72-68 Loss.
The Panthers walked off the court Tuesday night defeated after leading 38-34 at halftime of the newly revived annual rivalry with Guilford County rival UNC Greensboro.
High Point was once again out-rebounded 36 to 27 in a game that they ultimately approached with the same laissez-faire attitude of the Cayman Islands Classic or the glorified walkthrough that was Pfeiffer on Saturday.
News flash: Fleming Gymnasium isn't the Cayman Islands and UNCG isn't Pfeiffer.
And if you don't get it maybe you shouldn't be suiting up for the High Point Panthers.
There's not a whole heck of a lot to sugar coat in this one.
Bobby Pettiford, Jr. once again played a solid game going 50% from the field with 3 assists, 5 rebounds and 6 points; leading to my new favorite in-game directive: "GBB!"... Give Bobby the Ball.
Kezza Giffa flashed moments of why he is the Big South Preseason Player of the Year scoring 11 and Kimani Hamilton was effective when he was on the court, scoring 13 on 4 of 7 from the field.
But that's about where the rose smelling ends and the head scratching begins.
The Panthers still can't rebound effectively. Terry Anderson, who hadn't seen the court for the first four weeks of the season led the team in FG attempts. And the Panther’s wet paper bag defense seemingly couldn't stop a group of priests from scoring in a bar full of nuns. But I digress...
The Panthers were straight up outplayed and outcoached in a game that really should not have been that close. UNCG doesn't have the talent that High Point does. What they do have is a cohesive unit, hell bent on playing together and fighting for every second of every possession.
It drives Alan Huss mad. You can see it on the sidelines.
Part of the glue that made last year’s team successful were the unspoken moments that went unnoticed.
Last year's High Point team was 10th nationally in offensive rebound percentage according to KenPom, they are 187th this year.
Last year’s High Point team was 65th nationally in defensive rebound percentage, they are 317th this year.
Last year’s High Point team played with pace, ranking 109th in the country compared to 337th this year.
For reference there are only 364 Division 1 teams.
Sometimes the taste of the sugar makes you forget about the straw that stirred the drink.
High Point's offense is actually a more effective shooting team and committing less turnovers than last year but because of the lack of Offensive Rebounding the team has dropped from 36th nationally last year to 58th this year in KenPom offensive efficiency.
Without an elite offense this team is just another one-bid league team scrapping through a regular season hoping for another shot at a conference tournament, not the mid-major powerhouse that we all expected.
KenPom now projects the Panthers to go 10-6 in the Big South and tie with Winthrop and Radford, just ahead of three other 9-7 teams. Eww.
What would I do if I was Alan Huss?
I have my thoughts, which I will mostly keep. But I for sure wouldn't keep doing the same thing. And I for sure wouldn't be using important non-conference matchups as a time to shuffle new personnel into the mix for 20 minutes. It's not working.
Why are certain players sitting the bench tonight after seemingly getting into a rhythm the past few games?
Why couldn't we scheme up something to take advantage of the size advantage we have over UNCG?
Why are guys capable of scoring 22 points one night and then getting less than 10 minutes of play another night?
How many rebounds can we watch the other team grab or dribble drives cut right through our defense before some guys see the bench?
These are all things we should be able to answer before conference play begins.
The good news about college basketball is that there's always another opportunity.
The Panthers play their best opponent of the season Friday night in North Texas.
It will be a winnable game in front of a raucous Qubein Center crowd.
It would be a redeeming win for what has been a less-than-stellar couple of weeks.
In case the bus ride down Gate City Boulevard tonight didn't make it clear tonight, we're not on island time anymore. It's time to get down to business.
Panthers Update:
Record:
8-2, (0-0)
Rankings:
10th in Mid-Major Poll
142nd KenPom (123rd last Monday)
Games this week:
Friday December 6th, vs. North Texas 8pm (Qubein Center, ESPN+) KenPom projects L 63-67
Injuries:
Titas out, everyone else back or working day-to-day
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