The last two minutes

You know, I really thought there was going to be more talk about the lead dwindling last night ...especially with the fact that HCBS had to bring back in the starters. (I was nervous about that b/c although bringing the starters back improves the talent on the floor, you rarely, if ever, see that happen with the game seemingly in hand.) After being up 16 with 1:51 left the lead shrunk to as low as 3. It was tough to watch and I didn't know what to think. I guess based on how well we played in the second half, it can be chalked up to being a fluke thing. At least that's how I'm rationalizing it my head.

I would agree regarding my surprise at the lack of chatter. I am disappointed that the large lead was surrendered, but still glad they had that opportunity. hopefully they will learn from that situation. My question is, what, if anything does it say about our depth?

Really nothing. We missed some FTs, which would have iced the game. Greene hits the 2 he missed, and the game is over. It was a strange and unlikely series of events, but in the end, mattered not at all. In some ways it was actually a benefit to us. It gives Self a bit more material to use with the bench, emphasizing that even when they are in a game that is 'ovah,' they need to keep their feet on the opponent's throats. Never let up. I think he's going to be making that point a lot today and in the next couple of weeks, all to our benefit.

Little chatter, but after a long day yesterday, I was knocked out asleep halfway through the WVU/OU game. Then weekend/honeydo stuff all day today and I've been away from technology (although I had a nice hike with the dog this morning).

Last night? I was never REALLY worried. From Self's perspective, you WANT the less-experienced guys to feel some pressure. Sure it's great to give them garbage minutes against the other team's b-squad at the end of a blowout, but this provided him an opportunity to let the 2nd string sink or swim on their own. Obviously they came pretty close to the former.

Bottom line, we got the W. Other than that, it was a very "teachable moment" to the guys who usually aren't in there at clutch moments. They blew it, but there are about 1 million cliche sayings about how success comes from lessons learned from failure.

In the dance, there are going to be times when we're going to be challenged and might not have our top guys available. If/when we need to dig deeper into the bench than we'd like, it's a lesson like last night that might be the difference in giving one of those guys an idea of what they need to be ready for if/when the excrement hits the fan.