This is where Kyle Keller really disappoints me....we had a handful of calls it seem like it didn't go our way but he just stood there with his hands in his pocket talking to the ref like he was a three year old who touch the stove and it was too hot.

I see no emotion with him as he works the referees. That has to be part of the game, you have to work those referees.

I can just imagine DK or Underwood if those calls didn't go our way, they may have blown a gasket but at least they would've showed some emotion.

Definitely expected better tonight....final 2 games at home with tourney seeding and 1st place still on the line.....figured we would come out smoking tonight ready to roll, instead we flopped. Disappointing doesn't begin to cover it.

This team is so one dimensional on offense it is hard to watch at times. Nobody has any mid range game and most of the time we have no 3pt game either.

sela did their job for us. we just couldnt finish it. The only way i thought we could win in katy was if we had fan support like our home game but obviously that is not a factor now.

I'm going to go against the flow here... I don't think we played all that poorly. 1) Woodley is a great player. Give him credit. He was the difference tonight. 2) We have no one that can consistently hit threes. That's one of the biggest diffrences from last year's team. Just one three in the last two minutes would have been the dagger that we needed. Just one, but it never happened. Here's hoping that either Bogues or Mack (or both) can bring that aspect of our game back next year.

the home record was the only thing we had left. we have pretty much lost every single record we have had.

yeah next yr. but we could have won this year. i would rather had UNO just freakin won , then to have it happen this way.

Agree with Purple Out!. Of course, if we played better and didn't look like we were on the road, we wouldn't have to worry about refs. But yada yada. He refs still completely blew that call, and they weren't even consistent with their bad calls, which is even worse. And I'm sorry, but where has Canete gone, one bad play or two missed shots and he mentally checks out - anyone else notice that?

I want to discuss the "we choked" theory. We have been routinely out coached/played this year. So the question is, can one choke if they are not any good?

Aside from the emotions, if you analyze the last plays. It came down to stupid fouls. We lack discipline on defense. We fouled several times trying to get a steal after a missed shot or an aggrevated miss, instead of getting back on defense. They went to the line and hit their shots. This team lacks discipline and focus on the defensive side. We want to play lane closing defense without any of the discipline that past Sfa teams had. Say what you want about the offense, but the defensive woes are what is troubling.

ivan racked up some points early in the season and just gradually declined. I hate to admit this but i dont think we can get it done in katy. (hope im sooo wrong.) the ref screw us over but we also screw ourselves. we had the freakin lead. wining in front of our fans was the only thing giving me hope for this season,

I don't disagree with stupid fouls, but to a certain extent, the type of game refs are calling determines the type of fouls they are likely to call, by the 4th you should know what you can and can't get away with. I agree we collapsed, but an offense that is firing on all cylinders or even has multiple threats supports a better defense and forces the other team out of their offense. We're spoiled because this year we don't have a difference maker, we don't have anyone that plays like a 'big', we don't have anyone that wants the ball and can deliver. If Charles was healthy, maybe. It's frustrating because all the cards lined up tonight. I guess it shows how good we've had it when we're frustrated couldn't win and tie for first. But it's just so hard to watch this type of ball.

I guess I'm just ticked because I expected the win streak at home to come to an end at some point. I could take it better if a top team beat us. Just wish it hadn't been to very average 5-11 team that may not even make the tourney. Ok, thanks for letting me vent. AxeEm!

The crowd looked flat out pathetic on tv. It might've looked better live but on tv, it looked like we've lost all fight already.
There are a few factors that can explain this game.
1. It's a rivalry and in a rivalry generally it doesn't matter who's better. Look at the BOTPW the past few years. With the exception of this past one it didn't matter how good Sam was, we always gave them a game.
2. We haven't finished games strong all year. I don't know what it is but we are not aggressive at the end and we can't hit our shots.
3. There's a lot of new things on this team, and one is Kyle Keller. I've said since his first few games, I think Keller will be a great coach. Hell, he replaced argueably the greatest SFA team in history with a bunch of freshmen and first year D1 players and got us within 1 game of a conference regular season title. But he's also a rookie head coach. He's gonna need time to grow, and I think everyone can see that while he is a good coach, he needs time to become great. Add that with a team comprised of players who've never been played D1 ball and you're gonna struggle. Consistency is key and this team hasn't had it at all this season.

I still stand by, and will stand by, that next year we should expect dominance on the level of Brad Underwood's teams, but this year from the beginning we were going to struggle.

I can't speak for certainty that Keller will be "great" next year, but I think the injuries to Niemanen and Bain were significant. Both these guys were glue guys at the start and we needed them. I still think Niemanen was the most fundamentally sound 4 man on this roster.

Sfa03,

I hope you're right about Keller, I really do, cause right now, I think, he is one of the worst in-game coaches in the league.

We do nothing creative. Ever.

Same offense, same defense. I bet you watch the games and (like everyone) you know exactly what we are going to do. Every time. That ain't good.

