Wow. I am still in awe of last night's rough, tough intense game. I must admit, and some of you may be thinking I am an idiot for saying this, but these Cats are better right now than they were last year at this time. The quality of opponents has gone up as well as the intensity of the games and this team has responded with nothing but positive signs. A 74-67 win against the #11 team in the country and a team most predicted to go to the Final Four.
Everybody knew Brandon Knight was going to be good, but maybe not that good this fast. Everybody knew Terrence Jones was going to be good, but nobody new he was going to be the best player on the floor for both teams almost every night, scoring 3 double-doubles in four games.
And let's not forget to praise DeAndre Liggins for his tenacity on defense and his renegade attitude diving for loose balls and getting in the heads of the other players by not leaving their side. He may not score much but his shutdown ability on the defensive side of things counters that. He will have some games when he is in double figures and that is just an extra bonus.
And what can we say about Josh Harrelson? Jorts exploded last night for 14 rebounds, 7 on the offensive glass, with a big time three and key blocks. The lone senior seems he has turned a corner and may become that one missing piece. He has taken a page out of Liggins book and has become scrappy.
Tonight the Cats play in the championship game against a UConn team that upset #2 Michigan State last night. Look for Liggins to smother superstar guard Kemba Walker, a guy averaging 30 points a game. The Cats are ranked higher but I watched UConn last night and they are big. The only real scoring threat they have is walker. If he is shut down then they will have trouble. And obviously size does not matter. The Cats were undersized last night but out rebounded U Dub by being in position, being fast and getting the other team's bigs in foul trouble in the second half.
The Cats beat the other Huskies last year in Madison Square Garden thanks to the heroics of some guy named John Wall. Both teams are different but Uconn returns more. Hell, every team does. Obviously this is a Big East team, so this game means a lot.
I cannot say enough about the Cats defense holding a team that averaged over 100 points in their first 3 games to just 67 last night. The Cats can beat UConn and I think they will. Even if they lose, this trip has shown us with this team is about what they are made of.
One more tough game boys and then lets go eat some Turkey! The Sprortsthat boys will be at Big Blue Country tonight. Come by, have a beer and say hello!
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