11/19 | Nicholls State | 7:00PM (ESPN+/YurView)

[UCH21377]

Fatts is playing at a very high level. Cyril was Focused when he came back in; not fouling; grabbing every rebound in sight. Harris played pretty well with Cyril out. Freshmen showed they were, well, freshmen, with the pressure notched up. But Long and Toppin hung in there pretty good despite the mistakes. We're going to need them. Huge three by Tyrese. Went with smaller lineup at end, probably for defensive reasons. Cox snuck a zone in there once or twice late in the game again. Liked that move.

[PeterRamTime]

The crowd was small but man we were loud. Would not let them give up. Hope we have a better showing next week, but right before Thanksgiving might be tough.

If we sweep this weekend people better show up.

[DC_Rams]

Such a weird game where, you know they are a legit team, but if you lose its semi-devastating since they're Nicholls state.

Yeah, it is quite the mental exercise during the game. You have to keep reminding yourself that the team can play!

[DC_Rams]

The crowd was small but man we were loud. Would not let them give up. Hope we have a better showing next week, but right before Thanksgiving might be tough.

If we sweep this weekend people better show up.

This is going to sound stupid, but I prefer to lose one of the next two, and go into the Providence game with a chip on our shoulder. Winning the next 2-4 in a row is a y’all order, I don’t care who it is.

[SandorClegane]

I think I’m going to find my post about Fatts potential to make 1st team all A10 several weeks back. People were sh*tting on it at the time, but the kid has really stepped up thus far. Rhody needs to continue to grind out wins. Hope you guys bring another pair of underwear to each game..
This is exhausting. Great win.

[PeterRamTime]

Such a weird game where, you know they are a legit team, but if you lose its semi-devastating since they're Nicholls state.

Yeah, it is quite the mental exercise during the game. You have to keep reminding yourself that the team can play!

It was acceptable to struggle against them, but not to lose.

[NYGFan_Section208]

The crowd was small but man we were loud. Would not let them give up. Hope we have a better showing next week, but right before Thanksgiving might be tough.

If we sweep this weekend people better show up.

This is going to sound stupid, but I prefer to lose one of the next two, and go into the Providence game with a chip on our shoulder. Winning the next 2-4 in a row is a y’all order, I don’t care who it is.

Correct, it does.

[HASwatTeam]

The exact college basketball game where you question why you watch this sport the entire time until you see a gut-check win and realize why its all worth it. It may be true that the most impressive thing Fatts did was WILL this team back to life, single-handedly.

[Rhodymob05]

I hope NSU never loses again now.

[rambone 78]

If you had told me we should shoot 19% from 3 and be held even on the boards, I would have said we lose.

But Nicholls was cold from 3 too, and 19-23 from the line was the difference.

This team is finding ways to win....that's what was missing a lot last season, when no one stepped up and took the game by the balls and won it.

[Billyboy78]

Very nice win. That's a pretty good team they beat tonight, a team that plays tough D with some skilled offensive players. Obviously a helluva game for Fatts, not even the 24 points, but breaking down his man and dishing or taking it all the way, often getting fouled, 9-9 from the line. But what I love is him being a pain in the ass on defense using his quick hands and getting steals. He gets burned every once in a while, but I love seeing him being aggressive on that end. I think it was about 7 minutes left and down by 7 when JV got the crowd going. Boy, it got loud in there, and that's with only 4500 fans. I can't imagine what the noise level will be on Dec. 6th. The team really responded to the noise down the stretch, definitely feeding off of it. So, great job by JV. For a reward, the team gets on a plane tomorrow and heads to Jamaica. Sweet.

[DC_Rams]

If we sweep this weekend people better show up.

This is going to sound stupid, but I prefer to lose one of the next two, and go into the Providence game with a chip on our shoulder. Winning the next 2-4 in a row is a y’all order, I don’t care who it is.

Correct, it does.

