In Reply to: The Indiana Game posted by ej on February 01, 2026 at 10:47:21
And, sure, it's easy to tabulate nits, that made a difference at the end of ALL 3 buzzers:
1) regulation;
2) 1st OT; and
3) 2nd OT.
So, I would concur that UCLA fought hard for CMC to the end.............specifically to the very end of ALL 3 of those buzzers.
That said, as I posted multiple times during the game, it's hard to argue the point that we're light in the pants at the 5 rotation. 'What a difference a Mara makes', even tho he's not yet a world beater. Might not be fair to reserve/point the pudgiest of fingers at our C rotation, but I agree that that is our softest spot this season, and magnifies the impact of Mick not being able to retain Mara.
As I noted multiple times during the game, I'm losing confidence in the Book/Jamerson tandem. Pretty much across the board from the standpoints of scoring, rebounding and D. And, the C rotation in a league of tree-toppers that characterizes the B10, is vital and will become even more vital as our Conference schedule gets even more challenging.
The other factor that bit hard, was Dorn, the 5th leading Indy scorer stepping out of a phone booth in a cape last night. He had averaged only 8.8 pts/gm coming into this game. He exploded for a game-high 26 pts, only the 2nd time this entire season he reached the 20 pt mark.
We still have 5 (after the Purdue home win) season-changing gms to go (@ MI; @ MI St; vs Ill; vs Nebbie; and ****@***** $cum), to position ourselves for the 2 postseason Tourneys. Skyy is a wild, wildcard in those critical 6 gms. I'd be happy as a pig in isht with a 4-2 record, but I'm not highly confident.