Game 24: AT UMass, Feb 12th, 7 PM, NO TV

[Harry]

Back to back 40 points from our starting senior backcourt. Is Sherrod finally realizing that his college career is nearly over and now playing with urgency? Whatever the reason, it's awesome to beat Umass on their home court and exact some revenge!

 

[MasonCrew]

Feels good to win again. Don't know what was going on with our team, but they certainly weren't playing to their potential. Let's keep this going.

 

[gmujim92]

Great effort all the way around -- 18 assists has to be a high for the Hewitt era, proves that good things happen when you share the ball and don't just play 1-on-1.

Happy for the team (esp. seniors) and coaches to finally see some payoff for their hard work, and very proud that they haven't quit on the season -- that shows character and reflects well on the program.

At the same time, I find myself frustrated at performances like this because it reinforces how close we were to having a really good A-10 debut. We could easily have 6 conference wins and be in the running for a first-round bye in Brooklyn.

Finally, I hope we're not always gonna have to wait until the final 9-10 games for the team to start coming together and winning games. This is two seasons in a row. Not something I'd like to see become a habit.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

It's truly amazing. I've never rooted for a team like this. I don't know that I've ever seen a team like this. One that can beat a team on the road that hasn't lost at home all year, but then struggles with lowly Ivy League teams at home. We literally have no clue what we're going to get from one 5 minute span to the next much less from game to game.

I don't think we're near consistent enough to do it, but if we did play at a high level for an entire weekend, we truly have the capability of competing to win the A-10 tourney. It sound ridiculous, but so is going on the road and basically dominating UMass.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

The only great joy was going to the UMASS boards and see the dreck haunting our boards this season now being transferred to their. It is like having the cancer miraculously removed from your lungs.

Feeling so light right now.

 

[dr. gunnie]

My extreme language filter at work will not let me read the UMass boards... they must not be happy campers.

 

[Petey Buckets]

I don't think we're near consistent enough to do it, but if we did play at a high level for an entire weekend, we truly have the capability of competing to win the A-10 tourney. It sound ridiculous, but so is going on the road and basically dominating UMass.

This is why Hewitt needs to go. He's run a talented team into the ground. A decent coach would be competitive with this roster. /buzzkill

Great to see the guys still fighting and playing to their abilities though. Says a lot about them. A lot of teams/players would have packed it in by now.

 

[GMUgemini]

To be fair a little bit to Hewitt, two of our starting five now are freshman and it took them awhile to grow into their roles, a third was suspended for 6 games and was awful for another 6 before beginning to play well and a fourth had a horrible shooting slump at the worst possible time.

Hewitt can't shoulder all of the blame (most of it, but not all)

 

[GSII]

I will give Hewitt credit for keeping the guys together. Theres something special there as this has been a consistent theme his whole time here. As much as i hate his schemes and coaching I will give him credit for this.

 

[polepino]

This is why Hewitt needs to go. He's run a talented team into the ground. A decent coach would be competitive with this roster. /buzzkill

Great to see the guys still fighting and playing to their abilities though. Says a lot about them. A lot of teams/players would have packed it in by now.

I will give Hewitt credit for keeping the guys together. Theres something special there as this has been a consistent theme his whole time here. As much as i hate his schemes and coaching I will give him credit for this.

I'd kind of have to lean towards GSII over Petey on this issue. I also would have to give Hewitt some credit for NOT having the team/players pack it in. Frustrating season so far but the team has played in most of the games they've been in, there were just more prominent stretches of deficinecy in the past. To deny Hewitts influence in also the positive parts of things doesn't seem very sound, his influence is a both/and not an either/or.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Good win for the team.....lets build some momentum

 

[MasonCrew]

When Copes plays well we are such a different team.

 

[GMUgemini]

When Copes plays well we are such a different team.

One of the biggest differences between this and last game against UMass was Copes neutralizing Lalanne on both sides of the court.

 

[Petey Buckets]

I'd kind of have to lean towards GSII over Petey on this issue. I also would have to give Hewitt some credit for NOT having the team/players pack it in. Frustrating season so far but the team has played in most of the games they've been in, there were just more prominent stretches of deficinecy in the past. To deny Hewitts influence in also the positive parts of things doesn't seem very sound, his influence is a both/and not an either/or.

I don't read it as GSII and I disagreeing with each other. Hewitt has strengths - guys play their asses off for him and it does say a lot that they're still playing hard. Maybe you read my first post as not giving Hewitt credit for the guys still being with it, which wasn't my intent.

Of course, the sentimental value of guys not giving up is no substitute for having a winning product on the floor. For that I do blame Hewitt.

 

[polepino]

Maybe you read my first post as not giving Hewitt credit for the guys still being with it, which wasn't my intent.

Ah, yeah, my apologies. Point taken!

 

[MasonCrew]

We win and crack the top 150 in the RPI!

#newnorm

Also, I'm quite happy with this prediction. I was joking when I made, but it looks brilliant in hindsight. Now let's beat St. Bonnies and get another top 100 win. We can crack the top 100 by the end of the season. Just need to win pretty much every game.

 

[JBiggs]

I didn't get to watch the game, unfortunately, but I'm checking out the box score. Moore struggled from the field, but hit 10-12 FTs. Ended with 12 pts, 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, and only 1 TO. If he develops a consistent jumpshot, he is going to instantly be one of the best PGs in the league. I love that kid.

Other notes:

-Sherrod and BA combined for 7 TOs, but the rest of the team only coughed it up 4 times. Not all that surprising, given how much they have the ball in their hands, and we know Sherrod is turnover prone. That's a good sign for the rest of the team, given how much our forwards have turned it over earlier in the season.
-Jenkins struggled a bit, and only pulled in one board in 32 minutes on the floor while shooting 2-5, but dished out 4 assists. I love big fellas that are capable passers - it makes you so much more dangerous in the half court.

 

[psyclone]

Nice words about Copes in this article from someone covering UMASS: http://www.masslive.com/umassbasketball/index.ssf/2014/02/umass_basketball_vs_george_mas_8.html

 

[azgmu]

Also, I'm quite happy with this prediction. I was joking when I made, but it looks brilliant in hindsight. Now let's beat St. Bonnies and get another top 100 win. We can crack the top 100 by the end of the season. Just need to win pretty much every game.

Not to put any pressure on the team...
Who knows, though, maybe that's the kind of pressure that they respond to well?

 

[gmutom]

Can anybody else find highlights or the post-game press conference from last night's game? I checked GoMason.com, and all I see are clips and interviews from the women's game.