I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous (read: terrified) all day; if I said I wasn't positively mortified when we were down 10; if I said I wasn't thinking about stripping naked and wandering out into the woods when were down 5 at the half; if I said I wasn't wondering how bad Drano would really taste when we were tied at 47 with 8 minutes to play... But we pulled through. Like we do. Like we pretty much always do.
Wow, that Coastal Carolina team is the best 16-seed I've ever seen. No lip service there. Those guys were quick and determined, and shot lights out in the 1st half. Anyway, the gulf between 1s and 16s continues to narrow. Now it's a medium-sized river. Soon, it'll be a sweet babbling creek. And then soon after that, a 16 will finally beat a 1. I'm just glad it's not us, not this year. (A word whispers sinister across the breeze: Chaaaaaaaaaaaminade.)
Anyhoo. London played a great game. 6 assists, 0 turnovers, 3-for-4 from deep, and 3-for-3 from the line when he was fouled shooting a 3.
Hockey style, second star of the game goes to Evan Nolte, of course. Those two 3s were both feckin HUGE. And the little bunnyhop jumper. And his defense! Great job by Evan, and great job by Tony to put Nolte into the game... and keep him there!
And finally, Anthony Gill. Quietest dunk-tacular awesome 17-point performance ever. At this point, he's the new Brogdon --- an efficient, reliable, "set it and forget it" double-digit scorer.
I like the idea of a driven Joe and Akil as we move forward, with them looking to atone for not-so-great games in the 1st round. APB out for Mike Tobey, who might have actually stripped naked and wandered out into the woods. And also for Justin Anderson... I hope it wasn't the Drano.
Survive and advance, Hoos. Bring on Memphis, now that we can relax off of the 16-1 upset paranoia and just enjoy the Tournament.
Oh, and Duke and VCU lost today. Great day.
GO HOOS!
Look, that first half was a mirage. C.C. was hitting ludicrous low-percentage shots with hands in their faces throughout. Yeah, there were a few open look threes, but not enough to ever establish a 10 point lead. They got there because we were consistently missing open looks, and they were hitting miracle shots every time they came down the court.
ReplyDeleteThe clock struck midnight at halftime on a bad team that had built a lead on prayers in the first half, and UVa continued going about their business, thanks to a little bit of regression to the mean on CC's shooting in the face of stout defense, and actually hitting the shots they were missing in the first half (thanks, Evan).
It really is a testament to this team's depth that the guys you named (Perrantes, Gill, and Nolte) were the guys to win this one when Harris, Mitchell, and Anderson were off their game. A bunch of dudes from the team tweeted after the ACCT final that quote from noted war criminal (it's still a good quote) Harry S Truman that "it's amazing what can be accomplished if you do not care who gets the credit." With that kind of attitude, I don't see who can stop these guys.
Hoos!
#hoos
Preach on, brother Tom
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