Quote from: frank_ezelle on January 28, 2008, 09:41:30 AM
--I don't doubt that DePauw played great Sunday, as reflected by the win and the margin of victory.
--Would DePauw have beaten Millsaps on a neutral court if both teams are rested.  Maybe, maybe not.  We'll never know.
--How much did fatigue play into the game?  I don't know, especially since I didn't see the game.  All I have to go on is the observations of the board members from DePauw.  Such as the observations:
--Edrick Montgomery started off great and then he seemed to go into cruise control.  Hmmm, maybe he just lost interest in the game or maybe the 40 minutes against Centre was a factor.  I don't know.
--Millsaps looked great in a man-to-man and then they went to a zone and it let DePauw back into the game.  Apparently this was a big factor in the game and the DePauw victory.  Was it because of fatigue that they went to a zone? I don't know.
--The comment was made about DePauw outrunning such an athletic team as Millsaps.  I'm sure DePauw has some very athletic players, but again, the observaton makes it sound like Millsaps was a tired team.

I'm not saying that Millsaps is the better team--I haven't seen DePauw play this year so that would be a rediculous statement.  I'm just saying that DePauw had a fresher team thanks to being at home, having the easier game on Friday, and not having the hangover of a very difficult loss.  Given all the factors, it's not surprising that a team as good as DePauw ended up running away from a team as good as Millsaps in the second half.  I suspect it would have been a closer game throughout if it had been the Friday night game.  That doesn't seem like such a radical notion.

I was at the DPU-Saps game Sunday and I believe fatigue had much to do with the margin of victory, but probably not the outcome of the game. DePauw was the better team Sunday. The Tigers let the game get out of hand in the first 10 minutes or so. Lorenzo Bailey had 3 steals in the first 3 minutes that resulted in 3 layups. That's 6 points given up on poor ball handling. DePauw started working their way back into the game and were on top at the half by one. 
The halftime rest energized the Majors and they came back to challenge in the first few minutes.  Montgomery was visibly tired in the second half. I believe the zone was an attempt by Coach Wise to give his team some rest. It didn't work. DPU was all over the zone and hitting their treys.
A few other observations:
Millsaps is not a second half powerhouse.  Their team stats show they score about the same in the first half and second on average. DePauw is a second half team. They score more in the second half than the first.
DPU's bench put up 34 points to the Majors' 8. Depth was a big factor in the game.
Winning on the road is problematic for DIII athletes. However, they all have the same trips to make. All teams goals are to play in the NCAA tourney. No one (well, maybe Otterbein in 2003) gets to play all post season games on their home court, so overcoming the travel / fatigue is part of a great team's mission.
DPU plays an uptempo game. Our bigs run the floor as well as the guards. That style of play by both teams probably contributed to the fatigue. DPU had the subs to continue to run when Millsaps didn't.

In no way do I denigrate the effort or even the results of the Millsaps team this last weekend. Taking Centre to OT in Danville is a huge accomplishment. That worked in the Tigers' favor when a leg-heavy team played on our home court. Millsaps is the most athletic SCAC team I've seen in a while. Edrick is a beast in the post. Bailey was very impressive on both offense and defense. DPU's depth, rest, and shooting made the difference.  On a neutral court and with both teams rested... who knows.