[-STAT-]

Was really dreading the 10pm start, then once it got started, thought we were seeing the same team in the first half against Clemson. Gonzaga was doing whatever they wanted offensively, Kentucky was slow on switches, defending pick & roll, no active hands, of course offensively was reminiscent of Clemson, couldn't buy a basket in that first half, and giving up 50 points? I knew it would be an uphill climb to even make it competitive.

Guess what? halftime adjustments! I've been around the game of basketball all my life, the game has evolved and changed so much, but one thing that hasn't, you're losing or getting your asses smacked at half, you have to make changes as a coach to ensure it doesn't continue, and boy does it feel great to have a coach who will do that. Defensively Gonzaga was shredding them in pick & roll, then just beating & banging down low, going zone specifically 1-3-1, then switching man-to-man, really caused fits for Gonzaga, also Nembhard was having his way in the 1st half, especially in P&R, putting Oweh on him in the 2nd half for spurts really rattled him, think he only had 1 assist in the 2nd/OT.

I was worried, and even questioned the toughness of Kentucky after the Clemson game, they just did not show up for that game, outworked, outplayed and outcoached in every facet of the game, and even halftime of this game I was worried that the toughness wouldn't be there, but I'm real glad to say I was wrong. I wondered when the season started, how this team would handle adversity, and if they would be able to overcome it. This game showed that they are more than ready, and more than prepared for the big moments. Being down your primary ball handler in Butler, then Kerr going down on a freak play, always heard those Jones fractures which he has is a tough one to recover from.

One glaring hole we've seen so far this season is it just seems like we haven't had that go-to guy to get a bucket or make a big play in clutch time, well this game we got 2 guys that stepped up. Gotta give it to Andrew Carr, he really came up huge in the initial comeback, made some tough shots in the paint & high post, played great defense and had some key rebounds as well. We've kindly all been waiting on Robinson to have a breakout game, we know what he can do as a scorer, but he broke out as the primary ball handler and he done great. Not only creating for himself, but creating opportunities for others, that skip pass to Oweh in the opposite corner, driving baseline for the dunk was a huge play, really seemed to raise Robinson's confidence.

Just an overall gutsy, gritty comeback and a hard fought win. Great response back from the Clemson loss, basically on the road in Seattle and defeat a great Gonzaga team. This one had the feels of an elite-8 type game/atmosphere, sure wouldn't mind seeing that one again in late march.