Remember the Cal Loss, Husky Hoop Fans
Posted Jan. 12 at 9:50 am by Mike Seely
What do we know about this year's Husky hoop squad, 14 games in? A lot, actually. First and most positively, the addition of Isaiah Thomas, whose pinball drives are reminiscent of Allen Iverson, should put the Huskies squarely on the NCAA tourney bubble come March. Also, Jon Brockman still can't shoot free throws, Matthew Bryan-Amaning is still soft and inconsistent, and the Huskies' halfcourt offense still features too much standing around, too many clear-outs, and not enough utilization of low-post talent. Finally, Quincy Pondexter is playing better this year — and when he plays well, the Huskies can play with anybody in the conference, if not the country. But when he doesn't play well — and he played horribly this past Saturday against Cal at Hec-Ed — the Huskies are infinitely vulnerable.
Actually, Saturday's game, the end result of which was a gut-wrenching 88-85 triple overtime loss, was a perfect snapshot of what happens when everything goes wrong with Romar's charges. The 6'9" Bryan-Amaning failed to grab a single rebound in 36 minutes, Brockman was 2-8 from the line, Pondexter looked awkward and indecisive and scored just one point in regulation (he finished with five), and the Dawgs' overtime offense consisted almost entirely of spreading the floor and letting Justin Dentmon go to work on his man.
In spite of such tomfoolery, were it not for a pair of startlingly ill-timed and-one fouls heading down the stretches of the multiple final frames, the Dawgs would have won, thanks largely to the first-half play of Thomas and Dentmon's ability to get to the line in the second half. But they didn't, and to make matters worse, they dumped a game at home to a team that will likely join them on that bubble come March. It's losses like these that stick out if a team misses the tourney by a win or two. Remember this one, folks, because if the Dawgs end up in the NIT, this loss will have been a big reason why.
Topics: Huskies
Comments
"Inconsistent" has been the Husky motto since B-Roy left, I love Romar but he needs to get his proverbial sh*t together unless he wants to be playing in the CBI again. Also, MBA may have had an off night (and then some, by the sound of it) but the kid is talented—he's the future in the post after Brockman goes to the NFL.
Posted Jan. 12 at 10:37 am by Keegan