A tourney with a different name
It’s sometimes tough to watch your team in the NIT, especially after they won their conference outright. But on Tuesday night, all eyes will be glued to the TV for a rematch of a game most Huskies fans would like to forget.
When: 6:00 PM, Tuesday March 20, 2012
Where: Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle Washington.
Here are the five things that coach Lorenzo Romar needs to get his players on board with to have a successful rematch with the Ducks.
1. Have short term memory loss
Everybody needs to just take a deep breath, and forget about the drubbing the Ducks laid on the Huskies last month in Eugene. That game is in the distant past, and this game is in the future.
There is a reason why the Huskies have a number one seed and the Ducks have a number four seed. The Huskies are the better basketball team. Coach Romar needs to reiterate this into his players heads before tip off Tuesday night.
2. Get the ball to the big three
All season long the Huskies have relied on Tony Wroten, Terrence Ross, and C.J. Wilcox to do the majority of the scoring. No doubt, this will continue of Tuesday night.
While the Huskies will have to have big contributions from all of the team, the big three will need to be on form to get the win.
3. Let the crowd take the Ducks out of the game
If the Huskies get on a roll early, this won’t be a problem. But if they let Oregon keep it close, or even pull ahead, the crowd will fall off. This building gets loud, really loud.
All season long the Huskies have relied on Tony Wroten
The Huskies need to rely on the crowd’s noise, and atmosphere kind of the way they do it over at Century Link during both Seahawks and Sounders games. Make the other team uncomfortable early.
4. Play good team defense
In Oregon’s last NIT game, they put up 61 second half points! This cannot happen if the Huskies want to win this game. Coach Romar will need to instill a good team defense philosophy for the game.
Defense, without fouls that is. The Huskies are known to get into foul trouble early, and this will spell disaster for them against a free shooting Oregon team.
5. Make your free throws count
Another thorn in the side of the Huskies this year has been free throws. Well missed free throws to be exact. Missed free throws are points taken away from the team.
The Huskies have struggled all year with this problem. They could easily add 15-20 more points a game if they make a higher percentage of free throws.
This game will be a good one, no doubt about it. I think the Huskies will come out strong, and run the floor like they like to do.
Wide open basketball.
If they keep Oregon from getting on fire from beyond the arc, they will be fine. An up tempo offense, with an in your face defense will win this game for the Huskies.
Now let’s see if they go out and do it.
Are you as excited as I am for tonights game? Hit me back with your predictions below.
