SUNY Buffalo - Learning From Our Mistakes

Final:  Buffalo 80, Drexel 70

Player of the Game:  Damion Lee
Key to the game:  Rebounding
Next Game:  Saturday December 20 vs Penn St (PPL Center)

Drexel bigs took only _(11)_ of the teams shots, Tavon struggled from the field so while he scored __(10)__ points he took__(12)__ shots to get there.  Officiating wasn't great but didn't effect the outcome.  Bru totally blew it by playing Tavon for 38 minutes and by going to the four guard lineup again.  

This game was a bit of a weird one for Drexel.  The Bulls want to get out and play a guard based uptempo game and the Dragons let them.  On the road, on short rest, letting your opponents dictate the pace of the game had all of the makings of a trip to blow out city, but the Dragons dug in and fought, keeping the game close right up until the final minutes.  While a 10 point loss to Buffalo looks bad on paper, and to many Drexel fans, the effort that the Dragons showed in a very uphill battle should be lauded.  Beyond that, the development of Rashann London continues in real time.  He'll never be a blog POTG until he stops passing the ball to the other team, and his shot selection still leaves something to be desired (London seems to be looking to set a team record for "on the line 2 pointer attempts") but he's putting the ball in the bucket.

A quick update with Pomeroy O-Ratings for Drexel guards:

Damion Lee:  112.8

Rashann London:  85.7

Tavon Allen: 73.2

Freddie Wilson 69.1

Sammy Mojica:  100 (small sample)

Again, 100 is what you want to see for a starting player so this...  isn't great.

Going into this game we knew that Buffalo likes playing small and fast, and that the DU coaches may get lured into playing a 4 guard set for a bit.  That happened, although foul trouble and poor games from the big men certainly played into that decision.  The guards also started showing a desire to get to the rim themselves, and were able to do so successfully against the smaller UB lineup.  Bru has been pushing for them to drive more, so consider this a big step forward since the La Salle game, and it paid off:  DU shot 54% from inside the arc in this one, their best performance of the season.  If the team keeps fighting for each other, and the guards continue to progress, this doesn't need to be a lost season.