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Message: [QUOTE="OttoMets, post: 1718775, member: 716"] DaShonte: +6 during the run in which we regained the lead with four minutes to play. He wasn't the problem. I'm telling you, it's burned into my memory like this happened last night. We had a token starter at point guard who was giving us nothing. Joseph was hurt, and that was costly. But we were playing a far inferior team with a lineup that was not at all unusual: Onuaku played 22 minutes per game that season and we played long stretches of very good basketball with Jardine/Rautins/Joseph/Johnson/Jackson. Somehow this is forgotten. We weren't title favorites without our full lineup. What we were was a talented team playing a big underdog, with the chance to play in the regional final against an underdog opponent (Xavier or Kansas State) who ended up playing two overtimes in the late game after us. We were very much favorites to go to the Final Four. And how did we go after that? -By introducing a strange wrinkle into our offense (five days after we obliterated Gonzaga with a finally-healthy Wes Johnson) in which Rick Jackson would work at the high post and Wes would sit on the block, which played into the hands of a very physical defense and put our two players into unfamilar roles. - By opting not to press a team with shaky ball-handlers, a team that wanted a game in the 50s. In stark contrast to the last eight minutes this Sunday, we let the underdog be comfortable rather than exploiting the talent gap and forcing them to stay with us. -By going into a stall with a 4 point lead and over 4 minutes on the clock (right after one of our only transition baskets, no less). Just bad math. It was a bad game and a bad upset. Our players were head-and-shoulders better than theirs, but we didn't take advantage. [/QUOTE]

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