Just rewatched the Cincy-U-Conn game from Firday night (courtesy ESPN on-demand) and had a couple of thoughts.
- Hard to get a true gauge on Cincy's big men as U-Conn had little to no inside scoring presence so most of their offense began (and ended) outside as demonstrated by the 30 3-pt shots they hoisted and the 7 free throws U-Conn attempted. That said, Cincy's back line is pretty athletic but might wear down a bit against Purdue's larger centers.
- Against U-Conn, Cincy looked to block a lot of shots. Some they got, some they didn't but they would seem to be prone to the shot fake.
- Cincy played a zone exclusively and U-Conn was able to get some good looks from outside the arc but didn't connect on a lot of them. They still shot a respectable 36.7% for the game. Against Purdue, I'd expect Cincy to sag more in the middle so the good looks should still be there for Purdue's outside shooters.
- Assuming Cincy stays with the zone against Purdue, Davis could have a big game flashing into the middle and a) shooting the midrange jumper b) feeding the centers once the zone collapses, or c) kicking out to a 3 point shooter for an open look.
- Cincy doesn't go real deep into their bench as against U-Conn, their starters all played over 30 minutes and for the season, they are only about 8-9 deep. Them playing zone probably keeps their starters out of foul trouble but it would be something for Purdue to try to exploit and get their big men in foul trouble early.
- In four of the five starting positions, Purdue should be have the size advantage over Cincy. Cincy is probably quicker however. Haas may have some trouble getting his shots off. He's going to have to be very strong with the ball this game.
- Rebounding is going to be key. Keeping Cincy, an offensively challenged team, off of their offensive glass and getting easy buckets and Purdue, just the opposite, needs to get offensive rebounds to keep Cincy playing defense and/or getting some easy put backs.
- There are a couple of common opponents: Cincy beat NCState and lost to Nebraska, both on the road. Purdue beat both of those teams at home. Not sure if there's anything you can take away there.
- Two pretty evenly matched teams, indicative of their 8/9 seeding and one where it's probably going to be a close game throughout. Purdue is favored by Sagarin by 2 which sounds about right.
Forgot to add. Purdue's opened up as a 1/5 point favorite but looking at the odds right now, you could get either Purdue or Cincy as a 1 point favorite depending upon the bookmaker.
This post was edited on 3/16 3:04 AM by CalBoiler
- Hard to get a true gauge on Cincy's big men as U-Conn had little to no inside scoring presence so most of their offense began (and ended) outside as demonstrated by the 30 3-pt shots they hoisted and the 7 free throws U-Conn attempted. That said, Cincy's back line is pretty athletic but might wear down a bit against Purdue's larger centers.
- Against U-Conn, Cincy looked to block a lot of shots. Some they got, some they didn't but they would seem to be prone to the shot fake.
- Cincy played a zone exclusively and U-Conn was able to get some good looks from outside the arc but didn't connect on a lot of them. They still shot a respectable 36.7% for the game. Against Purdue, I'd expect Cincy to sag more in the middle so the good looks should still be there for Purdue's outside shooters.
- Assuming Cincy stays with the zone against Purdue, Davis could have a big game flashing into the middle and a) shooting the midrange jumper b) feeding the centers once the zone collapses, or c) kicking out to a 3 point shooter for an open look.
- Cincy doesn't go real deep into their bench as against U-Conn, their starters all played over 30 minutes and for the season, they are only about 8-9 deep. Them playing zone probably keeps their starters out of foul trouble but it would be something for Purdue to try to exploit and get their big men in foul trouble early.
- In four of the five starting positions, Purdue should be have the size advantage over Cincy. Cincy is probably quicker however. Haas may have some trouble getting his shots off. He's going to have to be very strong with the ball this game.
- Rebounding is going to be key. Keeping Cincy, an offensively challenged team, off of their offensive glass and getting easy buckets and Purdue, just the opposite, needs to get offensive rebounds to keep Cincy playing defense and/or getting some easy put backs.
- There are a couple of common opponents: Cincy beat NCState and lost to Nebraska, both on the road. Purdue beat both of those teams at home. Not sure if there's anything you can take away there.
- Two pretty evenly matched teams, indicative of their 8/9 seeding and one where it's probably going to be a close game throughout. Purdue is favored by Sagarin by 2 which sounds about right.
Forgot to add. Purdue's opened up as a 1/5 point favorite but looking at the odds right now, you could get either Purdue or Cincy as a 1 point favorite depending upon the bookmaker.
This post was edited on 3/16 3:04 AM by CalBoiler
