Upset or Not by Joe Streator

Maybe it was an upset but it really did not upset me.  (The real disappointment to me was with a win we would have moved up to at least eleven in the polls and with wins this week against DePaul and Cincy a top ten spot next week.)

I don't see anything really alarming in yesterday's defeat at all.

We thought our loss to Vandy, without Otule, was the end of the world and it was not.  We lost without Gardner but it wasn't his absence that allowed ND to shoot 11-23 from beyond the arc and caused us to shoot 2-13 from beyond the same arc.  Or was his absence the reason for our poor shooting?  Is his offensive presence that strong that without him ND did not have to worry about our inside scoring?  In any event, this is the ND team who is the only team to beat Syracuse this year and who was hot even before they invited us to workout with them.

Vander Blue stepped up again tying DJO for the lead in scoring with twelve and out rebounding everyone else with seven.  Crowder had an off game but he is the only BE player to be in the top ten in all nine offensive categories and he is still probably second in steals for conference games.  He is certainly playing himself into a second round draft pick.

I liked Cadougan's offensive aggressiveness meaning he seemed to push the ball up the floor quicker which ended up in some very nice assists.  Early in the first half Jamil Wilson ended up on the bench with two fouls.

No fast break points for us in the first half and DJO had our only three.  I was hoping Juan Anderson would step up today but as unbelievable as it may sound Jamail Jones contributed nicely in nineteen minutes of play but his lack of previous playing time showed when he choked on two very short basically uncontested first half shots.  He needs to step up again against DePaul otherwise he will get a lot of slivers the rest of his career.

Let's hope that Todd Mayo gets his second wind and starts to contribute again this year.  I look forward to Jake Thomas shooting 3's for us next year the way ND did today.  While the Bradley Center is not exactly on campus like ND's court is but imagine a game like yesterday's and they can't fit in 9,500 fans.

In other games yesterday, Fab Melo returned to Syracuse and it was no contest against the Redmen (or whatever their name is now) of St. Johns.

And how about Georgetown?  A 30 point whupping of South Florida while scoring 52 points in the second half.  The Bradley Center will be rocking on March 3 when the Zoo gathers for a weekend.  (With a bit of luck it could be the biggest crowd ever for MU.)

And lets give some kudos to Murray State for remaining undefeated.

Who's your choice in the Super Bowl in a few hours.  I like what NE has done over the years but I like even more how Coughlin has mellowed over the years....here's hoping for a Giant's win.

Go Warriors!!!

Joe