SLU-Savannah State in review
I’ll update this with some quotes later, but here’s some of the nuts and bolts of the game.
All in all, not a bad showing for SLU, but how Savannah State led by 20 points over Michigan is a bit mysterious. It was a good job on defense for SLU, holding Savannah State to 13 points in the first half. (That’s the fewest points in a half for a SLU opponent since at least 2005-06. (UMSL had 14 in the second half in the opener.) SLU’s 31-point lead in the second half was the most its been up since leading Houston Baptist by 36 last season. Again, it’s the biggest lead at least since 2005-06. (That’s as far back as I have numbers like that available.)
This was one of the most even distributions of minutes for SLU this season. Lisch and Liddell both played 30 minutes or less. Of the first nine, Thompson was the low at 13, Lisch the high at 30. SLU’s margin made that possible, and there also didn’t seem to be any bad matchups for SLU that consigned anyone to the bench. There were several stretches where both Lisch and Liddell were on the bench, which hasn’t happened much so far. But Majerus never got to having five freshmen on the court. When Lisch and Liddell were sitting, Eberhardt was always out there. And when the three seniors were all sitting at the end, Paul Eckerle was on the court.
I doubt Majerus cares, but if SLU had lost, it would have been the first time he’d lost four straight games in his coaching career.
The attendance was 6,152, which all things considered was probably not bad for a nonconference Saturday night game on a freezing night up against the Big 12 championship game. The student turnout continues to be strong.
One thing that wasn’t good was their free throw shooting. SLU shot 66.7 percent from the line. Willie Reed made 3 of 6 at the line, Barry Eberhardt made 2 of 4. Savannah State was somehow worse, shooting 42.9 at the line.
SLU shot 41.9 percent from the floor. That’s their second best shooting performance this season. That’s not good.
SLU’s 12 steals were the most since it had 13 against Western Illinois two years ago.
Savannah State had 19 turnovers and 5 assists. I had to go back to 2005-06 to find a game that bad for a SLU opponent. It was UMass, in a 50-48 SLU win.
Kevin Lisch moved into 12th on the all-time SLU scoring list with 14 points and he should be in ninth pretty soon. He’s at 1,336. Ahead is Luther Burden at 1,349, Marque Perry at 1,358 and Joe Wiley at 1,368. He should get those 32 points in probably three games. Maybe 2. At his current rate, he would finish the regular season with 1,658 points, which would put him 45 behind Scott Highmark for fifth all-time. He’d probably need three games beyond that to catch him.
Kwamain Mitchell had four assists and four turnovers. He’s making plays happen, but he’s got to get his turnovers down. He’s had four or more in five of seven games this season.
Kyle Cassity went 0 for 2 and is at 2 for 15 on the season.
Brett Thompson had six rebounds in 13 minutes.
Willie Reed got his first start — and SLU won its first jumpball of the season. Reed was 2 of 7 from the field. Four of the misses were from within about 4 feet.
The plus-minus numbers off the game were interesting. There was a very big spread and, most unusually, a big spread between Lisch and Liddell, whose numbers are usually pretty close since they’re on the court together so much. Some of the game’s bigger runs took place with Liddell on the bench.
Lisch +23
Mitchell +19
Eberhardt +19
Thompson +13
Cassity +11
Liddell +6
Conklin +4
Cotto +2
Reed 0
Eckerle -7
Tom, what was the deal with all the crazy substitutions in the early going? Even Guy Phillips was completely confused and not without cause. I assumed it would’ve been difficult to keep track of +/- with all the substituting, no?
Stay off Cassity’s butt. He is a passer before hes a shooter and majerus knew this when he signed him. He has been passing pretty well as I can recall. Besides, its RM’s fault that he didnt red shirt him in the first place.
I asked Majerus about the substitutions, because it seemed to me he was using different combinations on the floor, and he said they were just playing “fouls, fatigue and matchups.” And then he termed it a “non-issue,” which struck me as odd because I didn’t think I was making it an issue with my question. Since there weren’t many fouls, it was no doubt fatigue and matchups, probably mostly matchups. I think there were certain people on Savannah State they wanted certain people on the court for.
Also, absent foul trouble and bad matchups, Majerus had all nine players at his disposal. In the past, Brett or Barry or Ruben have been out of the loop for some reason. On Saturday, everyone was available.
As for plus-minus, the biggest challenge is substitutes made during timeouts because there isn’t a horn. A guy will run to the table during a break, wave at the scorer, and then run back to the huddle, and if you’re not watching, you’ll miss it.
As for Cassity, I don’t think I’m on his butt. I’m just pointing out he hasn’t made a shot, which I think the numbers will back me up on. These things can become psychological at some point, though Kyle isn’t showing signs of that yet. Said Majerus after the game about Cassity:
“He’s learning. He’s playing better D. His body has got to catch up. The pace of the game and the physcialness of it, he’s got an immature body, he recognizes that. He shaves very rarely. He needs strength … to play at this level, literally. He played very well at Southern, he played a good defensive game tonight. I wish he could knock down a shot because his shots are good and he’s a good shooter. I thought his block out was pretty good tonight. They’re all a little bit hesitant. They’re all freshmen.”
I like the substitution rate in the Savannah State game. With a young team it is good to get them in and out so a player does not have too long to brood over a mistake before he can redeem himself. Also with longer bench time, especially after a longer court time, there’s too much recovery from fatigue and too little concentration on the game. Majerus has expressed concern about his young team’s stamina and intensity, and one remedy is a higher substituion rate. It appeared to me that RM had a game plan and executed it.