This post is not analytical. It is purely emotional and probably an overreaction. With that out of the way, let me say that that this current Huskies team is a total disappointment. I was able to rationalize the earlier loss to Washington St as well as the looses to both UO and OSU - after all, all good teams are bound to hit some rough patches. We recovered and with a little help from around the league, we still had an opportunity to tie for first place. All we had to do was beat WSU, UCLA and USC at home - a place where we were 14-0 this season. In doing so, we would tie UCLA at 13-5 in conference and then hope that UO or OSU beat Arizona.
A nice finish to an up and down season was at our grasp. What seemed like impossible a week ago was now very real. The UCLA game was the obvious showdown game, but before we could take out the Bruins at home we had to return the favor to the Cougs. HOw they did not get the job done is beyond me. I know that the Cougs played zone most of the game. I know that they have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to their cross-state rivals. I know they are trying to play their way into the tournament. I know all of that...and yet still, this was a game the Huskies should have won. I don't care about the zone when we are at home. No matter what defense is being thrown at us, we should be able to play good defense, create turnovers and hang in there long enough for our shooters to start knocking down shots. Oh, and of course, we should be able to feed of the crowd's energy.
None of that happened last night as the Cougs held the nation's second leading scoring team to 17 points at halftime. 17 freaking points. 22% freaking shooting. That is ridiculous. And yet still we were only down by 7. We hung in there. You had to figure things would get better in the second half. On offense they did, but on defense they didn't. Next thing I looked an they were down by 19. How does that happen? How do we lose to Washington St twice in one year?
The answer is quite simple to me: Romar has again assembled an uber-talented squad but they simply have no spine. This was supposed to be the most talented of the recent UW teams, which is saying something considering they lost Jon Brockman and Quincy Pondexter the past two years, yet they appear to be lacking that driving force that makes teams win even on their worst days. Isaiah tries to be that guy, but at the end of the day, he is 5'8" guard who likes to shoot too much when things are going bad. For all the talk of how MBA has matured and increased his play, he always leaves me wanting more. Unless they can find a can of mental strength at Trader Joe's (they have everything, right??) in the next two weeks, they are not going anywhere come tourney time.
I am fully aware that they will probably shut me up by winning the Pac-10 tournament. They can get hot and plow through three opponents in three days (unless of course WSU finishes 6 in the conference and matches up with them in the 1st round). In a way though, that might be the worst result as it would lead all fans to think they can make some noise come tourney time. Bottom line is they are not getting past the Sweet 16. Maybe they can overpower some of the smaller teams, but their is no way a Big East or Big Ten doesn't handle them in the Regional Semi's. I wish I didn't have to say it, but after watching the abomination last night, I simply can't have that blind faith again.
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