I know. That’s just the way I think. I like to relieve the pressure beforehand, that way a loss is easier for me to cope with

[Billyboy78]

I forgot to add, Cyril was a man when he came back in in the middle of the 2nd half.

[Rhody15]

Only
Negative tonight was Under 5K after beating Alabama.

Two out of the first three home under 5K?! No good.

Hell of a win.

[CTRamfan]

Great game. Really loud...........They came from 5 point deficits three time. A real gutsy performance.

Nicholls will do much better than their early ranking shows. Really fast team, but we hung in there.
Kudos to Cyril for his level of play the last 10;23.

[NYGFan_Section208]

Only
Negative tonight was Under 5K after beating Alabama.

Two out of the first three home under 5K?! No good.

Hell of a win.

As others have mentioned...it did seem like a really LOUD under 5k crowd.. did it seem that way watching on tv?

[Taylor Swift]

Only
Negative tonight was Under 5K after beating Alabama.

Two out of the first three home under 5K?! No good.

Hell of a win.

But crowd sounded like 10,000+. We can’t rely on fickle people to show up on a Tuesday for what isn’t a big name opponent.

[ram1980]

Tate overall has been doing a good job at being aggressive. Tyrese needs to match his intensity.
[/quote]

Not sure Tyrese has the personality to match anyone's intensity. Not a lot of emotion from him. Played poorly tonight on both ends of court but to his credit hit a monster 3.. love the way fatts is playing. Unlike last year playing hero ball right from the get go, he has done a great job of knowing when to play hero ball and when to get teammates involved. He took over tonight when it was time to in crunch time. Great last 10 minutes from Cyril playing aggressively even with 4 fouls. Decent game from Harris. Lack of Guard depth is concerning..

[NYGFan_Section208]

Tate overall has been doing a good job at being aggressive. Tyrese needs to match his intensity.

Not sure Tyrese has the personality to match anyone's intensity. Not a lot of emotion from him. Played poorly tonight on both ends of court but to his credit hit a monster 3.. love the way fstts is playing. Unlike last year playing hero ball right from the get go, he had done a great job of knowing when to play hero ball and when to get teammates involved. He took over tonight when it was time to in crunch time. Great last 10 minutes from Cyril playing aggressively even with 4 fouls. Decent game from Harris. Lack of Guard depth is concerning..
[/quote]

Whatever they gave Fatts in the locker room after he limped off the floor early...I want some a lot of that.

[ramster]

Just getting back from RC as part of a small but surprisingly noisy crowd. EZBUCKETS and the student section did a great job.

Quality win and should be a top 100 win if Nicholls stays healthy. Quality bunch of mostly transfer players probably one ball handler away from being extremely dangerous.

Nicholls denied the high post entry pass a lot but we overcame it with a great fastbreak offense at times.

Cox coached a fantastic game only one mistake defensively in my mind with Russell stuck on Mclanahan lead to 5 quick points with Dowtin on the bench - luckily didn’t cost us the ball game. Other than that all the right buttons were pushed and the decision to apply full court pressure really exposed the Nicholls State main weakness at crunch time.

One to the Caribbean!

I thought the Coaching Staff blew it when Langevine picked up his 3rd foul at 18:49 and then his 4th at 18:07. Somebody needed to be telling Cox that was Langevine’s 3rd foul at 18:49. Langevine should have been pulled at 18:49. Just 42 seconds later CL was on the bench with 4 fouls and almost an entire 2nd half to play.

Harris did a great job holding things down with CL saddled with 4 fouls.

[Bill Koch]

Full coverage from Nicholls State, including a postgame/web only column on Fatts Russell.

[TruePoint]

Just getting back from RC as part of a small but surprisingly noisy crowd. EZBUCKETS and the student section did a great job.

Quality win and should be a top 100 win if Nicholls stays healthy. Quality bunch of mostly transfer players probably one ball handler away from being extremely dangerous.

Nicholls denied the high post entry pass a lot but we overcame it with a great fastbreak offense at times.

