This is one of those where you have the obituary written and then you have to tear it all up and start over. At some point late in the first half I tweeted this:
I think tonight should quiet the "We should have hired Tom Crean" crowd. That team was a disaster. Even when they were up big, the offense was completely out of control. Guys were just driving wildly and tossing the ball around. They made shots in the first half, but in the second, they didn't make many (9/25, 1/11 from three) and they kept turning it over (nine times). They gave Missouri an opening and the Tigers took it.
I don't know if I'd pick Reed Nikko or Xavier Pinson as the player of the game. Both were phenomenal. Pinson constantly got in the lane and drove the offense. Nikko was in the right spot, came up with big buckets and rebounds and had the block that effectively won the game.
Cuonzo Martin talked a lot about the scouting report after the game. He said Georgia's defense is vulnerable to straight line drives and Pinson and Javon Pickett (and at times Dru Smith) did a nice job taking advantage of that. He said they were willing to let Anthony Edwards take threes, especially if they weren't pull up threes going to his left. Edwards scored 23 points, but he took 24 shots to get there and was 3-12 from three-point range. I know we like to hammer the coach when things don't work, but the scouting report in this game was spot on and in the second half, when the players actually started to execute it, it worked.
Big picture, I don't want to make too much of this. They dug themselves a huge hole, but managed to come back to beat a bad team at home. It probably shouldn't have been as difficult as they made it, but credit to them for sticking with it and not giving up when pretty much all of us (myself included) had. In the long run, it probably won't be hugely memorable or mean a whole lot, but winning is better than losing and it's obvious the team is still together and still believes in the coach. You don't come back like that if those things aren't true.
The schedule provides some chances at wins. Maybe they can get some. The first step is taking the second half on the road where Missouri is 1-5. If this game's going to mean anything at all, it needs to be followed up with a win at South Carolina on Saturday.
Photos on the front, Mitchell's post-game story coming shortly and my and one game review will be up first thing in the morning.
I think tonight should quiet the "We should have hired Tom Crean" crowd. That team was a disaster. Even when they were up big, the offense was completely out of control. Guys were just driving wildly and tossing the ball around. They made shots in the first half, but in the second, they didn't make many (9/25, 1/11 from three) and they kept turning it over (nine times). They gave Missouri an opening and the Tigers took it.
I don't know if I'd pick Reed Nikko or Xavier Pinson as the player of the game. Both were phenomenal. Pinson constantly got in the lane and drove the offense. Nikko was in the right spot, came up with big buckets and rebounds and had the block that effectively won the game.
Cuonzo Martin talked a lot about the scouting report after the game. He said Georgia's defense is vulnerable to straight line drives and Pinson and Javon Pickett (and at times Dru Smith) did a nice job taking advantage of that. He said they were willing to let Anthony Edwards take threes, especially if they weren't pull up threes going to his left. Edwards scored 23 points, but he took 24 shots to get there and was 3-12 from three-point range. I know we like to hammer the coach when things don't work, but the scouting report in this game was spot on and in the second half, when the players actually started to execute it, it worked.
Big picture, I don't want to make too much of this. They dug themselves a huge hole, but managed to come back to beat a bad team at home. It probably shouldn't have been as difficult as they made it, but credit to them for sticking with it and not giving up when pretty much all of us (myself included) had. In the long run, it probably won't be hugely memorable or mean a whole lot, but winning is better than losing and it's obvious the team is still together and still believes in the coach. You don't come back like that if those things aren't true.
The schedule provides some chances at wins. Maybe they can get some. The first step is taking the second half on the road where Missouri is 1-5. If this game's going to mean anything at all, it needs to be followed up with a win at South Carolina on Saturday.
Photos on the front, Mitchell's post-game story coming shortly and my and one game review will be up first thing in the morning.
