Same story for the UT Arlington women's basketball team after another close loss, 54-49, to Texas State yesterday. I won't spend any time repeating myself, read past posts if you want to hear me talk about how the team doesn't have depth or have come so close to having more than a handful of wins or any other cliche.
As it stands now, UTA is 3-20 on the year and 2-10 in the Sun Belt Conference. So what I will do today is list all the second half leads UTA has held and the point in which the opponent took the lead for good (I will note if that took place in regulation or OT).
11-8 at Houston Baptist, 15:07
11-14 Incarnate Word, 2:06
11-24 Virginia Commonwealth, 4:56 in OT
11-27 Abilene Christian, 14:54
12-4 North Texas, 10:15
12-18 at Texas-Pan American, 13:16
1-2 Arkansas State, 2:52
1-11 at Louisiana-Lafayette, 1:30
1-25 South Alabama, 0:09 in OT
2-12 at Louisiana-Monroe, 2:10
2-15 Texas State, 1:32
That's 11 games where they were in it. A couple of other games finished within a couple of possessions but they never had a second half lead. In the end, a loss is a loss. Yet, the silver lining is that they may be the best 3-20 team in the country.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Rise of the D
I mentioned last post that after UT Arlington dropped games against teams at the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings, they really needed to pick up wins against Louisiana-Monroe on the road and Texas State at home. While not every minute of the two games were great, the outcomes of the two games were what they needed to be for the Mavs, UTA wins.
Against the Warhawks in Monroe on Thursday, the Mavericks played one of the best all-around games of the season. It was reminiscent of the Troy game where UTA never gave up big runs, never let up the intensity and did what this team is capable of, beating any team in the Sun Belt conference.
With the win, UTA did something not often done. All-time, UTA was 4-28 in Monroe entering Thursday. Fant-Ewing Coliseum has never been friendly to the Mavs. Even with Thursday's win, UTA has just won 15% of the time there But for this season, they are undefeated in Monroe, and that is all that matters.
UTA has played ULM more than once quite often in their history, most as conference mates, some being just single-season home-and-home's. ULM had swept UTA during the regular season 17 times. The teams have split five times. With Thursday win, UTA has now swept Monroe for the fourth time.
Now understand these are two different teams then from now. ULM was a regional power, especially in the 80's and 90's. But due to various reasons, they just aren't what they once were. They haven't had a winning record at home for the last three full seasons. So far this year, though they are 5-5 with winnable games against the eighth and tenth (last) place teams left at Fant-Ewing.
Conversely, UTA is no longer the pushover it once was either. ULM's first season in the Southland Conference was UTA's first losing season after three winning years under Coach Bob "Snake" LeGrand. UTA would then embark on a streak of 14 losing seasons out of 17. Things would get better around the turn of the century and ULM would start a small decline, but they would leave the SLC before Coach Scott Cross andd his five winning seasons in seven years. In short, ULM is worse than they have been historically and UTA is better.
Nevertheless, UTA's win in Monroe was a rarity and kept the hopes of the Mavericks season alive at least until Saturday when UTA played rival Texas State.
There has always been something between UTA fans and Danny Kaspar, primarily because he was the coach at SFA, which was UTA's primary rival during the mid '90's and '00's. But with Texas State now being the Mavericks most continuous opponent as conference realignment moved the Mavs and Bobcats into two new conferences since their departure from the SLC two years ago, the SFA rivalry has cooled. Kaspar was a good hire for his basketball acumen for Texas State, but it will help the UTA-Texas State rivalry too.
Moving to Saturday's game, UTA's offense looked very flat to start the half, but luckily their defense was playing well. Going into the half, UTA scored just 25 points and trailed by eight.
The offense finally found their groove after the break. UTA hit 59% of their field goals in the second, compared to 30% in the previous half. In addition, the Mavs were hitting shots from behind the arc, 70% in the second after a 1-5 performance in the initial half.
Despite brief lapses periodically, the D won the game for UTA. They kept the score close in the first, despite the lack of offensive output. In the second, the pressure during the early part of the period was a key in the run that would give UTA the lead permanently. If UTA can keep the defensive intensity they showed this past week up, they will be poised to make a good run to end the season.
That run starts with a very big road trip this week. Thursday is a visit to Jonesboro to take on the fourth-place Red Wolves. The team is geared up for this one after a close first half at CPC turned into a laugher as Arkansas State embarrassed UTA.
After that is the fifth-place and slumping Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. They beat UTA at CPC on a buzzer beater and were poised to be an upper level SBC team. However, they have lost four in a row, three to the current top three teams in the league. They will also have a week off before they see UTA on their home floor.
These games are crucial to seeding in the tournament. Two wins and UTA is guaranteed to move up a slot to fifth, and possibly a tie for fourth. When it comes to the conference tournament, the top two seeds get a double bye, meaning they only have to win two games for the NCAA auto-bid. The next two get a bye, while the fifth through eighth teams have to win four games against increasingly tougher competition.
