O Crap

So I know I'm the worst blogger ever, but there are more important matters at hand...

Dayton has lost two in a row. By a total of two points. In fact their six losses this year are by a grand total of 22 points. What does this tell me? That at 14-6 they have about a one percent chance of making it to the NCAA Tournament, something that was more of an afterthought at the beginning of the season. In October it wasn't "You think they'll make the tournament?" It was "You think they'll make the Elite 8?" O how quickly things can change.

These guys can't seem to win in close games, which they did in droves last year. I don't know why, I can't tell you what they are doing wrong in these games. In the case of Nova, KState and New Mexico and St. Joe's, the biggest problem was that they decided to play from behind the entire game. Then, when they made a run, it was not enough. Xavier and Rhode Island they just lost it. So when they need a big win at Richmond or at Temple or in the A-10 Tournament to make a statement for the NCAA Tournament and it's a close game, what's going to happen. Their play this year says its gonna be a loss.

How about I start a new section called Hoorays and Boos? Name subject to change.

Hooray London Warren. London, you played the greatest game of your career and one of the greatest games played by a point guard in the entire nation this season. John Wall would not have known what to do with your defense. I'm not convinced anyone could have stopped your moves to the basket. Your dunk was awesome. Your angry comments after the game to the Fox 45 guy interviewing you were hilarious. Sorry the rest of the team couldn't help you out, man. Except this guy...

Hooray Kurt Huelsman. You set a record for consecutive starts. You played your best all-around game of the year, shutting down the inside, scoring points and grabbing rebounds. For the first time in your career you deserved to be (and should have been) in the game in the closing minutes. You were the best option UD had to grab a board, something they had a lot of trouble (out of the blue) with last night. Congrats on the record, and keep that kind of offensive play up. If you score six to 10 points a night, this team just might be able to go on the run they need when your teammates figure out whatever is going on with them.

Boo Chris Wright's defense. You left multiple three point shooters open in last nights game. And I mean egregiously open. Not to mention one of those guys you left was Marquis Jones, who made you pay. Hedge a screen man. You have been having a great season until last night. As much as I like that your jump shot is improving and you are a clear leader for these guys, it's hard to ignore the defensive mistakes you've made in A-10 play. The deal with Jones, fouling Delroy James for 3 shots last night, and the foul on Jason Duty when Duquesne visited. Can't have those.

Boo Rob Lowery. Rob, you bring a new dimension to the offense, but only if you are scoring. When you put up bad shots, it does nothing for us. We can't have the "I'm gonna take over now, I don't care what is happening around me" Rob. We need a much more calm and cool version of that guy, who makes better decisions throughout the game, but especially late.

Boo UD fans that don't like the substitutions. It's been seven years. This is how it will work. There will be lots of substitutions from UD. But you know what? The guys who should be playing will play the most minutes. Yeah, every game Chris Johnson, Chris Wright, Kurt Huelsman, Marcus Johnson, London Warren, Marcus Johnson and Mickey Perry play the most minutes. Paul Williams will play a pretty good amount too. That's eight guys. That's not very many. Luke, Devin and Josh are there to give people a rest. They don't play 20 minutes a game. Give it a rest. Guys come in and play for four hard minutes. If you don't believe me, keep track next time. London will come out 2 minutes into the game, and after that, everybody will play for at least 3:30, unless there is foul trouble involved.

There you go, I'm hoping to change the look of this thing as I learn how to do cooler stuff with Web sites.