Cox coached a fantastic game only one mistake defensively in my mind with Russell stuck on Mclanahan lead to 5 quick points with Dowtin on the bench - luckily didn’t cost us the ball game. Other than that all the right buttons were pushed and the decision to apply full court pressure really exposed the Nicholls State main weakness at crunch time.

One to the Caribbean!

I thought the Coaching Staff blew it when Langevine picked up his 3rd foul at 18:49 and then his 4th at 18:07. Somebody needed to be telling Cox that was Langevine’s 3rd foul at 18:49. Langevine should have been pulled at 18:49. Just 42 seconds later CL was on the bench with 4 fouls and almost an entire 2nd half to play.

Harris did a great job holding things down with CL saddled with 4 fouls.

I am 100% certain that Cox knew how many fouls Langevine had when he picked up his third. I’m a big proponent of letting guys in foul trouble keep playing in close games, because the worst that can happen is you might lose the guy by rule whereas if you pull him you are losing him anyways - you’re eliminating the potential for disaster by enforcing the disaster on yourself prematurely. Obviously with Cyril tonight you saw exhibit A for the conventional wisdom of pulling the guy with 3, but also you have to trust the player to not pick up another dumb foul immediately. I’m not mad at all at Cox for that decision, even though it couldn’t have turned out any worse in this case.

[ramster]

Just getting back from RC as part of a small but surprisingly noisy crowd. EZBUCKETS and the student section did a great job.

Quality win and should be a top 100 win if Nicholls stays healthy. Quality bunch of mostly transfer players probably one ball handler away from being extremely dangerous.

Nicholls denied the high post entry pass a lot but we overcame it with a great fastbreak offense at times.

Cox coached a fantastic game only one mistake defensively in my mind with Russell stuck on Mclanahan lead to 5 quick points with Dowtin on the bench - luckily didn’t cost us the ball game. Other than that all the right buttons were pushed and the decision to apply full court pressure really exposed the Nicholls State main weakness at crunch time.

One to the Caribbean!

I thought the Coaching Staff blew it when Langevine picked up his 3rd foul at 18:49 and then his 4th at 18:07. Somebody needed to be telling Cox that was Langevine’s 3rd foul at 18:49. Langevine should have been pulled at 18:49. Just 42 seconds later CL was on the bench with 4 fouls and almost an entire 2nd half to play.

Harris did a great job holding things down with CL saddled with 4 fouls.

I am 100% certain that Cox knew how many fouls Langevine had when he picked up his third. I’m a big proponent of letting guys in foul trouble keep playing in close games, because the worst that can happen is you might lose the guy by rule whereas if you pull him you are losing him anyways - you’re eliminating the potential for disaster by enforcing the disaster on yourself prematurely. Obviously with Cyril tonight you saw exhibit A for the conventional wisdom of pulling the guy with 3, but also you have to trust the player to not pick up another dumb foul immediately. I’m not mad at all at Cox for that decision, even though it couldn’t have turned out any worse in this case.

Disagree. Based on the reaction of the Coaches on the bench it was apparent to me that they got caught by surprise. You wouldn’t see that reaction on TV. And I’m not mad at Cox at all, it was just a miss because the second foul came so quickly inside of a minute. It all happened very quickly.

Once Cox took Langevine out with 4 fouls he didn’t put him back in until 8:45, a full 10 minutes later.

[Dino611]

I just need to get this off my skin but those were the most inconsistent refs I’ve seen in my three years as a Uri student

[Billyboy78]

You have to trust your veteran players, seniors, to know to play when in foul trouble. Cox definitely knew he had 3, he called to Cyril and held up 3 fingers. It's always a risk, but one I would always take in a close game.

[ramster]

What were the calls you felt were missed the most?

[TruePoint]

What were the calls you felt were missed the most?