There was one point in the mid/late 2nd half that our offense delivered, I believe in consecutive possessions:

Shot clock violation
Shot clock violation
Rushed drive blocked, no shot attempt
Rushed 3 airball

All because we were hell bent on throwing it into the post and everyone standing around. Same crap every time down.

We've played 29 games and in many areas, I feel like we have regressed. Not a good sign.

Let's face it, it seems like every single game, we are unprepared to play and then out coached in the game.

Got a bad feeling we're gonna lose to Sam and then go 1 and done in tourney.

Losing faith, fast. That effort last night was just about the pinnacle of ineptitude

I don't understand why Keller didn't play Traylor when we needed some offense. The last two games he's been riding the pine a lot. He may be your only legitimate 3 point threat now that Canete has gone south. I know we loose defensively with him but who we had on the floor didn't stop them either.

SFA_03 said:

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The crowd looked flat out pathetic on tv. It might've looked better live but on tv, it looked like we've lost all fight already.
There are a few factors that can explain this game.
1. It's a rivalry and in a rivalry generally it doesn't matter who's better. Look at the BOTPW the past few years. With the exception of this past one it didn't matter how good Sam was, we always gave them a game.
2. We haven't finished games strong all year. I don't know what it is but we are not aggressive at the end and we can't hit our shots.
3. There's a lot of new things on this team, and one is Kyle Keller. I've said since his first few games, I think Keller will be a great coach. Hell, he replaced argueably the greatest SFA team in history with a bunch of freshmen and first year D1 players and got us within 1 game of a conference regular season title. But he's also a rookie head coach. He's gonna need time to grow, and I think everyone can see that while he is a good coach, he needs time to become great. Add that with a team comprised of players who've never been played D1 ball and you're gonna struggle. Consistency is key and this team hasn't had it at all this season.

I still stand by, and will stand by, that next year we should expect dominance on the level of Brad Underwood's teams, but this year from the beginning we were going to struggle.

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I tend to agree with SFA_03. Give Keller some time. He's an experienced coach at the D-1 level, although not an experienced head guy. He has to learn the ropes of the job, just like all of us do on a new job. There's a huge difference between being an assistant and being the The Man. I also agree that next year, with the returners we'll have, with Bain and Niemenen back, with a healthy and fit Ty Charles, with the additions of Bogues and Mack and Fisher and maybe another new face or two, we will be back in the cat bird seat of this league.

A few days ago Ryan (nacluth) said something that is absolutey true. He reminded everyone about what most of us agreed with at the beginning of the season... That we would be satisfied with a top three or four finish in the league this year, considering an almost totally new team, new system, and new coaching staff. And here we are, actually a bit better than predicted.

One last thing. The guys posting here are passionate about SFA athletics, and especially Jacks hoops. I cannot for the life of me understand why the students and the community cannot fill WRJ every home game. Way back in the Stone Ages when I was at SFA we'd sometimes spend the night outside of Shelton gym (Yeah, I know... I'm showing my age) hoping to grab a seat for a game the next night. That kind of passion for the Jacks just does not exist anymore, and I can't understand it. Go to the games, wear your purple, and be loud and proud, people! I live over 200 miles away and I still make several games a year. Love SFA and support SFA athletics (men and women), people!

It was a bitter pill last night, but as opposed to some, I actually thought our offense looked good during the game. We played a team that could essentially score from everywhere. They were MUCH better with Woodley in the lineup. If we had played the same team we had in Natchitoches, I don't think it would have been as close.
We kept getting good looks all night. The perimeter passing to get in low is frustrating when it doesn't work. But last night it got a lot of high quality shots. We just went flat in the final 5. Sitting 3 rows up on our offensive side, I could clearly see our open looks. We just didn't hit a shot in the last 5 minutes. We had our best players on the court - lots of hustle, no calls, no finish. Maybe another player like Traylor could have been the hero, but our top 5 (who played pretty good) had the shots. My biggest complaint was a tight called game in the first; free for all in the second. But it doesn't matter if you don't have a guy to make the basket when it counts.
I still believe this team can beat anyone in the SLC. Hopefully we can do it next week.

I'm largely with MasterAxe on this. I hope next year our talent blossoms and we overcome any coaching difficiencies. At this point I'd rather not face the indignity of having to be in a "play in" game. Maybe we get picked for the CIT or whatever.

@BigJack85

I'd have to respectively disagree about any sort of "indignity" of a potential NCAA play-in game. The play-in game is one of two nationally televised games that day and would likely much more winnable game than any match-up a 15 seed would bring us this year. I'll take a chance on a win-able postseason game on national television over the CIT any day. Gives us a national presence four years in a row and shows that we are here to stay and not fade out with a single graduating class.

Forgive me but this is my first post so I'm going to address a few points that I have read over these threads. While it has been difficult for me to level my expectations after losing one conference game in three years I do have to ask myself a lot what were my expectations for this year actually? Mine are to win the Southland every year and I'm sure the program shares that with all of us. I'll also be honest in that there have been some very frustrating, bonehead plays and situations with Keller behind the helm that have made me scratch my head.

