how is Ohl on the bench
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wow! how did that Forer shot bar out
USC vs UCLA final everybody has been waiting for.
The two best teams are playing tomorrow, but that was a great game we just saw.
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You need to put the ball in G.P.’s hands at the point to make a play on the 7x6. He’s been the calming presence and the veteran for this young group all season. You put Botond and Forer around him and Ohl needs to be in the game with the game he was having. Questionable decision making by Flacks.
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I can’t recall a better defensive effort from both teams, at least not in recent years. UCLA played near perfect defense, but their offense really struggled. Credit to Stanford for that.
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Agreed. Really didn’t like that call. Looked like a flop on top of everything you mentioned
If that call is not made, there is no penalty for holding away from the ball. The rules as written very clearly make that contact an exclusion foul. We have a better game when the offense can move. I’ve got more concern with all the no calls when centers from both teams got good passes and couldn’t do anything with the ball because multiple defenders crashed. That pretty much took George out of this game–at least in the three quarters I watched.
Not true. Vort, also American, starts at 5.
Gheorghe was a black hole for Stanford.
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IMO he should’ve had more exclusions drawn but I’m not the ref for a reason.
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I thought there were a bunch of no calls against both teams at 2m. I’d rather see that than the usual kick outs called for blowing in the centers ear. I thought the refs were pretty good
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I’d have to go back and watch the film because it’s hard to tell from the stands, but that seems accurate. Outside of a few calls, I think they did a fine job. Tauscher had an incredible game. Stanford clearly saw what Princeton had seen — Tauscher getting beat over his shoulders and over the head a ton — but you need to give credit to Tauscher for adjusting and having a great game. Don’t have the stat sheet, but it must’ve been at least 14 saves. Temkin also had a big game on the other end as well.
UCLA did an incredible job limiting Gheorghe and Botond Balogh. I know that in the modern game, everyone loves seeing goals, but it was exciting to watch two defenses go at it and get stops. The achilleas heal for Stanford all year was converting in the fourth quarter and it came back to haunt them again. The 5 consecutive missed offensive possessions during the middle of the fourth is killer. Stanford’s 6x5 also not the best. Too many times, they were looking for individual solutions from the outside instead of working from the posts. It’s also so difficult without a lefty down at 6. Against a team like UCLA, you need to convert the chances you get. However, a lot of positives too for the Cardinal. Temkin was terrific, as I mentioned. Stanford’s field blocking was elite and Ryan Ohl stepped up big time, winning 3/4 sprints, scoring two goals, and often times being matched up with one of UCLA’s leading scorers. Still surprised he wasn’t in on the 7x6.
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That last game was incredible to watch, and by far the best of the weekend so far. I know there are a lot of comments about some Fordham plays late in the game. That may or may not be deserved. I will say I have watched dozens of college games, and I have never heard worse fans than I heard on the USC side tonight. This was coming from the bench side. I am all for good banter and passion, but some were crossing the line in a meaningful way.
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What do you mean by this?
Discussing fans is mostly a futile thing. A program does not control its fans. I recall that USC fans were pretty bad at the NCAA at UOP in 2019, so your observation, if true, would not completely shock me. Still, this is mostly a societal issue, and I doubt that, in general, USC fans are that dramatically different from other fans.
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Totally. No expectation of posting this resulting in change. I have been around most fan bases though and it was well beyond. I am not part of the opponents fanbase so this isn’t sour grapes.
Division 3 semifinals:
CMS 12, Augustana 7
Pomona-Pitzer 11, MIT 7
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Sometimes you just pick a bad area to sit. I’ve seen bad behavior from every fan base at NCAAs.
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Slightly off topic question but will the game on espn tomorrow be available to espn+ subscriber? It says ESPN U so I’m wondering if ESPN+ will have it.