SB Nation - Adrick McKinney

Game Recap: UNLV Runnin' Rebels Run TCU Horned Frogs Out Of The Gym, 101-78

rebelfan1 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:23:21 -0000

Final - 1.18.2012	1	2	Total
TCU Horned Frogs	39	39	78
UNLV Runnin' Rebels	54	47	101

Complete Coverage >

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels shot 58% fom the field in their second game scoring over 100 points as the Runnin' Rebels took down the TCU Horned Frogs, 101-78. Anthony Marshall scored a career high 27 points and 9 assists in the victory while Chace Stanback added 21 and Mike Moser had 16 points for a Runnin' Rebel team that was not lacking on the offensive end.

On TCU's end, Hank Thorns struggled to score, posting only 11 points on 3-14 shooting, after coming into the game on a hot streak. As a team, TCU struggled to make shots, shooting 38% from the field and 17% from behind the arc. The Horned Frogs managed to play well in the post, as Adrick Mckinney and Amric Fields eased their way into double figures.

UNLV did a lot of things right in this game. They outrebounded TCU and had an astounding 28 assists in the game which featured a plethora of dunks. The offense was back on track after having had issues with scoring in Saturday's game against San Diego State. With all that went right in UNLV's game against TCU, it's hard to find a negative. Unfortunately the one negative that sticks out is a big one. Free throw shooting.

UNLV, once again, had a terrible time at the charity stripe shooting a mediocre 57%. This was an issue in the San Diego State game on Saturday as well, where the Runnin' Rebels were 11-21 from the free throw line. This seems to be a strange issue for a team that shoots so well, so it might just be a coincidence that this happened in back-to-back games, but it still is something that must be fixed. It cost UNLV a big win at Viejas Arena on Saturday and could cost the Runnin' Rebels when it comes time for the NCAA Tournament. If this isn't fixed now, it could be big trouble for UNLV in the future.

With this win, UNLV gets their first conference win while TCU drops to 0-2 in conference play. TCU has what will probably be their best to chance to get their first conference win on Saturday as they host Boise State in Fort Worth. UNLV, on the other hand, has a big matchup at home with New Mexico on Saturday.

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USC Basketball: USC boat races TCU 83-59

Paragon SC — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:01:45 -0000

So, we do have an offense!

I was surprised to see the final score this morning before heading out to work...

USC scored more points in the first half (a season-high 42) and second (41) than it had in whole games this season.

Sophomore guard Maurice Jones was dynamic, with 25 points, including 18 in the first half, and seven assists, many of them dazzling no-look passes.

"Mo's a real talented player, and when he starts making shots, it opens it up for the rest of us," said freshman guard Byron Wesley, who scored 13 points and had six assists.

USC shot 51% from the floor, a healthy percentage it hadn't neared in the last three games.

Looks like a complete performance last night.

Maybe the guys are getting sick of sub-par performances and are digging down deep.

Based on what I am reading, it looks like everyone contributed last night!

The low post presence of forward Aaron Fuller (nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds) and center Dewayne Dedmon (14 points, six rebounds, three blocks and three steals) was on display early and often in the 24-point route. The dynamic duo down low limited TCU's big men (who came in with a MWC-high 12 offensive rebounds per game) on the glass, as Craig Williams, Adrick McKinney and Cheick Kone combined for just 13 points and seven rebounds. "I think we've played well at both ends lately, and part of that is because Aaron [Fuller], Dewayne [Dedmon] and these guys have finally been able to practice," said O'Neill, referring to the shoulder tear and foot fracture that have limited Fuller and Dedmon's practice time respectively. "I feel bad for our guys when they look bad out on the court, when they haven't been able to practice for a whole week. We've played these last two games with force, and have done a great job of defending, outside of the second half against Georgia."

Like I said, some guys digging in to contribute.

Hopefully, the team has found the spark to play consistently...

Texas Tech vs. TCU | Game Preview

Seth C — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:00:26 -0000

TEXAS TECH VS. TCU

Game Essentials

Texas Tech Starting 5

Ty Nurse (6-1/180) | 12.3 PPG | 1.4 AST
Javarez Willis (5-11/171) | 7.3 PPG | 2.6 AST
Toddrick Gotcher (6-3/190) | 7.4 PPG | 3.9 REB
Jordan Tolbert (6-7/210) | 11.0 PPG | 6.3 REB
Robert Lewandowski (6-10/256) | 5.8 PPG | 3.9 REB

TCU Starting 5

Hank Thorns (5-9/165) | 12.8 PPG | 4.8 APG
Nate Butler (6-6/200) | 2.8 PPG | 3.3 APG
J.R. Cadot (6-5/205) | 11.8 PPG | 7.9 RPG
Amric Fields (6-9/215) | 10.3 PPG | 2.6 RPG
Adrick McKinney (6-8/250) | 8.3 PPG | 5.6 RPG

WHAT TO EXPECT

A SOLID START FOR TCU | A couple of nice wins and a surprising loss for TCU. The nice wins are against Virginia, a close game, but a win, and a 1 point win against Houston. The questionable loss is against Norfolk St, which doesn't make any sense. I'd also add that TCU just beat what I normally perceive to be a good team in Evansville and it was on the road. There is also an 11 point loss to Ole Miss there, which isn't necessarily bad from what I can tell. TCU has a pretty darned good RPI, at #17 (compared to #155 for Texas Tech), and strength of schedule of #18 (compared to #183 for Texas Tech) for the year. The Horned Frogs are undefeated at home, 3-0.