The two that stuck out to me the most on TV were one on Toppin, I think (?), down under the basket on the right block and the ref that called it was standing in front of the bench 35 feet from the play when there was clearly no contact on the replay, and another one by the same ref on Tate late in the game that was a very similar play - he called a shooting foul on a move to the basket where Tate played perfect defense and did not foul him. Those two clear blown calls aside, it was not close to the worst I’ve seen. Really, I’ve never seen a game without a couple of obvious missed calls by the refs. Refs are by nature incompetent, bad and vindictive people, so it’s just part of the game that you have to live with.

[TruePoint]

I thought the Coaching Staff blew it when Langevine picked up his 3rd foul at 18:49 and then his 4th at 18:07. Somebody needed to be telling Cox that was Langevine’s 3rd foul at 18:49. Langevine should have been pulled at 18:49. Just 42 seconds later CL was on the bench with 4 fouls and almost an entire 2nd half to play.

Harris did a great job holding things down with CL saddled with 4 fouls.

I am 100% certain that Cox knew how many fouls Langevine had when he picked up his third. I’m a big proponent of letting guys in foul trouble keep playing in close games, because the worst that can happen is you might lose the guy by rule whereas if you pull him you are losing him anyways - you’re eliminating the potential for disaster by enforcing the disaster on yourself prematurely. Obviously with Cyril tonight you saw exhibit A for the conventional wisdom of pulling the guy with 3, but also you have to trust the player to not pick up another dumb foul immediately. I’m not mad at all at Cox for that decision, even though it couldn’t have turned out any worse in this case.

Disagree. Based on the reaction of the Coaches on the bench it was apparent to me that they got caught by surprise. You wouldn’t see that reaction on TV. And I’m not mad at Cox at all, it was just a miss because the second foul came so quickly inside of a minute. It all happened very quickly.

Once Cox took Langevine out with 4 fouls he didn’t put him back in until 8:45, a full 10 minutes later.

I’d love to know what makes you think they were caught by surprise. I’m sure they reacted to his picking up his fourth so quickly because that sucks, but I’ve never heard of a coach at any level ever not knowing how many fouls everyone has - especially their best players. He sat for the next 10 minutes because he has to with 4 fouls. My point was with 3, if you pull him and then put him back in after 5 minutes and then he picks another one up right away (like he did after they didn’t pull him), you have to take him back out again anyways. You have the same downside either way if he picks up another (about 10 minutes without him in the game), but if you leave him in with 3 you at least have some chance he doesn’t get the 4th one so all the upside is with rolling with the guy with 3 fouls and hoping he doesn’t get the 4th.

ETA: he ended up gambling putting him back so early anyways. A lot of coaches will hold a guy with 4 fouls until 5 minutes left or so, but the game was slipping away and we were getting killed on the defensive glass without him in the game. He had to take the chance he could go 8+ minutes without another foul, and it worked. Credit to Cyril for playing a smart and tough stretch there.

[RhodyFanNotAlum]

I had this team going 7-5 OOC but damn will I be disappointed now if that turns out to be right.

I've also had my doubts about Fatts, but he's making me a believer in a hurry.

Getting fired up for a great season.

[luke]

As has been said , Nicholls State has a very tough defensive unit and some offensive balance . I was expecting a tough game and was it ever .
The Rams really gutted this one out . I agree with those who said this would have been a loss last season That was my first reaction as soon as
the game had ended . FT shooting has been much improved except the Alabama game which just shows how important it is . Very proud of the team
for fighting all night long to come back and get this important win . I have to admit I was worried when they were down 57-50 and time was dwindling
down . Huge plays by Russell , Langevine and Martin in the last couple of minutes to grab the win . My pulse is finally slowing down . Now on to Jamaica .

[TruePoint]

Full coverage from Nicholls State, including a postgame/web only column on Fatts Russell.

Bill, great stuff as usual. I have a question about the origins of a nugget in your Fatts story:

URI is now 17-2 in Russell’s career when he attempts at least five free throws

Did you research this or did it come from the SID? Not asking to force you to show us how the sausage is made, just curious whether or not this is something the team is aware of as far as you know. Seems like an illuminating statistic.

