Observations from the game.
For starters, our defense was better. We were getting after loose balls, and closing out on shooters more than in previous games. A better shooting team would have hit more of those shots, but there was noticeable improvement.
Balamou - He plays like someone pressed the FF button. His athletic ability is freakish. He finishes in traffic, and defends with a ferocity. I see it becoming contagious.
Harrison - Played his best game. Didn't force up threes. Really bought into the team concept on offense. Perhaps he has grown up some in the last few weeks.
Obekpa - I, and everyone else in my section thought he had more than one block that was ruled a GT. He is far more useful on offense than I expected. He simply isn't trying to make that his game. But last night, he looked great on offense. One move in the first half made my jaw drop. It was a spin move from the baseline, and he banked it off the glass.
Sampson - that wacky jumper goes in. He's settled down from the Detroit game, but there is one thing that he almost never does: box out. That needs to be taught. That 6'5 freshman camped under the basket every time a shot went up, and he pulled down 11 boards. Against better teams, we will need our bigs to stick their ass in someone's stomach.
Greene - More of the same. Poised, confident and ready to lead. It's great to see.
Garrett - Finally had that bounce back game. He's finishing with much more consistency this season.
Pointer - He moves the ball around well on offense, but when he puts it on the floor tries to get his own he is often out of control and taking incredibly low % shots. I like your heart Dom, but you are not D Wade.
Bourgault - yikes. I wish him the best, but he is too slow to be out there for any extended period.
Jones - seems intimidated by larger defenders. He threw up a fade away hook shot that looked as if he was trying to avoid getting blocked.
Overall, it was nice to see us house an SEC team. I know they're not Kentucky or Florida, but hey, that's not our problem.
We need to build on this and run the table to the BE schedule. I'm hoping that 10 wins gets us in.