Another Juicer!

I have finally come clean.  I'm on the juice.  I'm off the show today.  I've cheated the fans and the business.  My vocal chords are not natural.  My guy (similar though not the same as A-rod's cousin) gave me a shot today.  Young and dumb.  I guess only one of those apply.  I hope to back on "Fastlane" tomorrow.  My teammates...pause...pause...

Thank you.  I want to put this episode behind me and move forward.  If there is anyway I can help the kids...implore them to use their natural voices...that's got to be my focus...

OK, I'm finished talking about the past.

 

Except for last night's Billiken game against St. Joe's.  It was a much heralded battle of the Jesuits!

The 73-71 game delivered to 7,000 plus on hand including 1,000 students...who were terrific.

 

SLU's game plan to stop Ahmad Nivens didn't work very well until the end of the game.  Nivens was 8 of 14 from the field, had 22 points and 11 rebounds and seemingly scored at will.  But the last 9 minutes he was shut out from the field...missing two layups late.  Credit SLU sure...but also consider that Nivens never took a break.  He played the entire 40 minutes.  Fatigue had to be a factor as well.

 

So, while SLU won the St. Joe's offensive numbers won't be used for a defensive clinic.  The Hawks shot 57% from the field and 4/9 from 3-point range.  With four regular season games left the Billikens have to get back to that lock down defensive attitude.

 

Here's another odd number from the game.  There were only 4 free throws missed the entire game (both teams) and 4 of those 5 happened at the end of the game. Two by each team.  You could argue that free throws therefore were not a factor.  Not so.  Both teams had a chance to put the game away and while neither did you cannot discount the opportunity.

 

On the Billiken side, the 618 backcourt of Lisch & Liddell were only 4 of 14 from the field and 1 0f 7 from three!  But they still contributed mightily.  The same two players had 10 assists and only 1 turnover to go with 2 steals and a huge block. 

 

Key stretch of the game began with 12 minutes left...SLU down 46-44 and goes on a 7-0 run.  Kyle Cassity with a beautiful drive, look off and finger roll.  Lisch with a steal and a trey.  Then Liddell blocks Tasheed Carr under the basket and finally Conklin hits a tough layup.  It stayed close but the Billikens never lost the lead after that run.

 

By the way,  if we were voting today I would have to vote for Kwamaine Mitchell as the team MVP.  What a ride it has been watching this young man develop.  In November, you could see the talent but he was like a young colt...a little skidish...moving a little too fast.  In December and January you saw him settle down a really get steady in running the show.  And this month Mitchell has just taken over!  Five threes last night, averaging about 18 per game in his last four.  I don't know if he'll achieve hallowed Waldman status but, we'll have him for four years.

Finally, let's take a look at the A-10 stretch run.  If you look at everybody's schedule it looks as if SLU has a real hold on 5^th place in the league.  With four games left, the Billikens could win them all go 3-1 or 2-2...I won't accept any other possibilities.  So at best you'd most likely be in a three way tie with Dayton and Rhode Island which cold only get you as high as 4^th.  And at 2-2 the Bills slip to 9-7 and it doesn't appear likely that the teams behind them will get to that mark.  To get to the league championship game SLU would probably have to finished third and those are long odds...But joo neber know.

 

Next up SLU vs first place Dayton at "the jewell of midtown"  Saturday night. 6:35 pe-game, 7:05 tip on 101 ESPN