[Taylor Swift]

I had this team going 7-5 OOC but damn will I be disappointed now if that turns out to be right.

I've also had my doubts about Fatts, but he's making me a believer in a hurry.

Getting fired up for a great season.

I don’t see this momentum putting them at 7-5 for OOC. My prediction is 9-3, but a loss won’t be against Fryuhtown.

[Bill Koch]

Full coverage from Nicholls State, including a postgame/web only column on Fatts Russell.

Bill, great stuff as usual. I have a question about the origins of a nugget in your Fatts story:

URI is now 17-2 in Russell’s career when he attempts at least five free throws

Did you research this or did it come from the SID? Not asking to force you to show us how the sausage is made, just curious whether or not this is something the team is aware of as far as you know. Seems like an illuminating statistic.

Being a baseball writer + late nights in hotels = taking a deeper look for statistical trends.

In this case, it was after Maryland. And it involved Dowtin and Russell based on a previous off-hand conversation with a staff member about how they needed the guards to play. https://www.providencejournal.com/sport ... 7-maryland

URI started exactly 12-25 from the field against St. Bonaventure and Maryland. They followed by collapsing offensively in both games. Talent, fatigue, experience, etc. has something to do with it, sure, but how else might they consistently break down opponents? They're not going to make a dozen 3s every night or post some future NBA forward/center with jump hooks over both shoulders for 20-25 points.

That leads to the other most efficient way to score with any sense of regularity -- at the foul line. And since their guards play a ton of minutes and have the ball a lot, I took a closer look at Dowtin and Russell. They had zero combined free throw attempts in that game against the Bonnies. They had just five against LIU and six against Maryland.

Granted, only seven combined against Alabama -- but Russell had five and only took four 3s. He was attacking. It was 11 more against Nicholls State -- nine for Russell, and five 3s attempted. If he's at the line more than he's shooting from deep, that means he's pressuring the defense. They're playing on their heels.

Dowtin can do the same and has at points in his career -- URI is 12-3 when he shoots at least five free throws in a game. He's only taken seven all season. That needs to change regardless of his new role in the offense. If he's able to get downhill going to the rim he should have the length to finish or get fouled. He also has the vision to find baseline cutters or Langevine.

[RhodyKyle]

What were the calls you felt were missed the most?

The two that stuck out to me the most on TV were one on Toppin, I think (?), down under the basket on the right block and the ref that called it was standing in front of the bench 35 feet from the play when there was clearly no contact on the replay, and another one by the same ref on Tate late in the game that was a very similar play - he called a shooting foul on a move to the basket where Tate played perfect defense and did not foul him. Those two clear blown calls aside, it was not close to the worst I’ve seen. Really, I’ve never seen a game without a couple of obvious missed calls by the refs. Refs are by nature incompetent, bad and vindictive people, so it’s just part of the game that you have to live with.

Was that one you mentioned about the move to the basket the same one where they called the and-1 when the NS kid was fouled out by the 3pt line? It was like halfway through the 2nd half.

I'm not sure if even Lebron gets that continuation call. That was horrendous.

[rhodyruckus]

Only
Negative tonight was Under 5K after beating Alabama.

Two out of the first three home under 5K?! No good.

Hell of a win.

As others have mentioned...it did seem like a really LOUD under 5k crowd.. did it seem that way watching on tv?

Yes the noise did come across, it was kind of jarring watching the difference between the crowd shot and noise...typically for whatever reason the crowd noise comes across at a low volume on TV regardless of how it is in arena.

[PeteRI]

Only
Negative tonight was Under 5K after beating Alabama.

Two out of the first three home under 5K?! No good.

Hell of a win.

As others have mentioned...it did seem like a really LOUD under 5k crowd.. did it seem that way watching on tv?

Yes the noise did come across, it was kind of jarring watching the difference between the crowd shot and noise...typically for whatever reason the crowd noise comes across at a low volume on TV regardless of how it is in arena.

