Thursday, February 25, 2010

Dawgs Lose in Overtime

Vanderbilt beat us 96 to 94. We missed some free throws that we needed to hit, but there was no quit in us.

Wish the game had been on t.v. I don't get ESPNU, and I was disappointed that on a night in which there were few games on, we couldn't get the game on broadcast television or some other station.

Maybe some of you others can give a recap of what happened and why we lost. The most obvious stat to me was that they hit 35 free throws and we only hit 18. When the other team gets the calls and doubles up on us from the line, it's almost impossible to win. Still, we had our chances.

Travis Leslie and Howard Thompkins played well. Thompkins didn't get a call late. Travis had a double-double. Dustin Ware scored 16 points, hit 4 of 7 from behind the arc, and had 8 assists against 0 turnovers. I think he missed a couple of free throws in regulation, but he'll win some games for us before his college career is over.

We're 12 and 14 on the year, 4 and 9 in the SEC.

2 comments:

Ollllddude said...

I watched the game (I do get ESPNU) and I wish I had responded earlier. As you correctly point out, we had our chances, and the good news is we created most of them on our own. The one thing you tend to notice is the thing that happens last when you had a chance to win. This game came down to a free throw that was missed by Dustin Ware; if he hits the free throw, we win. Missing the free throw allowed them a chance to tie and send it to overtime. We could have had a bigger lead, and we could have played better in OT, and I do not want to put it all on Ware. I am just saying that being an 85% FT shooter in general is not as good as being 85% when the game is on the line.

All that said, this was a positive game. On the road, at a difficult place to play any year, against a ranked team that had a lot to play for, down at the half by five does not make one confident at the beginning of the second half. But we played lights out. I know it is just a moral victory, but personally I am counting moral victories this year. Next year, I expect to win these games. This year, an actual win is just a bonus.

DaugMan said...

Great recap. Thanks.

I did watch parts of the Florida game, and I think the points in your post applied to that game.

When we're at home, we can compete with anybody. On the road, we'll have to hope for the best, and maybe sneak a victory in here and there.