Slowing down the tempo is good when the other team is gifted at running and is pushing to run, so it made sense for much of last night. I just can’t stand possessions where we try to slow the game down by dribbling around until late in the shot clock, then starting our offense and getting nothing out of holding the ball. To me, slowing the game down means being cautious and waiting until we find a good shot. So you can shoot early in the shot clock if a high-percentage shot is there. But I feel like, too often, our definition of slowing the game down is swinging the ball around the 3-point line until there is 10 seconds left, then forcing up a bad 3-pointer with a hand in our face or a 2-point jumper where we’re floating away from the basket. I want to see us continue to do the same things on offense that have helped us to build the big lead.

My feeling is we need a mix of both: we play much better defense in the half court when we limit teams’ transition chances, but we also have to push the ball when we can, especially since that is when guys like Hudson or Thompson are at their best. Just can’t do it for long bursts. When we go too much towards either extreme, that’s when we have those dry spells or start giving up points like a sieve.

This was a very nice win that will look good to the NCAA tournament selection committee in March. Now it’s time to head down to Tallahassee and see if we can steal one on Saturday!