I know that I was SCREAMING MY LUNGS OUT BECAUSE THIS TEAM IS SO DAMN EXCITING!

[PeteRI]

Full coverage from Nicholls State, including a postgame/web only column on Fatts Russell.

Bill, great stuff as usual. I have a question about the origins of a nugget in your Fatts story:

URI is now 17-2 in Russell’s career when he attempts at least five free throws

Did you research this or did it come from the SID? Not asking to force you to show us how the sausage is made, just curious whether or not this is something the team is aware of as far as you know. Seems like an illuminating statistic.

Being a baseball writer + late nights in hotels = taking a deeper look for statistical trends.

In this case, it was after Maryland. And it involved Dowtin and Russell based on a previous off-hand conversation with a staff member about how they needed the guards to play. https://www.providencejournal.com/sport ... 7-maryland

URI started exactly 12-25 from the field against St. Bonaventure and Maryland. They followed by collapsing offensively in both games. Talent, fatigue, experience, etc. has something to do with it, sure, but how else might they consistently break down opponents? They're not going to make a dozen 3s every night or post some future NBA forward/center with jump hooks over both shoulders for 20-25 points.

That leads to the other most efficient way to score with any sense of regularity -- at the foul line. And since their guards play a ton of minutes and have the ball a lot, I took a closer look at Dowtin and Russell. They had zero combined free throw attempts in that game against the Bonnies. They had just five against LIU and six against Maryland.

Granted, only seven combined against Alabama -- but Russell had five and only took four 3s. He was attacking. It was 11 more against Nicholls State -- nine for Russell, and five 3s attempted. If he's at the line more than he's shooting from deep, that means he's pressuring the defense. They're playing on their heels.

Dowtin can do the same and has at points in his career -- URI is 12-3 when he shoots at least five free throws in a game. He's only taken seven all season. That needs to change regardless of his new role in the offense. If he's able to get downhill going to the rim he should have the length to finish or get fouled. He also has the vision to find baseline cutters or Langevine.

Great insight. Thanks to our resident ink-stained wretch. (And hopefully our coaches make sure Fatts and Jeff each get at least 5 trips to the stripe.)

[Ram96]

Not surprised this was a tough game. Thankfully they found a way to win. Seemed to will themselves over the finish line. Nice to see the team make their ft's when they needed them. Hope Cox and the players use this as a learning experience. This team will need to bring it every game. There can be no nights off.

Pulled it out despite only shooting 19% from 3-point range and committing 16 turnovers. I think the clutch free throw shooting was key to the victory, especially down the stretch. Hard fought win! Great to see the poise at the end of the game from the upper classmen.

[steviep123]

Full coverage from Nicholls State, including a postgame/web only column on Fatts Russell.

Bill, great stuff as usual. I have a question about the origins of a nugget in your Fatts story:

URI is now 17-2 in Russell’s career when he attempts at least five free throws

Did you research this or did it come from the SID? Not asking to force you to show us how the sausage is made, just curious whether or not this is something the team is aware of as far as you know. Seems like an illuminating statistic.

Being a baseball writer + late nights in hotels = taking a deeper look for statistical trends.

In this case, it was after Maryland. And it involved Dowtin and Russell based on a previous off-hand conversation with a staff member about how they needed the guards to play. https://www.providencejournal.com/sport ... 7-maryland

URI started exactly 12-25 from the field against St. Bonaventure and Maryland. They followed by collapsing offensively in both games. Talent, fatigue, experience, etc. has something to do with it, sure, but how else might they consistently break down opponents? They're not going to make a dozen 3s every night or post some future NBA forward/center with jump hooks over both shoulders for 20-25 points.

That leads to the other most efficient way to score with any sense of regularity -- at the foul line. And since their guards play a ton of minutes and have the ball a lot, I took a closer look at Dowtin and Russell. They had zero combined free throw attempts in that game against the Bonnies. They had just five against LIU and six against Maryland.

