What You Need to Know about LA Tech-LSU Game

[dawg80]

Cobe Williams was a whopping of 2 of 17 from the floor, 0 for 5 from the arc. We needed him to have a good night, he didn't. As a team we were a horrid 7 of 29 from the arc, I said if we were 20 of 20 from the arc we would win...I was right, we would have. Of course only a moron would take that literally (and I think someone did!), what I meant was we needed to enjoy a great shooting night from outside, including our 3's, like close to 50%, instead we shot 24% and we had a ton of open looks too. We were 12 of 17 from the line, 70%, but two of those misses were front-ends of a 1 and 1. That's leaving points on the floor.

Fortunately, LSU sucked too. They couldn't throw it in the ocean while standing in a boat at times. They were 6 of 22 (27%) from the arc and only 39% from the floor overall. Had they had one of their regular shooting nights we'd have lost by 30+. They played poorly giving us a chance to steal a much needed win, and we couldn't even accept the gift.

Tech is now 3-42 all time vs. ranked opponents, and two of those don't count as far as I am concerned. Only the win over #5 Louisville in 1984 qualifies as a true win vs. a ranked opponent.

Meanwhile, little ole Hofstra beat #24 Arkansas in a true road game for them. It's amazing what other schools can do, but "little ole" Tech can never do.

[champion110]

I have to admit that I had NO idea how this game was going to go. I believed there was a chance we would get blown out and I CERTAINLY didn't want that. By halftime, I was excited. Jr. had no fouls (or one?) and had not really gotten started. When there was 7 minutes left, I thought we really had a chance. Free throws were off and we did not execute well at all in the second half. We resorted to some street ball at one point and lsu is much better at that. Still, my hopes were up. I believe we showed that we have the potential to beat ranked teams last night, but I am horribly disappointed in the outcome. I want SO badly to say that we "almost" had them and we "competed" better than most thought we would - including the Walmart lsu fans. I can't say that, though. We SHOULD have won that game and I REALLY HATE we missed our opportunity to show Shreveport/Bossier that we are real. Anyway, that is over now. We need to put it behind us and compete for a conference championship. There is NO REASON AT ALL that we should not win our conference this year or the tournament and a NCAA bid. I REALLY hope we are a 2 bid conference this year.

[Blue Dawg]

Meanwhile, little ole Hofstra beat #24 Arkansas in a true road game for them. It's amazing what other schools can do, but "little ole" Tech can never do.

The great achievements of others are anathema to the crab bucket Tech fan. We have to be satisfied with the bottom of the bucket

[techman05]

How was attendance?

Probably 8000. 65% lsu fans. De facto home game for them.

[techman05]

Have you watched a lot of Tech men's basketball? I don't mean that to be critical, but I think you are far underestimating what Cobe brings to this team. When he went down last season with a broken hand, this team DID NOT PLAY WELL without him. And that was WITH Crawford on the roster. IMO, Cobe is the engine that makes everything work on this team. He's a tremendous DEFENSIVE player, and harasses the hell out of our opposing guards. Cobe is one of the key reasons LSU only scored 66 points tonight.

Cobe also drives to the basket very well offensively, and can hit the 3 with regularity, as you saw tonight.

I thought our guards played real well tonight, for the most part. For example, Tech got 20 pts from its' 2 point guards (Archibald and Cobe) tonight. IMO, they both had a good night. And remember, I was the guy criticizing them both a couple of weeks ago when I thought they weren't getting it done. But the two point guards were not the problem tonight.

IMO, Tech lost tonight because, 1) LSU has bigger, longer and better athletes than we do, and they have more of them. That allowed LSU to control the rim play, and tonight that meant the Tigers often got 2 and 3 followup shots at the basket in a single trip down, vs Tech typically getting one shot at the basket per trip, and 2) Tech got out coached, because LSU had a game plan that reduced Lofton to an insignificant role.

But hey.....it's still DECEMBER college basketball. And nobody wins championships in December.

I have watched a lot and I agree that Cobe is a pest defensively. IMO, he never looks like he is under control with the ball. He doesn’t shoot well. He didn’t drive to the bucket last night and I think only had 2 FT attempts. Again, just my opinion. I would rather have Archibald at the point.

[boxerdog]

My impressions:

Game had a "big time" feel in terms of arena, atmosphere, and crowd involvement. I thought LaTech showed the program is ready for big time games and played like it.

LSU's defense is the real deal. They created tons of stress on Cobe and our other guards just trying to get the ball up the floor. But once we broke the press, the initial sequence of our offense was the time to get the better shots. Like Jason said, when Junior flashed into the lane at the beginning of the possession was the time to get him the ball but we were too timid to make the pass. Needed to ball-fake the swing pass and get it to him because he often had his man sealed and was in the paint. Instead, we waited and, if he touched it, he was too far from the goal and they could double him rather easily. So we often delayed until real late in the shot clock and had to attempt low percentage shots. Cobe was the most aggressive in terms of attacking early but he was driving against alot of length and he's not tall enough to get a good shot off over them.

Our defense was the real deal too. We had LSU out of synch for most of the night. They ended up hitting enough to overcome but we were swarming them and had them on their heels. Very solid defensive effort. I was especially impressed by Christon on both ends, he played a good game overall and showed me once again way Konkol gives him starter minutes. I also thought Bradford showed what he can be. He is aggressive and powerful. He's going to be good for us. Willis got some good looks and knocked down a few but we need him to shoot at a higher percentage. I thought Archibald showed poise. He wasn't as erratic in this game and he hit some timely shots, especially early. His double team on their post was very disruptive. I love it when he collapses like that. He's good at it.

