Did not get to see the game but reviewing the box score suggests it was a great all around effort with multiple contributors. Only 5 TO's is impressive, and the shooting seemed to be lights out (FT shooting not so much). Having multiple bigs available (hopefully Smith is gradually healing up) with the usual consistent play of the guards (really hoping Goodine's injury is minor) could make this a very dangerous team in the postseason.
Back from the game which was a tale of two halves. The second half was so much better then the first. Kudos to coach Casey for adjusting on defense with a 3/4 court zone trap and then falling back into a two- three zone. Rider could not handle it and the stags pulled away. Our guards are terrific and along with a front court that is on the mend the stags are set for a very interesting close out of the regular season . So exciting!
Post by nittanystag on Feb 8, 2024 23:58:10 GMT -5
Thought this was probably Seck's best game. Had a couple of strong rebounds, though I hold my breathe whenever he puts the ball on the floor. Looking forward to the day when this team is fully healthy. Great day at the Leo, as the women put on a clinic earlier, too. Which game had higher attendance?
Really excellent win again. Took a literal and figurative punch and didn't waver at all. We dismantled them in the second half
Awesome to finally see Alexis but he is really rusty and can barely jump. Let's hope he finds his legs fast. I love how much the team supports him, this is a really special group.
Jasper Floyd does such an excellent job of making this team go. He is unselfish and gets to where he needs to be without the ball. He created problems for Rider all night.
Back from the game which was a tale of two halves. The second half was so much better then the first. Kudos to coach Casey for adjusting on defense with a 3/4 court zone trap and then falling back into a two- three zone. Rider could not handle it and the stags pulled away. Our guards are terrific and along with a front court that is on the mend the stags are set for a very interesting close out of the regular season . So exciting!
Sounds like a version of the defense we threw at Manhattan in the second half that completely stalled their offense too. Conceptually it makes sense. Teams have top work to get the ball into the frontcourt, melting some seconds off of the shot clock, and then can't attack the rim as we drop into a zone. Plus, the guys seem to play zone fairly well, and it is less taxing on the legs. Every opponent and game flow is different, but I am really enjoying the fact that we have a coach who is analytical and innovative during a game, and a roster that is nimble enough to capably show and play a variety of looks.,
I noticed a couple of times in the first half when Rider was getting ready to inbounds under their basket, their players looked to their bench to see which play Baggett wanted them to run and neither Baggett nor any of the Rider coaches were initially looking at their players. Eventually the players got Baggett’s attention but I sensed a different vibe going on between Baggett and his players and Casey with our players. And yet, the only team to ever beat a Rick Pitino coached Iona team in a MAAC tournament game was a Baggett coached Rider team. Make it make sense.
"We challenged our guys at the half to step up defensively, fight for loose balls and find a way to grind this one out," said Interim Head Coach Chris Casey. "I'm proud of the way that we have battled through this portion of the MAAC schedule, where it's tough opponent after tough opponent and everybody is fighting for every point. The next step is to do it consistently for 40 minutes. That's what can separate teams from the pack as we get down the stretch."
Up next for the #2 Stags (W2)(14-9)(8-4 MAAC) is a Saturday trip to Jersey City with eyes on a season sweep of Saint Peter's at 2 p.m. The #6 Peacocks are (L3)(11-10)(7-5 MAAC).
Without Goodine a 3rd scorer needed to step up and that was Floyd in the second half. He hasn't shot and scored like that since the Yale game. If Goodine ends up being a long-term injury then we'll need to see more of Floyd the scorer than the distributor.
Great to see Yetna and Bleechmore out there. Both them had a better 2nd half than first as they work their way back. They should only get better moving forward. Seck has also really improved game-to-game as he gets more minutes. Hoping Goodine's injury is not serious because when healthy this team is really something.
And Floyd and Leach just continue to deliver at an all-MAAC guard level.
Our three guards played terrific last night. Yes each scored 20 points or more which is impressive. However, what I find really impressive is the three combined had 11 assists and only 1 turnover. If the guards continue to play at this level who knows how high the ceiling will be! Oops sorry, I forgot about one game at a time. I slipped into a bit of stag euphoria . I’ll check into urgent care this AM.
Thought this was probably Seck's best game. Had a couple of strong rebounds, though I hold my breathe whenever he puts the ball on the floor. Looking forward to the day when this team is fully healthy. Great day at the Leo, as the women put on a clinic earlier, too. Which game had higher attendance?
Definitely Birima's best effort yet, certainly something that augers well for his, and by extension the team's future down the stretch of the season. The thing about him is that he is like a young colt on the court just starting to find out what his potential could be. Remember two things about him regarding his time before coming to Fairfield, the first being that such noted programs as Kansas and Texas Tech actually were listed as schools that expressed interest in him before he enrolled at New Mexico. Surely he was considered a "project" by all of them but yet a project worth investing in because of a possible high upside down the road even if he didn't get many minutes when he was with NM. But the second thing to keep in mind was the setback he had with his injury in the fall that tended to slow his development in his initial months with the Stags. So in that way, a guy who needed the reps was unable to do just that. But now that he is fully healthy and starting to get time on the court, improvement such as last evening will become more normal I would hope. And if that is indeed what does in fact happen, he could become a very important piece of the equation in the most important part of the season, and that would be great!
Jasper Floyd does such an excellent job of making this team go. He is unselfish and gets to where he needs to be without the ball. He created problems for Rider all night.
The thing about Jasper is even when he isn't necessarily scoring a lot of points he still has a positive effect on the team because of his many traits he possesses as the "true" dynamic PG the Stags haven't really had in the previous four years. Ball handling, passing, directing the other players on the court in the sets as well as scoring when needed such as last night, added to a great disrupting ability on defense (I call him a "thief") means he is a major contributor to the squad and a godsend to the program. So yes he did indeed create problems for Rider. But the truth is he creates problems for just about everyone else too on a consistent basis.