After that, road games at Troy and South Alabama and home contests against Georgia State and Western Kentucky close out the season. Nothing is guaranteed, but I sure would like to have some positioning secured before the top two teams in the conference come to College Park Center.
Against the Warhawks in Monroe on Thursday, the Mavericks played one of the best all-around games of the season. It was reminiscent of the Troy game where UTA never gave up big runs, never let up the intensity and did what this team is capable of, beating any team in the Sun Belt conference.
With the win, UTA did something not often done. All-time, UTA was 4-28 in Monroe entering Thursday. Fant-Ewing Coliseum has never been friendly to the Mavs. Even with Thursday's win, UTA has just won 15% of the time there But for this season, they are undefeated in Monroe, and that is all that matters.
UTA has played ULM more than once quite often in their history, most as conference mates, some being just single-season home-and-home's. ULM had swept UTA during the regular season 17 times. The teams have split five times. With Thursday win, UTA has now swept Monroe for the fourth time.
Now understand these are two different teams then from now. ULM was a regional power, especially in the 80's and 90's. But due to various reasons, they just aren't what they once were. They haven't had a winning record at home for the last three full seasons. So far this year, though they are 5-5 with winnable games against the eighth and tenth (last) place teams left at Fant-Ewing.
Conversely, UTA is no longer the pushover it once was either. ULM's first season in the Southland Conference was UTA's first losing season after three winning years under Coach Bob "Snake" LeGrand. UTA would then embark on a streak of 14 losing seasons out of 17. Things would get better around the turn of the century and ULM would start a small decline, but they would leave the SLC before Coach Scott Cross andd his five winning seasons in seven years. In short, ULM is worse than they have been historically and UTA is better.
Nevertheless, UTA's win in Monroe was a rarity and kept the hopes of the Mavericks season alive at least until Saturday when UTA played rival Texas State.
There has always been something between UTA fans and Danny Kaspar, primarily because he was the coach at SFA, which was UTA's primary rival during the mid '90's and '00's. But with Texas State now being the Mavericks most continuous opponent as conference realignment moved the Mavs and Bobcats into two new conferences since their departure from the SLC two years ago, the SFA rivalry has cooled. Kaspar was a good hire for his basketball acumen for Texas State, but it will help the UTA-Texas State rivalry too.
Moving to Saturday's game, UTA's offense looked very flat to start the half, but luckily their defense was playing well. Going into the half, UTA scored just 25 points and trailed by eight.
The offense finally found their groove after the break. UTA hit 59% of their field goals in the second, compared to 30% in the previous half. In addition, the Mavs were hitting shots from behind the arc, 70% in the second after a 1-5 performance in the initial half.
Despite brief lapses periodically, the D won the game for UTA. They kept the score close in the first, despite the lack of offensive output. In the second, the pressure during the early part of the period was a key in the run that would give UTA the lead permanently. If UTA can keep the defensive intensity they showed this past week up, they will be poised to make a good run to end the season.
That run starts with a very big road trip this week. Thursday is a visit to Jonesboro to take on the fourth-place Red Wolves. The team is geared up for this one after a close first half at CPC turned into a laugher as Arkansas State embarrassed UTA.
After that is the fifth-place and slumping Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. They beat UTA at CPC on a buzzer beater and were poised to be an upper level SBC team. However, they have lost four in a row, three to the current top three teams in the league. They will also have a week off before they see UTA on their home floor.
These games are crucial to seeding in the tournament. Two wins and UTA is guaranteed to move up a slot to fifth, and possibly a tie for fourth. When it comes to the conference tournament, the top two seeds get a double bye, meaning they only have to win two games for the NCAA auto-bid. The next two get a bye, while the fifth through eighth teams have to win four games against increasingly tougher competition.
After that, road games at Troy and South Alabama and home contests against Georgia State and Western Kentucky close out the season. Nothing is guaranteed, but I sure would like to have some positioning secured before the top two teams in the conference come to College Park Center.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Talent but not Team
Before I get back to it, I need to get a disclaimer out. I just started a new career at the end of January that will require extensive training both during work ours and after. I will still attempt to crank out a weekly synopsis, but can't guarantee anything.
That said, wow, what a tough couple of weeks for the UT Arlington men's basketball team. They lost a game at Western Kentucky after having a large second half lead. Then at Georgia State, same story. GSU hit a wide-open three just before the buzzer to send it to OT. There the Panthers just put UTA to the wood chipper.
Then, back at College Park Center, you'd think UTA, which was so close to beating the top two teams of the conference on the road, would put up a better performance against a middle of the pack team in Louisiana-Lafayette. Nope. UL-L turned a 13-13 game into a 40-15 affair. UTA would get it close at nine in the second half, before the Cajuns put two three's and a layup on the board. Don't be fooled by the 92-89 score. It was a furious rally late, helped in large part by many missed free throws from UL-L, UTA was blown out.
