Welcome to the Bulldawg Illustrated Hoops Reports. It’s like getting pulled back in every time you’re trying to get out. For the last two and a half years, the Dawgs have done all they could to stay just outside the NCAA bubble. Every time the Dawgs looked like they were going to drop off the radar, they’d come back with an impressive win. This past Tuesday was no exception as the Dawgs blew out the red-hot Gators and by 12.

 

While the Dawgs defense was it’s normally stingy self, we need to be honest. The Gators went ice cold. It was a total role reversal from what we’re used to. I believe the Gators were 1-18 over a large span of the second half. If that isn’t Dawg-esque, I don’t know what is. That said, let’s give credit where credit is due. Not only was the defense solid, the Dawgs made their free throws and did a decent job of taking care of the basketball down the stretch. There was a five-second call and one trap where we turned it over and that was a little concerning, but everything else was solid. Now, we’re right back on the bubble and listed as the second team out by Joe Lunardi. However, the news isn’t all rosy just yet.

 

I must say this past Tuesday night I felt really good about the Dawgs. Not only did I love us catching three and a half points, but I really felt we’d win outright. UF had a mini win streak against us and we were due. However, now the worm turns.

 

We’ve enjoyed success against Miss St the last few seasons. On Saturday we’re heading to Starkvegas in a game that I felt would be a win at the beginning of the year. Now, I’m not so certain. I’m concerned we’re not as good as I thought we’d be and State is better than I gave them credit for. So this game is huge. If we win, it’s another quality conference road win against a decent team and we’re ahead of the NCAA curve, in my opinion. If we lose, we still have total control of our own destiny and there’s no reason to panic. We have a really good opportunity with the schedule to close the yer strong. But this game is a great opportunity to steal a W.

 

So here we are again. Getting pulled back in. This game would be a huge win for the Dawgs. We’ve just beaten a solid FL team. We looked like the team most people thought we were in October. Are we that team or did the Gators just have an off-night? I don’t want to answer that because I just don’t know. But I bet we’ll all know after the game. This kicks off the back half of the season. Let’s go get it! And Go Dawgs!

 

 

 

---

 

 

[pt_view id=”880f08db2j”]