Leatherneck Nation

Let me "Get right to the heart of matters, it's the heart that matters more". This is the biggest conference game to date. A win in this one, coupled with a likely ORU loss in Brookings, will give us a little cushion in the standings and take a whole lot of pressure off of that road game with ORU next week. A loss, and we probably just sacrificed the right to control our own destiny to make the tournament, although the future schedule does seem to favor the Leathernecks slightly down the stretch with more home games. Only problem is that most are against the top tier teams in the conference. This one is winnable. Hope the guys look out into the Western Hall crowd and see the same passion I see in this Counting Crows Woodstock rendition of "Omaha". Check it out. The "crowd surfing" is awesome. Believe it or not, I remember seeing a lot of this in the east stands of Hanson Field way back in the day.

7pm tip. ESPN3 if you cant be an on premises crowd surfer.

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This game will be the "Ballin' for the Kids" event which will provide several opportunities to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Dance Marathon will kick things off earlier in the day from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. when they host a dance clinic inside Brophy Hall. Participants that attend the clinic will then take their skills to halftime of the men's game where they will perform a routine they learned earlier in the day.

Starting off a bit cold and sloppy.

Without Covington hitting shots, this team struggles to consistently score.

Covington hating life right now with them playing half court pressure and him the PG. He just cant find any rhythm in that role.

First Half "Inside the Paint" stats:

Total Possessions: 34
Ball and Player Inside Paint Possessions: 18 => Points Scored: 28
Ball and Player NEVER Inside Paint Possessions: 16 => Points Scored: 3

There seems to be a trend here.

I am not going to track it in 2nd half. Instead will be looking at our off-ball screens.

Where is another CC3 when you need one?

Whatever happened to always losing in the last 5 minutes? Now we lose the entire game.

Need a miracle comeback once again.

Their defensive pressure bothered us all night. For 36 minutes of this one, we essentially left them in a comfort zone.

Not enough tonight. WIU goes down 79-67. On to Oral Bob. That one will be a struggle as most league road games are.