As for the arena experience. The concessions were NOT ready for this crowd. The vendors needed to get there at 4 and have the food ready for purchase. Instead, they were just setting up at 5 when the crowd was allowed entry and it was a cluster. They was some irony in how the "floor" was being dedicated and they were trying to repair it before the game. Also, the towel boys were absolutely awful. They created doubt as to whether or not they could even wipe the floor with their towel. Had no idea when to come wipe up, and weren't willin to get down on hands and knees and remove the perspiration. It was actually comical how bad they were. Embarrassing for Brookshires imo. The LSU wannabes were out in full force and many of them, because they have no idea about our team, seemed confounded by how good we are. They were mostly there to chant and gloat but ended up being concerned about a possible L much of the night. That humored me as well. I thought the Tech crowd was decently loud and enthusiastic. I really wanted this win but I thought we showed well overall. It was an enjoyable event, and I think LaTech made a statement to S'port/Bossier that we have a legit program.

[techman05]

My impressions:


As for the arena experience. The concessions were NOT ready for this crowd. The vendors needed to get there at 4 and have the food ready for purchase. Instead, they were just setting up at 5 when the crowd was allowed entry and it was a cluster. They was some irony in how the "floor" was being dedicated and they were trying to repair it before the game. Also, the towel boys were absolutely awful. They created doubt as to whether or not they could even wipe the floor with their towel. Had no idea when to come wipe up, and weren't willin to get down on hands and knees and remove the perspiration. It was actually comical how bad they were. Embarrassing for Brookshires imo. The LSU wannabes were out in full force and many of them, because they have no idea about our team, seemed confounded by how good we are. They were mostly there to chant and gloat but ended up being concerned about a possible L much of the night. That humored me as well. I thought the Tech crowd was decently loud and enthusiastic. I really wanted this win but I thought we showed well overall. It was an enjoyable event, and I think LaTech made a statement to S'port/Bossier that we have a legit program.[/I]

I agree, but will add that we gave them a chance to host a big event and they saw what our team offers. Next time, the game is in Ruston because we can screw up less than that for sure. We needed a home crowd last night and that was not it. We were 30-40% of the crowd with a lot of the lower bowl empty. Just like playing at Indy, this is what you get. They aren’t invested in US and that only hurts US.

[champion110]

The LSU wannabes were out in full force and many of them, because they have no idea about our team, seemed confounded by how good we are. They were mostly there to chant and gloat but ended up being concerned about a possible L much of the night. That humored me as well. I thought the Tech crowd was decently loud and enthusiastic. I really wanted this win but I thought we showed well overall. It was an enjoyable event, and I think LaTech made a statement to S'port/Bossier that we have a legit program.

Totally agree with this. As for the lsu wannabes', they have no idea about our team and just know lsu by the name. I think this was a much needed game and I agree about the statement. Sure wish we could have pulled it off, though.

[LyleK]

Totally agree with this. As for the lsu wannabes', they have no idea about our team and just know lsu by the name. I think this was a much needed game and I agree about the statement. Sure wish we could have pulled it off, though.

The real problem with LSU wannabe’s that know nothing about our program is 20-30% of them went and graduated from Tech. I understand not wanting to sign up for continued disappointment (name the sport), but pulling for a school you didn’t go to while repping their gear when they ARE PLAYING YOUR ALMA MATER makes absolutely no sense to me. Never will.

[champion110]

The real problem with LSU wannabe’s that know nothing about our program is 20-30% of them went and graduated from Tech. I understand not wanting to sign up for continued disappointment (name the sport), but pulling for a school you didn’t go to while repping their gear when they ARE PLAYING YOUR ALMA MATER makes absolutely no sense to me. Never will.

AMEN!

[Dawg Fan]

Oh so close, but yet so far. It seemed to me ball control took a big turn for the worse when there were mostly bench players in the game, Tech seemed to be a bit rattled at the end, and I expected to see more of David Green in the game. IMO Green has better hands than Hunter and has shown he can hit the 3. The box score shows Green had 2 TO in 3 minutes so maybe he was pulled because of that. Hopefully LSU and Tech will continue to schedule games against each other.

[techman05]

My wife did point out that the Tech fans around us would call out a players name when they made a good or poor play. None of the lsu fans knew any of their players names.

[tigtoo30]

Was disappointed in the last 4 minutes. We did look rattled, but overall it was a good game to build on. On a side note, it is on the Fox home page today which is good exposure. The bad thing is at the end of the article it mentions we play Crowley Ridge College next. Whoever scheduled this game should be ashamed. It makes us sound like we are NAIA or something. Why not make it an exhibition game like LSUS was?

[Dawg Fan]

Was disappointed in the last 4 minutes. We did look rattled, but overall it was a good game to build on. On a side note, it is on the Fox home page today which is good exposure. The bad thing is at the end of the article it mentions we play Crowley Ridge College next. Whoever scheduled this game should be ashamed. It makes us sound like we are NAIA or something. Why not make it an exhibition game like LSUS was?

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand it, when Tech plays an NAIA team, it counts as a game for Tech, but is considered an exhibition for the NAIA team (once the season gets going anyway). I have seen games played before the regular season starts considered to be an exhibition for both teams regardless of classification (e.g., NCAA Division I, NAIA).

[tigtoo30]

It counts, I just hate non-D1 games this late in the season. I'd rather take the time to concentrate on Marshall, and not take the chance to get anyone hurt. Not sure how that works at the NAIA level.