that keyed our win. FSU just ran out of gas and the shots quit falling and they weren't able to defend as effectively.

As far as him being lackadaisal and pouty, I saw nothing different about Brandon that game than I usually see. He is very expressive so you must have seen one of his many expressions. He's fun to watch just because of his expressiveness.

Chris Anderson was clearly more effective offensively.

[deadawg]

I have to admit when Gibson went to the line the last time, I questioned why White had him in the game. I thought he would have been better served to get someone who shoots a little better from the line in the game. Shows what I know.

[HoDo-Tech70]

Haha. The CCA is the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which has oversight for football and basketball officiating in the NCAA.

What, you mean there's nothing sinister about their jacket logo? :icon_wink: I'm a survivor of the 60's and 70's and in those days people played music backwards believing the Devil recorded subliminal messages that would control people. Why couldn't the Devil (ACC) do that with a jacket logo?

Music trivia: What was the name of the Beatles album that if played backwards it revealed a clue that Paul McCartney was dead?

[deadawg]

What, you mean there's nothing sinister about their jacket logo? :icon_wink: I'm a survivor of the 60's and 70's and in those days people played music backwards believing the Devil recorded subliminal messages that would control people. Why couldn't the Devil (ACC) do that with a jacket logo?

Music trivia: What was the name of the Beatles album that if played backwards it revealed a clue that Paul McCartney was dead?

The White Album

[HoDo-Tech70]

The White Album

Correct.

[Dawg04]

Just for the information - those were SEC officials.

[HogDawg]

Correct.

Well....TECHNICALLY, he's wrong. The official name of the Beatles' 9th album is "The Beatles". It is unofficially called "the White album" due to the white cover without any print on it.

[Soonerdawg]

Well....TECHNICALLY, he's wrong. The official name of the Beatles' 9th album is "The Beatles". It is unofficially called "the White album" due to the white cover without any print on it.

Well, technically I think it had print on it. It just wasn't contrasted by color.

[HogDawg]

Well, technically I think it had print on it. It just wasn't contrasted by color.

Nope.

The Beatles is the ninth official album by English rock group the Beatles, a double album released in 1968. It is also commonly known as "The White Album", as it has no graphics or text other than the band's name embossed (and, on the early LP and CD releases, a serial number) on its plain white sleeve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(album)