Granted, only seven combined against Alabama -- but Russell had five and only took four 3s. He was attacking. It was 11 more against Nicholls State -- nine for Russell, and five 3s attempted. If he's at the line more than he's shooting from deep, that means he's pressuring the defense. They're playing on their heels.

Dowtin can do the same and has at points in his career -- URI is 12-3 when he shoots at least five free throws in a game. He's only taken seven all season. That needs to change regardless of his new role in the offense. If he's able to get downhill going to the rim he should have the length to finish or get fouled. He also has the vision to find baseline cutters or Langevine.

Bill, this is excellent research and work - thanks for sharing and posting your insights here as well as on Twitter. When I'm not at the Ryan Center, it's always fun to follow you on Twitter during the game to get your insight as things are happening. I know that's become part of the job as a sport writer these days, but it certainly is valuable to fans during the game.

[steveystuds06]

The crowd was small but man we were loud. Would not let them give up. Hope we have a better showing next week, but right before Thanksgiving might be tough.

If we sweep this weekend people better show up.

This is going to sound stupid, but I prefer to lose one of the next two, and go into the Providence game with a chip on our shoulder. Winning the next 2-4 in a row is a y’all order, I don’t care who it is.

I've seen some crazy posts on here, but I've never seen a fan want us to lose a game. I think playing our rival in a sold out Ryan Center will be enough motivation.

[Sox1]

Jermaine Harris played mean down the stretch! He did a good job at getting to the rim strong and for the first time that I can remember, was ripping down boards. Can not figure out why Tate played the last few minutes of the game, but im sure there was a reason. I'm also totally OK with Harris taking open 3s. His shot looked good the last two games and they were all close (in comparison to some we've seen from Tyrese, Fatts, etc). He could have hit all of them with a slight difference in the wind - and as an added bonus he plays 100% better after a few points and no fouls under his belt.

Long was interesting with the two worst shots of the game, but recovered quickly after both with a very impressive 3 and putback. Freshman look like freshman, but so far he and Toppin look like they could be something to build on. Need Tyrese to be more consistent and I'll get real excited.

[bigappleram]

Agree on Tyrese. Need him to get going, we can become very dangerous with a 4th consistent scorer joining our Core 3. And while they have both had really strong stretches in certain games, Cyril and Jeff are still not performing as consistently as they have in the past. That will come around, no doubt. Reason to feel bullish, have to avoid injury.

[PeteRI]

Very encouraged by Jermaine's play last night. I don't think he got a single foul all game! One area I still want to see improvement is rim protection. It seemed like Nicholls players were blowing right past him.

[Blue Man]

Jermaine definitely played a better game on the offensive end - and his body control was great to see. I'd like to see him find the happy medium though, as there were times he was a bit too standoffish in the paint defensively. I'm fine with fouls under the hoop that prevent easy baskets - Jermaine's issue is the fouls that are 15-20 feet away. If he can find that happy medium and foul efficiently, he's going to be a huge difference maker down the stretch.

That being said - not enough is being made about how this is a game this team DEFINITELY loses last year. So was Alabama.

The defensive intensity when you blow leads and give up runs is so refreshing to see. No one with their heads down and the upperclassmen LEADING by example. In both Bama and last night's games - we watched big leads evaporate and have the potential to derail this team's confidence and force us to give in. Especially after exactly that happened against Maryland.

I'm so encouraged and I think the team is starting to believe that they're going to win games.

Cox is clearly pressing the right buttons and the kids are gaining confidence in themselves and his decisions. Both against Bama and last night, the players at the press conference have a made a point to say that Cox told them "exactly what was going to happen" and that they were trusting him and executing on those decisions.

Whether it was the Cyril slip-screen last night or the high-post opening against Bama - I'm really starting to love Cox as a basketball mind. He might not be the firey asshole that Danny is to get everyone fired up -but man oh man does he understand this game at a level I didn't know. Fired the F up for the rest of this year.

