Game 1: at. Portland November 12, 2010

[Super King]

Also, many of the steals were from substitutes. McCallum and Allen had big steals within minutes of being put in the game.

[Deleted]

And.... I take my statement back about the distribution of minutes tonight. Subjectivity meet Objectivity. Wolf, Carter, Hags (I think deserves more time- what happened with him tonigh to be so benched?), and Souter played a combined total of just 12 minutes. Our best guys were out there.. they just -er, well... weren't all there (esp. on D).

I was wrong about that as being a variable that would have mattered. We just plain sucked.

[milwsport]

We all had such high hopes but from reading the comments here and seeing that we lost by 20 points perhaps our hopes were too high. Good teams aren't supposed to lose by 20.

Maybe it was lightening in a bottle and Portland caught the perfect storm but from what RJ said in his post game, it sounded more like a case of what we didn't do than what they did do.

Now the question is whether or not the players will man up and play to their potential or get discouraged and come back from this road trip below 500.

[Super King]

Like I said, the 20-point loss is deceptive. We dug a huge hole and then essentially played them even. If we started the game off like played at about the ten-minute mark of the first half, it's an entirely different ballgame.

And if we made free throws it's even closer.

[BBFran]

Good teams may not be supposed to lose by 20, but they easily can. Think of Cornell-Wisconsin last year. Sometimes the ball starts rolling downhill and in your haste to stop it you forget what made you a good team in the first place.

Right now we don't have a good team or a bad team. It's too early to tell. We have a collection of talented players who have to decide what they want to be. They could be either. Let's hope they make the right choices.

[milwsport]

That's a good point Fran. I guess I've seen other games when a less talented team starts out fast and the more talented team isn't prepared for it.

Let's hope this is an abberation, not a trend.

[uwmfutbol]

Can't wait to see how many bandwagon fans bolt after this result. Sadly, it doesn't take much with our fan base.

[Deleted]

Nov 12, 2010 22:11:27 GMT -6 uwmfutbol said:

Can't wait to see how many bandwagon fans bolt after this result. Sadly, it doesn't take much with our fan base.

Sadly quoted for truth. Someone else mentioned that an upside about these 3 games in 3 days tournaments is that you don't get time to sit around on losses like this, you get back out there again tomorrow and prove your worth on the court. There is a lot to be improved on tomorrow.

[JG Panthers]

Good point DKelly. Let's hope for a more favorable outcome against FAU...

[purplegeezer]

Tough loss for you guys. but I think you have the core of a good team. it looks like it will just take a while to work thinks out. I think you might be harder on your team on this forum than what Pilot fans thought.

Defense was, I think, the key to the game. we played much quicker team defense coming out of the gate than I think your guys were comfortable playing at. And Sikma is finally really starting to come into his own. He has been either hurt, out of shape from not being able to practice enough, or ill (anemia) for big parts of his career, so his stats bely his ability. He was a pretty dominant force early.

Stohl's points were big, but that was an average game for him. He scored 10 of 15 from 3 point range against Idaho last year, and it's not like teams don't key on him. legend is he doesn't quit practice until he hits 50 in a row. There's video on the web somewhere of him shooting a ball with each hand at the same time from halfcourt and hitting both. Mitrovic has played in the shadows, but he will also be expected to step up and tonight he did. He's also a great shooter.

The surprise for us was the freshman class, They will have to step up for us, because we lost a big chunk of production from last year. We have only had one exhibition, and those kids got 28 points on 10 for 21 shooting, 10 assists, 3 steals, only 3 turnovers, and 12 rebounds - much more production that I, at least, expected. It did make the game a bit ragged, but I think the coach left them in to season them a bit. Freshmen played 72 out of the 200 minutes.

It's early in the year. I watched a pretty good chunk of the FAU - UCD game before I went outside to watch soccer (our UP women won 9-0 in their first tournament game). You should be able to pick up a win against both of those teams. The first game was played at a lot faster pace than the second. I'll be watching you again tomorrow.

Good luck the rest of the season.

[jhart05]

I'm not worried. I know we still have a good team.

Take out the frustration on the next two teams out there and come home 2-1.

[hueyp]

Bad loss. I hope it is not the shape of things to come. While the slow start, both on a game and season level, has become a Hallmark for the Panthers, I was mildly hopeful things would be different this year. Even if Portland turns out to be world beaters, not scoring for the first 7 minutes and getting down 22 in the first half is really a concern, especially after the extra practice and games this summer.

In other news... the Women play Oklahoma, a Final Four team from 2009, today at Klotsche at 1 pm. Come out and support them! Bring a woman you love! I'm bringing my daughter. See you there.

[PantherLou]

Cant really add to what's been said. As was said, its one thing to lose, another thing to get your asses kicked up and down the court.

I'm embarrassed - I hope our guys are too.

[ghostofdylan]

Hard to get the J-S to dispatch a reporter to road games when you get roughed up like this.

[ghostofdylan]

Nov. 19 key game:

13 Kentucky
at Portland
Rose Garden, 9:30 p.m. (ESPNU)