The lineups we have used the most

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Here are the 10 NU lineups which have played the most minutes against the Big Ten this season...

					NU pts	Opp Pts	NU Pts/40	Opp Pts/40	Pct of Time
Nicholson	Beran	Berry	Audige	Buie	251	230	66.8	61.2	22.4
Verhoeven	Barnhizer	Berry	Audige	Buie	93	103	61.5	68.1	9.0
Nicholson	Barnhizer	Berry	Audige	Buie	95	81	72.2	61.6	7.8
Verhoeven	Beran	Barnhizer	Audige	Buie	55	49	71.5	63.7	4.6
Nicholson	Beran	Roper	Audige	Buie	51	55	68	73.3	4.5
Verhoeven	Barnhizer	Roper	Audige	Buie	40	51	63.2	80.6	3.8
Nicholson	Martinelli	Barnhizer	Audige	Buie	43	46	70.4	75.3	3.6
Verhoeven	Martinelli	Barnhizer	Audige	Buie	39	35	66.3	59.5	3.5
Nicholson	Beran	Barnhizer	Audige	Buie	47	44	81.0	75.9	3.5
Verhoeven	Beran	Berry	Audige	Buie	26	34	49.0	64.1	3.2

Just throwing the info out there. We have no regular lineup that doesn't include both Audige and Buie. Buie has played almost 96% of the Big Ten minutes and Audige 92%, excluding some garbage time.
That makes it difficult to evaluate how the team performs without them.

However, we can say that all the lineups without Buie have played 4.1% of the minutes ( scoring a mere 30 points and allowing 43 in about 27 minutes).
With Audige on the bench, we have outscored our opponents 92-79 over 51 minutes, which equates to a 40 minute pace of 72.4 - 62.1.

But there's no reason to expect Audige to be getting any more rest in the upcoming games. The data says it would probably help.

It seems worth noting that the 3-guard lineups that have Verhoeven at center and either Beran or Barnhizer at the 4 have been thrashed to the tune of 159 - 188.
However, if Verhoeven is the 5, with Barnhizer at the 3 and either Martinelli or Beran at the 4, we have outscored our opponents 94 - 84.

The lineups with Nicholson, Berry, Audige and Buie and either Barnhizer or Beran at the 4 have outscored our opponents 346 - 311.

 

[GatoLouco]

Barnhizer works better as a 3 than a 4. Small ball continues to not be our thing. Small ball is for more athletic teams.

He's still forced to minutes at the 4 due to lack of depth at the position. Hunger might have helped, but his few minutes were being played at 5 anyway.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Barnhizer works better as a 3 than a 4. Small ball continues to not be our thing. Small ball is for more athletic teams.

He's still forced to minutes at the 4 due to lack of depth at the position. Hunger might have helped, but his few minutes were being played at 5 anyway.

I just like that the lineup choices are straightforward and we can pick up a few points a night if we do one simple thing...

If Verhoeven is in the game, play Barnhizer instead of Berry. Do not play 3 guards with Verhoeven.

The numbers support the intuition that we're too small when we do that.

This approach will be tested tonight - as Penn State is undersized and Coach Collins will be tempted to go small to negate their advantage in quickness.

 

[DaCat]

The only way Audige will sit for any amount of time is foul trouble (I won't even talk about injury). Him playing a lot of minutes for us is good.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

The only way Audige will sit for any amount of time is foul trouble (I won't even talk about injury). Him playing a lot of minutes for us is good.

Depends what you mean by "a lot."
If you want to simply assume that players never get tired and see their performance decline, then Nicholson should play 40 minutes a night.

Given that defense is Audige's strength and defense requires effort and energy, he (and the team) will likely benefit if his playing time is cut to 30-32 minutes a game. We have good alternatives.

Buie is a different matter. We don't really have much of an offense when he is sitting. But at least Buie knows how to rest during a game.