[eli#10]

There is no question that Cyril had a great final 10 minutes of the game and that Fatts had a spectacular 35 minutes. His performance was a definition of "stuffing the stat sheet".
One very important shot of the game that cannot be overlooked and really has not been written about is Tyrese's 3 pointer that gave us the lead with less than 2 minutes to go. Huge shot that served as the impetus for the rest of the game that we clearly dominated.

[Rhody Guy]

Hasn't been said yet, but I think Harris' extended run had him a little winded. Another poster mentioned earlier that they thought Harris needed to hustle back quicker on D which I think is a lack of focus occasionally, but last night he just looked gassed halfway through the second half. Hedged out nicely then got caught walking back to his guy instead of beating the pass there.

[PeterRamTime]

Jermaine Harris played mean down the stretch! He did a good job at getting to the rim strong and for the first time that I can remember, was ripping down boards. Can not figure out why Tate played the last few minutes of the game, but im sure there was a reason. I'm also totally OK with Harris taking open 3s. His shot looked good the last two games and they were all close (in comparison to some we've seen from Tyrese, Fatts, etc). He could have hit all of them with a slight difference in the wind - and as an added bonus he plays 100% better after a few points and no fouls under his belt.

Long was interesting with the two worst shots of the game, but recovered quickly after both with a very impressive 3 and putback. Freshman look like freshman, but so far he and Toppin look like they could be something to build on. Need Tyrese to be more consistent and I'll get real excited.

Yeah I wanted Harris in the game at the end!

Tate was getting posted up!

Since Jermaine was having such a great game I was surprised he wasnt thrown out there at the end.

Maybe they're afraid of mental lapses on defense.

[4Diffs]

Great job by Fatts. He has really become the player I expected him to be last year. Give him and the coaching staff a lot of credit for sticking with each other and putting in the work to get to this point.

Gutsy win, not pretty at all, just gritted it out. Need Jeff and Cyril to play better going forward period. Jeff has been wildly inconsistent this year and from our senior point guard, we need better play. And I know most of you love Cyril, but I am more with Blue Man on his play. I know Blue Man got blasted for his take, but I agree with most of it. Cyril is a very good athlete who plays hard, but has no offensive moves at all in the low post and is a turnover machine. And really for a senior to get his third and fourth fouls the way he did in the first two minutes of the second half is highly disappointing. His third foul he is trying to steal the ball at the top of the key, and then comes down on the very next play and climbs the back of a Nichols player. Come on Man. Need to be smarter than that. Very lucky to win that game in large part due to his foul issues. And Cox clearly knew he had three fouls. He thought he could trust his Senior to play with three but the confidence was not rewarded.

Hope they do well in Jamaica. Hopefully they beat North Texas. I have seen LSU play three times. I give Rhody very little chance to win that game, they are big and physical inside and play a zone when needed. Bad match up for Rhode Island.

And Koch's point about foul shots above is correct and it goes doubly for Tyrese Martin. An athletic six foot six wing, and he has taken four foul shots in four games. He needs to get to the line more. Take the ball to the basket with a little authority, instead of settling for three point jump shots and fading away from contact when you do go to the rim. But I will tip my cap to him on that late three, that was a huge and necessary shot. Same with Tate. He only had two points, but the shot he made at the time he made it was huge. I think they were down five or six with less than six to play, and he took the ball to the paint and hit a nice turn around jumper and helped to turn the tide.

[Rhodyram]

Overall I thought Jermaine had a decent game. I definitely think he was tentative and shied away from contact on defense to avoid fouls- almost making him non-existent/a liability on that end of the floor. I try to watch his game closely and he's showing improvement, but its going to take a while longer.

[ElmCityRhody]

jermaine needs to keep fighting and keep at it

he clearly has talent - i think that is why we are all pulling for him

he has a soft touch as long as he stays away from the 3s...

i would set picks for him and set him up for a catch and shoot facing the basket 10 feet out

i think he would thrive there