However sometimes I forget that, Brad Underwood inherited a 27 win team with arguably three of the best players in SFA basketball history returning on the roster. He recruited very well to fill voids and found new promising players and built something really. Not taking anything away from him at all, because success has followed him as we all expected to OSU.

Keller has had quite the opposite situation during his tenure. He had to fill 8 roster spots and replace 4 starters from a team that probably could have been in the elite 8. This year has had many ups and a lot more downs then we are used to, and has been very frustrating at times (a la the last two Thursday games), however I genuinely believe we could be in a worse position with a lesser coach. Last night makes me cringe but we sit here with one game left with a chance to still have a share of the conference championship in the most competitive Southland in a long time. With all in consideration, I will be happy with that for now.

Thanks and Axe'Em

I like alot of what you said, BUT...

I think the frustration with the team is that it seems like we have regressed over the year, not gotten better.

We are not playing good basketball right now and we should be. How is it that TAMU-CC and HBU can go on this massive streaks of success, but we cant? They are peaking, we are not.

Continually we are making the same stupid mistakes we have made all year...and a lot of people, myself included, place that at the coaching staff. Their job is to make the team better, it feels like that is not the direction we are going.

I hope Keller succeeds, because that means the entire program succeeds, however, hard to see improvement coming, seeing as we have not actually improved.

That's fair and I share your frustration, trust me. But..

I wouldn't confuse regression with stagnation. That's not a significant improvement but there is a clear difference between this team now and back in December. The offense then consisted of three people running into each other at the top of the arc. The same offense that struggled with the likes of Northeastern State and Longwood. While it seems we run into a lot of cold streaks, particularly out of the half I wouldn't say there has been a regression. If so when was the peak? We blew out A&M and Nichols which reminded me of last year and as nice as that was, it was pretty clear that wasn't the identity of this team.

Regardless I feel your pain, Saturday is huge. Let's get this double bye and get to Katy.

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I can't speak for certainty that Keller will be "great" next year, but I think the injuries to Niemanen and Bain were significant. Both these guys were glue guys at the start and we needed them. I still think Niemanen was the most fundamentally sound 4 man on this roster.

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Agreed, and don't forget, we lost one of my favorite players to watch last year, CJ. Geez, what if he plays and we have these two healthy as well as Ty for the duration of the season...?
I am looking forward to taking some time off work and enjoying the tourney and will be proudly wearing purple, but unfortunately do not see any momentum going into Katy; already preparing my self with a next year mentality.

what really hurt is that we could have won this year. we haven''t regressed but we haven't improved either. the same team that played longwood close at home is the same team that lost last night. Keller's tactics need to improve and i will give him time. the AT HOME part is what really make me mad. All we had to do is win at home against the second worst team in southland.I hope Keller doesnt take a CIT invitation bc we are not that kind of team. I think we are going to get kicked out of katy.

This team is still in charge of its destiny, but last night was a flop. Keller has weapons and i know recruiting was one of his touted talents, and he has brought some great talent (ie: Leon G and Kevon). He probably should have looked for more skill guys on the perimeter though. The team has no mid-range game and more than often shoots poorly beyond the arc.

I think the above ^ exasperates the disparities in scoring at times and some people dog on the tactics, but I am confident we will get better in the years to come. Kyle needs to be more adaptable and resourceful with game plans and the roster, but it is not the end of the world if we don't get it right this year.

I don't think we wanted this to be a rebuild year, and maybe if all the stars aligned and Keller had gotten the recruiting perfect (on the 1st year), we would be in a better spot, but that's some lofty expectations for your first HC job.

My concern with Keller has always been on the coaching side, never recruiting. We took an assistant coach from an A&M team that made the tourney once in 5 years in the SEC.

Hopefully I'm wrong and these are just growing pains, but we'll see.

A win Saturday night and we can have some momentum going into Katy, which is our home away from home.

Let's just hope that next year starts off better than this year. We had two or more completely mind boggling losses (ULM and McNeese) ULM is dead last in the Sun Belt and McNeese is dead last in the SLC. You just can't have losses like that and consider yourself a consistent team. Losing a game or two against a middle of the pack squad is not good but understandable. WE ARE THE FOUR TIME DEFENDING CHAMP. We should be able to take out the trash....

Another thought. How about a couple of cupcakes to start 2017-2018. Maybe the team will jell and get some confidence. I'm not saying we play Hillsdale Freewill whatever.... but hey getting through non-conference 8-4 might give this squad a little confidence. I think that was part of the inconsistency that we have seen. Just my two cents!

Axe 'Em Jacks!

I think we have a shot at the CBI etc based on our last 4 season Maybe....

INiedrauer said:

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I know it sounds crazy to say this after last night...but if UNO loses on the road at Nicholls (very conceivable) and SFA takes care of business, it doesn't matter what HBU and CC do, we get that #1 seed and a guaranteed NIT berth. I'm not saying we deserve it, but I'm saying it's still very plausible.

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after last night i don't even want to think about that scenario. lets just win our game and get a top 2 finish and then see what happens. i dont think my heart can take what happen last night again. cool to see how many posts this thread has gotten. we have a decent size fan base.