STILL SHOOTING WELL, BUT . . . | Texas Tech is still shooting well, but I think this may be based off of an early non-conference slate that saw a handful of players shoot really well and helped what was then a defense that I think took advantage of some fairly weak offenses. Texas Tech shot 70%, 49.6% and 71.4% eFG% the first three games of the year and have since leveled off at around 42% to 47% over the last handful of games. The point being is that those early games have somewhat skewed the current outlook and I think what Texas Tech fans need to take from this is that Texas Tech will probably not have consistently excellent shooting performances for the year. I don't think this team is set up that way, but I do think that Texas Tech will win games if they can play some defense and keep things tight. Texas Tech isn't going to win many shooting contests.

KEEPING TCU OFF THE OFFENSIVE GLASS | TCU does rebound really well, especially on the offensive glass where 34% of their rebounds are offensive rebounds. This causes problems for Texas Tech as I don't think that Texas Tech has the bodies (really just Tolbert and Lew) to keep pace, but it's actually Cadot that's leading the charge at 3.25 offensive rebounds per game. That means guys like Jaron Nash and Gotcher will need to make sure that Cadot stays off the boards. TCU runs out a fairly large lineup, especially in the backcourt, except for Thorns. I mentioned it last week that it might be beneficial for Texas Tech to think about tweaking that starting lineup as Texas Tech faced a big lineup against TAMU-CC.

WINNING ON THE ROAD | LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes that head coach Billy Gillispie knows that it's hard to win on the road and winning in Corpus Christi was tough:

“To have a chance to celebrate in an opponent’s locker room is difficult,” Tech coach Billy Gillispie said. “It’s hard to win anywhere, especially on the road.”

Gillispie also noted that when TAMU-CC pressed, it created easier offensive opportunities as Lew and Tolbert had fouled out:

“Really, after Lewandowski and Tolbert were out, we never had to run any offense other than just trying to protect the lead and win the game,” Gillispie said. “The press kind of helped us a little bit, because we had had a hard time scoring. ... We caught the ball, faced up and got a couple easy ones.”

Key matchups are after the jump.

KEY MATCHUPS

TOLBERT VS. MCKINNEY | I'm starting to think that Tolbert, and how well he plays, will be a pivitol factor as we play out the year. I'm still wondering where Kader Tapsoba is and how his foot is healing (I think I read he has a stress fracture). Texas Tech needs some help inside and as much as guys like Gotcher has been filing up the stat sheet from his guard position (9 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK), the frontcourt needs some help, especially if Lew isn't going to offer much inside (which is disappointing in its own right). Tolbert and Lew both fouled out against TAMU-CC and that just can't happen. The frontcourt isn't deep enough to lose both Tolbert and Lew without a decent post backup and although Nash is filling that role, I don't think he can sustain that in Big 12 play. Tolbert has been really solid as a true freshman and I think he's going to get into foul trouble, but Lew has to be better than that.

NURSE AND WILLIS VS. THORNS | Thorns appears to be a point guard that can score and dish out some assists. Texas Tech has had a tough time stopping smaller point guards thus far, Nurse probably lacks the athleticism and Willis, although I think they both give good effort, can't seem to get it done. Thorns is averaging in double-figures and almost 5 assists per game. I think that whether or not Texas Tech wins or loses this game will be largely dependent on Texas Tech stopping Thorns from creating shots for his teammates. Need some really solid defense from Nurse, Willis and Kevin Wagner.

CROCKETT VS. THE TCU BENCH | F Jaye Crockett is getting starting minutes, but he's just not starting yet. I'm not sure why. Head coach Billy Gillispie has been fairly quick to pull the guards out of the starting lineup, but has been hesitant to pull Lew out of the starting lineup for some reason. Crockett has been this team's best player since he got back from injury and perhaps the biggest reason Lew continues to start is that Crockett has done a bang-up job coming off of the bench, 7.3 points/game, 6.0 rebounds/game, 1.6 assists/game, 1.7 turnovers/game, and 1.8 fouls/game. Crockett isn't getting into the foul trouble that he did last year and I'd chalk that up to maturity, if nothing else. If Crockett starts the game on the bench, I think this gives Gillispie a really nice option, perhaps one of the best options in the conference, of a player to spell any starter that needs some help.