SBN RECAP
Well, we didn't quite get to 100, but we got close.
To be honest, I'm not really sure what to make out of this game. On the one hand, it was nice to see us take a lead on a team, extend it, and then not let them shoot their way back into it. We did a lot of good things, there's no doubt about that, and the fact that it came after an entire week off for finals is all the better.
But this game was built on a ridiculous shooting night, one that won't be duplicated all year. And while the defense was decent, it was just pretty much the same thing as usual -- lost track of too many shooters, failed to clean up on the defensive glass effectively.
I guess maybe just the best policy is to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and just be happy that we killed a team that had been playing well as of late. Wins are wins right now -- just ask any other team in the conference. But I'm also ready to see how we stack up against another challenging opponent.
Basically, I'm ready for LSU on Tuesday and Pac-10 play the following week.
Something I noticed that's worth keeping an eye on. James Watson took Charlie Enquist's minutes, and did a good job. He scored six points and grabbed a couple of rebounds and played generally solid defense in 12 minutes. Yeah, I'd like some stronger defensive rebounding out of him, but he's already made some big strides this year. I like it.
Player of the Game: Nikola Koprivica. There are very few things better than a redemption story, and it looks like Koprayitsa is finally writing his. For as much crap as Koprazitsa took from all of us last year, he has found new life under Ken Bone, and tonight was his capstone moment: a career high 23 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field -- including an absurd 5-of-5 from 3 -- and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Kopripizza was the picture of perfection, and it couldn't have happened to a better guy. Even if this is the best it gets for him this year, he'll always have this.
Unsung Hero: Reggie Moore. I talked before the game about needing a big offensive night from him, but that became moot when Nik went off. So, all Moore did was dish out 12 assists against ZERO turnovers. That's some good point guard play right there.
It was over when... Nik hit the second of two 3s in a two minute span to take a lead that had been whittled down to 15 with 9:22 to left and stretch it back out to 24 with 7:27 to go. That was all she wrote.
Stat of the Game: Watching the game on TV, I knew the Cougs had great ball movement, but I had no idea how good. On a typical night, the Cougs assist on 56 percent of their baskets. Tonight? Just 25 assists on their 33 field goals -- 75.8 percent. Wow.
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