We didn't put a full 40 together today, but there was a stretch of about 25 minutes of game time where we gave UNI all they could handle. Didn't come into this one expecting to win, so I'm just happy about the way the guys responded after getting down big. Some takeaways:
- Otis was solid, but really struggled to defend Washbun. Washbun looks like Wesley Snipes from White Men Can't Jump so maybe he was just intimidated.
- I can't imagine Holloway making a worse case for playing time than tonight. He took only bad shots and was a total ballstopper. Even at his best, he's just a bad fit for Paulsen's offense. The only good news for Patrick is that Murrell was equally bad. Young Kameron looks like the game is moving too fast for him right now, and he should probably be eased into the rotation.
- Shevon had some highlight-reel plays, but some others that seemed... ahem... soft. He was less panicked against the double in the post, but is still too indecisive against it. Loved his block on the defensive end followed by the and-1 on the break.
- We had a 23-8 offensive rebounding advantage, but only shot 5-24 from 3. I think we need to accept that we're going to be a poor 3 point shooting team more often than not, and that it'll be really hard to beat good teams without getting some 3s to fall.
All said, credit to UNI. They're a disciplined, well-coached team, and every time we made a run they responded. I'd love to continue the home-and-home with them.