I will admit that I was pretty frustrated most of the night. Happy we won, but not with several other things...
1. I thought we'd come out ready to play , coming off that loss, but we didn't. Down 10-0 and then 12-2. This will get you beat against a good team.
2. I thought we'd run away with it once we got the lead to double digits. We didn't. Let them stay in it because of lack of execution on offense by starters and poor D.
3. I was frustrated with the officials most of the night. It seemed we were getting a road whistle all night. They called it tightly against UK but loosely against A&M all night. Travis can't buy a foul but we got whistled for every touch foul. I was wondering if A&M was going to even get to 7 fouls in the 2nd. Do the Aggies foul? Ha!
4. I was frustrated that A&M, which came in shooting about 25% from three, made 50% in the 1st half and finished 8-17 for the game. Just like Alabama, they'll return to earth next time out. Don't tell me it's just bad defense. Beer muscles is what Cal used to call it. Everyone's Superbowl. Whatever, I hate it.
But the silver lining...
1. Hagans continues to play well. He's looking more and more like a Calipari point guard with his running of the offense. He's getting penetration with his quickness and he's finding the open man and making the right plays. And what can you say about his D? He's one of the best I've seen in some time. Don't even try to cross him over, and forget passing it across his face or over his head. His long arms and quick hands make him lethal.
2. Herro is becoming more consistent. I think he's at his best when he's not just camping out at the three point line, but he's moving well, coming off screens, making mid-range shots, and taking it to the rim. These things help him get better looks from 3. I think he's not worried about the shot or the release as much, and he's making them at a better rate.
3. The bench players came to play tonight. PJ, Travis, and KJ were out of sync early, but the team made the run with Quickley, Baker, EJ, and Richards in there. All 4 of those guys made solid contributions in this game and it made a huge difference. The bench was an efficient 9-13 from the floor, including 3-4 from 3. They scored 23 points.
That's 2 games in a row for Quickley making some threes. He was 2-2 tonight. But he also made defensive plays tonight, with 3 steals of his own tonight. He also had 2 assists and 0 turnovers. Richards has been improving more and more in his limited time. He had 2 big blocks and finished at the rim well. Montgomery was good too, with 2 blocks in limited minutes. Baker made an unbelievable shot from the corner and completed the 4pt play, but his defense is pretty good, too. I really believe the ceiling of this team depends on these 4 players.
4. We closed out a game that could have slipped away. The team is making plays down the stretch when the game is on the line. A&M cut it to 2 with just under 8 minutes to play (which never should have happened) and the Cats could have let this game get away, but they made the plays to seal the win.
1. I thought we'd come out ready to play , coming off that loss, but we didn't. Down 10-0 and then 12-2. This will get you beat against a good team.
2. I thought we'd run away with it once we got the lead to double digits. We didn't. Let them stay in it because of lack of execution on offense by starters and poor D.
3. I was frustrated with the officials most of the night. It seemed we were getting a road whistle all night. They called it tightly against UK but loosely against A&M all night. Travis can't buy a foul but we got whistled for every touch foul. I was wondering if A&M was going to even get to 7 fouls in the 2nd. Do the Aggies foul? Ha!
4. I was frustrated that A&M, which came in shooting about 25% from three, made 50% in the 1st half and finished 8-17 for the game. Just like Alabama, they'll return to earth next time out. Don't tell me it's just bad defense. Beer muscles is what Cal used to call it. Everyone's Superbowl. Whatever, I hate it.
But the silver lining...
1. Hagans continues to play well. He's looking more and more like a Calipari point guard with his running of the offense. He's getting penetration with his quickness and he's finding the open man and making the right plays. And what can you say about his D? He's one of the best I've seen in some time. Don't even try to cross him over, and forget passing it across his face or over his head. His long arms and quick hands make him lethal.
2. Herro is becoming more consistent. I think he's at his best when he's not just camping out at the three point line, but he's moving well, coming off screens, making mid-range shots, and taking it to the rim. These things help him get better looks from 3. I think he's not worried about the shot or the release as much, and he's making them at a better rate.
3. The bench players came to play tonight. PJ, Travis, and KJ were out of sync early, but the team made the run with Quickley, Baker, EJ, and Richards in there. All 4 of those guys made solid contributions in this game and it made a huge difference. The bench was an efficient 9-13 from the floor, including 3-4 from 3. They scored 23 points.
That's 2 games in a row for Quickley making some threes. He was 2-2 tonight. But he also made defensive plays tonight, with 3 steals of his own tonight. He also had 2 assists and 0 turnovers. Richards has been improving more and more in his limited time. He had 2 big blocks and finished at the rim well. Montgomery was good too, with 2 blocks in limited minutes. Baker made an unbelievable shot from the corner and completed the 4pt play, but his defense is pretty good, too. I really believe the ceiling of this team depends on these 4 players.
4. We closed out a game that could have slipped away. The team is making plays down the stretch when the game is on the line. A&M cut it to 2 with just under 8 minutes to play (which never should have happened) and the Cats could have let this game get away, but they made the plays to seal the win.