This has been the most confusing of seasons. How can UTA come up just short against numerous types of teams. Single digit losses to Oklahoma and Texas, both recently ranked, Robert Morris, Eastern Michigan, Arkansas-Little Rock, WKU, GSU and now UL-L. The only common factor is what I have mentioned before. The Mavs will play solid for 30 minutes, but the missing ten are so poor that it leaves them just out of range of a comeback. The last minute three that Reger Dowell hit was in a tie game and one where they never trailed by a large margin.
Meanwhile UTA's opponent has trailed by large margins many times this year and completed a comeback. I think part of the issue is that UTA doesn't have a large presence underneath. 7'0" Stuart Lagerson is no longer on the team. Even when he was, he was ineffective. Junior Anthony Walker (6'9", 210) and Brandon Williams (6'10", 200) don't have the mass to effectively battle underneath consistently. Each has shown flashes of talent, but not enough to sustain it over the course of a full game. Brandon Edwards is effective, but at 6'6" he has to hustle for everything. Without help, I believe his potential is lessened.
UTA is talent heavy at the guard positions. However, I see a lot of individuality at times, especially when the other team makes a run. Instead of staying in team mode, they try to shoulder the load themselves.
Bottom line, this is a group full of good to great talent, but this is not a good team.
Up next is the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in Monroe on Thursday. Saturday is the getting warmer rivalry between the Mavs and the Texas State Bobcats. With Danny Kaspar, already a favorite target of the UTA students, moving to Texas State, it seems that both geography and history will keep this one going.
These are needed wins for UTA. The Mavs are sitting at 4-6, ties with Monroe at 4-6. They played at CPC earlier and UTA won it in OT. However, UTA is only 2-9 on the road this year. A game back in the standings is Texas State at 3-7. UTA won in San Marcos, and have had the 'Cats number in recent years. Kaspar has the team playing much better of late, but he is still lacking players to fit his system and depth.
A loss to these two will not only hurt UTA in the standings, it will give a win to teams beside them and at their heels. Losses could put a berth in the conference tournament in danger.
That said, wow, what a tough couple of weeks for the UT Arlington men's basketball team. They lost a game at Western Kentucky after having a large second half lead. Then at Georgia State, same story. GSU hit a wide-open three just before the buzzer to send it to OT. There the Panthers just put UTA to the wood chipper.
Then, back at College Park Center, you'd think UTA, which was so close to beating the top two teams of the conference on the road, would put up a better performance against a middle of the pack team in Louisiana-Lafayette. Nope. UL-L turned a 13-13 game into a 40-15 affair. UTA would get it close at nine in the second half, before the Cajuns put two three's and a layup on the board. Don't be fooled by the 92-89 score. It was a furious rally late, helped in large part by many missed free throws from UL-L, UTA was blown out.
This has been the most confusing of seasons. How can UTA come up just short against numerous types of teams. Single digit losses to Oklahoma and Texas, both recently ranked, Robert Morris, Eastern Michigan, Arkansas-Little Rock, WKU, GSU and now UL-L. The only common factor is what I have mentioned before. The Mavs will play solid for 30 minutes, but the missing ten are so poor that it leaves them just out of range of a comeback. The last minute three that Reger Dowell hit was in a tie game and one where they never trailed by a large margin.
Meanwhile UTA's opponent has trailed by large margins many times this year and completed a comeback. I think part of the issue is that UTA doesn't have a large presence underneath. 7'0" Stuart Lagerson is no longer on the team. Even when he was, he was ineffective. Junior Anthony Walker (6'9", 210) and Brandon Williams (6'10", 200) don't have the mass to effectively battle underneath consistently. Each has shown flashes of talent, but not enough to sustain it over the course of a full game. Brandon Edwards is effective, but at 6'6" he has to hustle for everything. Without help, I believe his potential is lessened.
UTA is talent heavy at the guard positions. However, I see a lot of individuality at times, especially when the other team makes a run. Instead of staying in team mode, they try to shoulder the load themselves.
Bottom line, this is a group full of good to great talent, but this is not a good team.
Up next is the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in Monroe on Thursday. Saturday is the getting warmer rivalry between the Mavs and the Texas State Bobcats. With Danny Kaspar, already a favorite target of the UTA students, moving to Texas State, it seems that both geography and history will keep this one going.
These are needed wins for UTA. The Mavs are sitting at 4-6, ties with Monroe at 4-6. They played at CPC earlier and UTA won it in OT. However, UTA is only 2-9 on the road this year. A game back in the standings is Texas State at 3-7. UTA won in San Marcos, and have had the 'Cats number in recent years. Kaspar has the team playing much better of late, but he is still lacking players to fit his system and depth.
A loss to these two will not only hurt UTA in the standings, it will give a win to teams beside them and at their heels. Losses could put a berth in the conference tournament in danger.
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