duq.dog wrote:

Likely need to win 4 of 6 to have a chance at the double-bye and it starts with this one. Not going anywhere if you drop one like this in late Feb.

Kudos to Dru, Staff, and the rotation finally stringing a stretch together where they are moving on offense. The result: 4 wins. 

I would continue to shorten the bench as we get closer to the Tourney. I think a 7 man rotation (Barring Dixon foul trouble) could make some noise. It's the same heroes and same liabilities each game and as we see less and less of the liabilities, the results continue to speak. 

I agree, the team seems to do better on defense with less substitutions. It's been a more consistent defensive effort  these last four games.

Think 7 players is a bit short. Looking for TG, JWilliams,  AWilliams, Necas, Jake, Hugley and Hall. Cam too.
Cam because he can light it up from 3 if he finds his stroke and playing much better defensively lately.
Maybe a couple minutes for Bus. if needed.
Hugley a disaster defensively so pick your spots!
GO DUKES!!

1TG, 2JWilliams, 3AWilliams, 4Necas, 5Jake, 6Dixon and 7Hall.   
5-1 since Hall has been starting.  

Then you have Hugley, Edwards and Crawford.   Thats more than enough.

the key is foul issues for Necas and Dixon, and avoiding those.
 

I have been liking Van Bussel getting 4-7 minutes to rest Dixon , manage foul trouble, avoid the defensive letdown that Hugley causes, & get him more experience during meaningful situations.

phil95 wrote:

I have been liking Van Bussel getting 4-7 minutes to rest Dixon , manage foul trouble, avoid the defensive letdown that Hugley causes, & get him more experience during meaningful situations.

I like Bus for that reason too.  As far as shortening the bench, I just think it means no more Cam…    We don’t need Hall, Jake and Cam.  Just 2 of them and the team has clearly done better with Cam on the bench. 

TG
Jimmy
Hall
Necas
Dixon
Alex
Jake
Hugely
And a pinch of Bus when necessary

Cam can play when there is a need (injury, foul trouble).

And just since we are talking about it.  Max, who has been a major disappointment on the court this year, could not appear to be a happier, more supportive teammate on the bench.  I thought that was worth noting

Styles, came to say exactly that and then saw your comment.

Props to Max for being engaged and a true team player. It has definitely shifted my opinion towards him. Winning will always helps morale when you start taking away minutes. 

I also am not a fan of a short bench when trying to make a run. Maybe extend it to CC, Hugley, and Buss but with very limited minutes for each of them. (Combined 10 mpg for Hugley & Buss, 7 mpg for CC) 

But when you have a chance to take the double-bye and be two wins away from the championship, got to take drastic measures is my opinion. 

6 games left. Non-negotiable to beat La Salle & Richmond while also taking 2 of 3 between Dayton, Davidson, & URI. Can live with a SLU loss. Go Dukes!






 

Last edited by duq.dog (2/18/2026 4:38 pm)

Disgraceful first half for both teams, but LaSalle has the momentum heading into the 2nd half.
Hopefully Dru lit a fire at halftime!

Really tired of watching Jimmie go one on five and turn it over again and again….!

3-20 from the 3!! How about going to the basket.

Wow; Guinyard saves us, but we are not good enough to take any team for granted, but I think that is what happened tonight.  Oh well, we'll take the win and maybe we can learn something from this game - way too many turnovers.

Hope we got that out of our system. Tonight could have been a disaster. But we live to fight another day.

PistolPete wrote:

Wow; Guinyard saves us, but we are not good enough to take any team for granted, but I think that is what happened tonight.  Oh well, we'll take the win and maybe we can learn something from this game - way too many turnovers.

I believe they were looking ahead to Dayton and didn't give the Explorers the respect they deserved.  Thankfully, Guinyard was there at the end.  Too many missed free throws, lousy rebounding, and empty possessions.