Jimmy
newbie
Posts: 34
Loc: Winston-Salem, NC
Reg: 12-14-04
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02-19-06 02:13 AM - Post#15937
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. We sweep the P's for the first time since '01! Maybe this is the big turnaround for the program that we've all been waiting for. What a great weekend for the team.
It seems like everything clicked all at once this weekend. All the things that have killed us all season -- perimeter defense, turnovers, dumb fouls -- were drastically improved. And Justin Armstrong ... I don't even know what to say about Justin Armstrong.
Kudos to Jones for two very well-coached games. He clearly had the team ready to play with grit and heart, and they did. These were not fluke victories. We outplayed Penn, and then we outplayed Princeton. It sure is fun to be a spoiler against the two giants.
I just wish I were on campus to celebrate. Have fun partying, everyone. Go Lions!
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Big R&B Truth
Masters Student
Posts: 427
Loc: Back Waters of New Englan...
Reg: 11-23-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 03:08 AM - Post#15938
In response to Jimmy
Quote:
I just wish I were on campus to celebrate. Have fun partying, everyone. Go Lions!
Do students at Columbia actually care about the BBall program?
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Dr. V
PhD Student
Posts: 1539
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 03:23 AM - Post#15939
In response to Jimmy
Another great win! And, it's fascinating to watch us claw our way over the hump, the hump of course being a mental rather than physical phenomenon.
Another great job by Jones. To my amazement, we played a pretty good man to man. I was amazed because we played a very good zone yesterday and because our man has in the past been mediocre to terrible. This means that Jones and his staff successfully prepared the team to play two different defenses well on successive nights.
Jones also seems to be developing a sense of when to pull which strings re rotations. He was careful not to exhaust Brett, at the price of putting in Sweet at PG--which often causes me to hide my head in my hands--but kept Brett in at SG for part of the time that he had Sweet spell him at PG, and Brett hit 4 threes. Lastly, Jones played the last defensive series just right. When Princeton got the ball we immediately trapped Greenman, who had scored 17 in the second half and is just uncanny at times, who had to pass to Savage whom we fouled right away. Savage missed the one and one and we got the rebound.
Armstrong had a great and then a very good game on consecutive nights, scoring 38 for the weekend, and should be Ivy player of the week. After fumbling the first couple of passes inside, Baumann made strong inside moves, was fouled repeatedly and made all of his foul shots. Montgomery continues to look good. Cuff seems to have lost all of his confidence; Kravic is Kravic, some good plays and some bone-headed plays.
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Jimmy
newbie
Posts: 34
Loc: Winston-Salem, NC
Reg: 12-14-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 03:33 AM - Post#15940
In response to Big R&B Truth
Quote:
Do students at Columbia actually care about the BBall program?
Many don't, of course, but a lot of students definitely do. In fact, I might venture that over the last few years -- since we got Jones -- there has been more student support for the basketball program than at any other Ivy save the Ps. Perhaps Yale has more student support, too. But the point is: the Lions definitely do have a small but significant student fan base. I'm the first to wish our fans could be like Penn's, but it's hard to ask for much more from Columbia students given our atrocious gym, our many years of very bad teams, and the lure of New York City on Fri. and Sat. nights.
I'm told that after the Penn-Princeton sweep in 2001, the campus went absolutely nuts. I didn't enroll at Columbia until that fall, and now I've graduated a year too early to see the '06 sweep. Too bad; I would have loved to be there.
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Jimmy
newbie
Posts: 34
Loc: Winston-Salem, NC
Reg: 12-14-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 03:45 AM - Post#15941
In response to Jimmy
Dr. V, I completely agree on the "hump" phenomenon. Hopefully we are over it for good, and we can build on these wins next weekend and, more importantly, next year.
Also agree about Jones. From the radio broadcasts, it seemed like he coached these games perfectly. He made all the right moves, and the team just seemed psychologically tougher. We did not fold when Penn and Princeton went on their runs, and unlike so many other games this season, we did not collapse into silly mistakes at the end of either game. Just one quibble with the coaching: I could be wrong, but I believe Kravic, not Ben, was on the floor at the very end against Princeton. That seemed curious to me. Anybody know why?
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Stuart Suss
PhD Student
Posts: 1439
Loc: Chester County, Pennsylva...
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 06:55 AM - Post#15942
In response to Jimmy
This was an amazingly enjoyable game. The lead changed hands 10 times in the final 10 minutes. Princeton makes 13 of 17 shots while coming back from 10 and 11 point defecits. Princeton goes 32 consecutive possessions without a turnover. The only Princeton turnover in the final 25 minutes of the game is a Luke Owings' offensive foul with 1:43 remaining. For the game, Columbia has 20 turnovers, Princeton has 9.
Kravic starts in place of Big Ben in the second half, and Ben plays only 6:23 in the half. I did not attend the post-game press conference, so I don't know if Coach Jones was asked the reason. From what I saw, Justin Conway was repeatedly driving by Ben on the way to the basket. Columbia was also having trouble getting the ball inside against Princeton's match-up zone. Perhaps it was felt that Kravic's outside threat was more needed.
Columbia overcomes the 20-9 turnover differential by shooting 63.0% for the game and 61.5% (8 for 13) from beyond the arc. Brett Loscalzo makes 4 key 3 pointers.
Columbia trails by 4 with 2:21 remaining. Kravic is fouled in the act of shooting a 3, he misses both the first and last foul shot. On the ensuing possession, Owings is called for the offensive foul. On Columbia's possession, the ball is passed inside to Baumann, who is fouled by Buffmire. It is double bonus, and Baumann makes both foul shots.
It is now 62-61 Princeton with 1:31 remaining. Scott Greenman blows by Brett Loscalzo, who fouls him. Greenman makes both ends of the 1 and 1, and Princeton leads 64-61 with 0:59 remaining.
Then Justin Armstrong steps up. He drives to the basket, scores, and is fouled by Buffmire. Justin misses the foul shot which would have tied the game.
Princeton leads by one point. There is about a 9 second differential between the shot clock and the game clock. Columbia has to decide whether to play for the defensive stop, and hope to score in 9 seconds, or to give the foul. Kravic fouls Noah Savage with 0:26.7 left. Savage misses the front end of the 1 and 1.
Columbia takes a time out with 0:21.2 remaining. Justin Armstrong has the ball on the baseline, drives, stops, rises up, and buries the shot with 10 seconds left.
Princeton does not call time out, Greenman drives the ball down the lane, dishes to Savage in the corner on the Broadway side of Levien, Savage misses the shot and time runs out during the battle for the rebound.
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Dr. V
PhD Student
Posts: 1539
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: IT'S A SWEEP!
02-19-06 02:33 PM - Post#15943
In response to Jimmy
My best guess re Kravic over Ben in this particular game is that Kravic is more mobile, and we were playing man D. In the first half, there was a play in which the Princeton "center," who was 6'4", had his back to the basket at the foul line with Ben guarding him from behind; he pivoted an was by Ben to the basket before Ben could turn.
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