MU gains turnover advantage against Cal
California's slower second half left MU's basketball team vulnerable.
Dec. 4, 2007
Assistant basketball coach Matt Zimmerman said the MU coaching staff does not simply look at the team's rebounding statistics.
Instead, each after game it takes the team's rebounding differential in the game and adds it to the game's turnover
differential.
The goal is to make up for losing the rebounding battle by winning the turnover battle by a greater margin.
In Saturday's 86-72 loss to the California Golden Bears, the Tigers came up with a -19 in this somewhat unique category, losing the rebounding battle 41-20 with a turnover advantage of just 16-18.
The Tigers started the game well. They shot 7-14 3-pointers in the first half, five of them made by junior guard Matt Lawrence.
Overall, the team shot 65.4 percent from the field in the first half. The Tigers had a 45-37 halftime lead.
But the Bears made halftime adjustments that halted the Tiger attack.
"They stepped their defense up," Zimmerman said. "Their defense had something to do with it. They got after us pretty good. We still were able to run our offense and get some decent looks, but we were a little bit rushed."
The Tigers shot just 33.3 percent from the field in the second half. Lawrence did not make any shots from the floor in the second half, with Cal sophomore guard Nikola Knezevic guarding him.
"He did a good job on Matt," Zimmerman said. "He was kind of playing real physical with him and Matt doesn't respond as well to teams that are real physical with him."
Zimmerman said another factor that led to Cal's second half dominance was the play inside, highlighted by the Golden Bears' 41-20 rebounding advantage in the game. Zimmerman said California slowed the game down in the second half, which makes the Tigers vulnerable inside. Zimmerman said Knezevic's play in the second half allowed Cal to slow the game down and win it in the paint.
"We were causing them a lot of problems in the first half with our pressure," Zimmerman said. "But in the second half, our pressure wasn't a factor."
Cal sophomore forward Ryan Anderson had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior center DeVon Hardin had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Tigers are off until Saturday, when they play Purdue at home. Zimmerman said the Boilermakers will be another test inside.
"We expect to win," he said. "But it's going to be hard. They've got a very good basketball team."
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