Kansas State: post mortem

That one hurts.

If you're the team, nothing changes.  Your goal should still be a 20-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth.  Every loss has been close enough that it's clear you're competitive.

As a fan, however, I found myself recalibrating my expectations for this team on the long drive back to Atlanta.  It is early, but the Bulldogs have put themselves in a very bad situation.  Unless something changes fast, do you really see this team beating Georgia Tech and Clemson?  Me either:

• Was it goaltending or basket interference?  Yes, it probably was.  On the one hand, this game never should have come down to the last second.  On the other, it would have been nice to get that call and escape, and it's completely insane (especially after last year's NCAA Tournament) that it's not a reviewable play.
• Dean Wade isn't bashful, and he won his team the game.  He could have shut it down after a bad first half, but he kept shooting.  The fact that he was able to get two wide open looks in crunch time when he was clearly Kansas State's best option was...frustrating.
• Yante Maten: beast.
• That first half showed you what Georgia can be.  Unfortunately, so did the second half.
• Georgia gave up 16 offensive rebounds, was outshot 59-51, and missed 8 free throws.  Deja vu all over again.
• Mike Edwards is learning on the job, and he's having a tough time on the floor, but it's going to make him a better player.  A couple late offensive rebounds made his potential pretty obvious.  He just needs to get stronger.
• E'Torrion Wilridge looks lost on the floor right now, and that's a shame.  I'm sure it's partially because he doesn't know what he's doing - he's only played 6 games, after all.  However, some of it is because he's scared to make a mistake.  It's hard to blame him, because...
• ...Turtle Jackson came in 10 minutes into the game, went around a pick and took the ball straight to the basket for a layup, completed a brilliant no-look pass to Yante Maten the next time down the court for an assist, and then turned the ball over and committed a bad foul that led to a 3-point play.  In other words...he did what talented freshmen do - he flashed his potential, and he made mistakes.  What did Fox do?  He immediately yanked him off the floor, and Jackson only saw 4 more minutes all night.  I may write a longer post on this later, but it's insane.
• For what it's worth, Wade (a freshman) had a pretty bad first half, but Bruce Weber let him play 30 minutes, and we know how that turned out...
• I am hard on Houston Kessler around these parts, but his rebounding was pretty good.  His defense?  Still plenty of room for improvement...
• Great to see Ogbeide get a few trips down the floor.  Hopefully that is ramped up into meaningful minutes on Tuesday night.
• Osahen Iduwe needs to learn to stay on his feet on defense.  You're almost 7' tall, my man.  Defend without fouling.
• I guess I'll just give up on seeing much zone.  The last time it was employed extensively, Georgia cut a 10 point Seton Hall lead to 1.  We've barely seen it since...

So what now?  I have no idea.  I'm going to keep going to the games, but I worry that most Georgia fans have probably lost interest already.  The intrigue of a new football coach easily trumps a mediocre basketball team in Athens.

But it doesn't have to be this way!  The team we saw in the first half was an NCAA Tournament team.  Period.  Had that team come back out of the locker room, we'd be having a very different conversation right now.  Had they played close to that level all year, we'd be 6-0 and excited.

But they're not, and we're not.  They're 3-3, and we're uneasy.  Keep grinding.  See you Tuesday.

Kansas State: gut feeling

My gut says any revenge theme is probably overplayed a bit tonight as most of last year's Kansas State team (including Marcus Foster, pictured) is gone.

My gut says the Wildcats are closer to the team that scraped by South Carolina State than they are to the team that was leading North Carolina in the last 4 minutes.  Either way, they can't be taken lightly.

My gut says the crowd is tepid again tonight, which would be a shame.  This is the first true road game for a young Kansas State team.  It's the kind of game a good crowd can really affect.

My gut says we see more zone in this game.  Kansas State hasn't shot the ball very well, so turning it into a 3-point contest might not be the worst thing.

My gut says Houston Kessler starts again tonight.  My brain has no idea why.

My gut says Georgia finds a way to win this game in the 60's.

Kansas State: post mortem

Kansas State's RPI is not particularly good, and they're unlikely to compete for the Big 12 championship (due to the conference's overall strength), but if Georgia finds itself on the tournament bubble at the end of the season, that's the kind of win that's going to look really nice.

It was ugly, of course, and it is another reminder that this team still has a lot of growing up to do.  But in March, the minutiae of the game will have been forgotten, and it will stand as a road win over a Big 12 team:

• It was nice to hear Kenny Gaines get some recognition for his work on the defensive end - something you know I trumpet here often - but it was also inevitable after he completely shut down Kansas State's best scorer.  That was only the second time Foster failed to hit a 3-point shot all season and only the third time he was held short of double figures.
• Despite all of that, I was surprised Bruce Weber kept him on the bench as long as he did.  He was smart to ride Thomas Gipson as far as he could, but the Wildcats really could have used an extra scorer on the floor down the stretch.
• Some credit to Charles Mann, too, who continues to struggle from the free throw line, but hit 2 huge ones there at the end.
• Mann also hit a 3 and got good looks on his drives to the basket.  He's a pretty obvious choice for player of the game in this case.
• Nemi Djurisic's 3 down the stretch may have been the biggest shot of the game.  Took the crowd right out of the game.
• There really shouldn't have been much of a game, though.  Had Georgia found any rhythm early on the offensive end to pair with some truly suffocating defense they could have gone up by 15 in the first half.  Then they actually did go up by 15 in the second half, only to see the lead evaporate.  Gipson deserves some credit for that - he was unstoppable for a few minutes - but it was clear Georgia was pressing.  Good job by Mark Fox using his timeouts to settle them back down and get a win.
• Good technical from Fox, too.  The way he works the officials is masterful at times.
• Think Fox didn't know how important this game was?  He only used 8 players, and he primarily rode what has become his favorite lineup:  Thornton, Djurisic, Gaines, Mann, and Parker.  Hopefully they can rest a little on Saturday.
• J.J. Frazier has a nice assist to turnover ratio, but it would be even nicer if he could eliminate one ill-advised lob per game.

Call it ugly.  Make excuses.  However you slice it, that was a big win for a team desperate for a tournament berth.  If they take care of business at home on Saturday, Georgia will ride a lot of momentum into conference play.

Game card: Kansas State

Opponent:  Kansas State
Mascot:  Wildcats
Primary color(s):  Purple
Record:  7-5
Best player:  Marcus Foster
Line:  Kansas State -3.5

Why Georgia will win:  Georgia played as poorly as they have all year against Mercer, and they still won.  They're due for a focused effort on New Year's Eve, because they know how important this game is.  Kansas State is driven by their guards, and Georgia has struggled more against teams that can hurt them inside.

Why Georgia will lose:  Kansas State hadn't lost at home until a feisty Texas Southern team knocked them off (don't laugh, they beat Michigan State too).  Now they'll be lathered up and angry as they try to finish non-conference play on a positive note.  As important as this game is for Georgia, it's similarly big for the Wildcats as Georgia looks like a good resume win this year.

What I think will happen:  Don't make me regret this, fellas.  Dawgs win an ugly one 67-66.