I think we're a little higher than expected this year IMO. I expect R32 or S16 to be the ceiling for this team, anything beyond R32 is just bonus basketball.
Fundamentally we're flawed we have had some very bad evaluations on Bigs lately and even some of the Guards we've brought in (Bethea) are not looking like great Evaluations. I'm worried about the defense, I know the offense causes issues on the defensive side but we should and could be better there with adjustments.
We need a big man, Cliff was a good big man, physical knew how to finish at the rim and knew when to be soft and when to be hard with the take. Sherrel is soft on every take, he's had multiple slams get knocked out of his hands which shows he's being soft going upwards. You don't let your grip start to fade until the ball is in the hoop.
Tournament tends to change things for referees but man they let Ole Miss get away with a LOT of holding off screens. They stuck to a very ultra physical defense that required holding, bumping and pushing. Multiple times I saw a Bama rebounder go tumbling to the ground during rebounds with 0 calls. I think Oats and company need to be better at reading the refs. If they're letting the other team get away with it, then ratch up your physical side as well.
Offensively, just poor management this year on offense has cost us some. We want to drive it into the lane, we are constantly crowded and the guy tires to figure out where to go afterwards. Have an idea in mind, if this guy comes down on me, I'll kick it out to his wide open man. I think things can be fixed but they haven't been throughout the season so ultimately I'm not very high on this team going into the tournament. Could they make some noise? I think they could, that 8-0 span shows what they are capable of if they're shooting well and sharing the rock while playing at least to the standard on defense. However, we're entering kinda cold and we're looking lost defensively and offensively at the same time, not a good recipe for post season play. I wouldn't be shocked by a R1 exit with this team. I think we're just too talented to go out that early but you never know.
