Saint Louis Basketball: 3 takeaways from Billikens big win over NC State

Attacking poor closeouts

I am not sure if it was fatigue or just a lack of effort, but the second half of Thursday’s game was full of poor closeouts by the Wolfpack. the Wolfpack were often too high when they were attempting to take away threes, or couldn’t get their footwork together in time, which allowed the Billikens to catch the ball on either wing (or either corner), and rip the ball through to the opposite side.

It was almost as if the Billikens comprehended that the Wolfpack were not prepared to move their feet from side to side on the catch (because they were hoping that their man would opt to take contested threes), which is why they vowed not to left them off the hook. Javonte Perkins and Jordan Goodwin didn’t have stellar games offensively, but in the second half they were able to take advantage of the lackadaisical closeouts by the Wolfpack, and force immediate help.

There was one instance in the second half (with 8:10 remaining), when Goodwin caught the ball on the left-wing, noticed that his defender (Dereon Seabron) closed out with a high hand (but dropped his left foot too far), attacked his left foot while it was still exposed, and easily maneuvered to the free throw line area (where he executed a step back with great pace and knocked down a mid-range jumper).

With 4:47 left in the second half, Javonte Perkins received the ball on the left-wing, and observed that like Dereon Seabron, Devon Daniels had his left foot exposed (and appeared to be devoted to taking away Perkins’ left, which may explain why it looked like he was shading Perkins to his right), and proceeded to rip through to his right, get into Daniels’ body to get him off-balance, and shoot a textbook floater in the paint.

Gibson Jimerson got into the action with 14:49 remaining in the second half, when he caught the ball in the left corner, realized that Braxton Beverly was lunging forward to prevent a three (from a guy that is shooting above 40% from three-point land), and didn’t hesitate to take one dribble to his right, and finish at the rim with his inside hand while getting fouled (which is why I said that people shouldn’t sleep on Jimerson’s ability to put the ball on the floor, in my Saint Louis season preview).

If you are struggling to find your groove offensively, and desperately want to get a good look, you need to take advantage of your opponent’s defensive miscues. This is what the Billikens were able to do in the second half of Thursday’s contest against NC State, which allowed their offense to flow smoothly and fluidly when it needed to the most. This speaks to not only the high IQ that the Billikens possess, but also to their commitment to doing whatever is necessary in order to come away with countless wins.