.
Welcome to the Bulldawg Illustrated Hoops report. It’s like going to Six Flags half drunk. You just got the hope the fun outweighs the nausea. And the Dawgs sure played a roller coaster of a game on Wednesday. It could have been as brutal a loss as we had in Baton Rouge last Saturday, but amazingly the free throw line saved us this time. Now we’re 1-2 in the SEC with the Gators coming to town. While they struggled out of the gates, they’re 3-0 in the SEC now. I can assure you this team will be well coached and play solid defense. But before we discuss how to beat the Gators, let’s talk about Vandy.
.
.
Luckily, the Dawgs played exceptional defense for 18 minutes and built a 13 point lead. Then the Dawgs learned the half is actually 20 minutes long as Vandy closed the half on a 6-0 and barely missed a three pointer with the buzzer sounding as well. When the second half started, Kenny Gaines scored the first five points and the Dawgs were looking good. The ball was moving and the offense was clicking. When Gaines hit his last three of the night at the 5:54 mark the Dawgs were up 11. However, that was our last field goal of the night. We would end up playing mediocre defense and making some bone-headed offensive plays down the stretch. That allowed Vandy to close to 63-61. But the Dawgs hit 9-10 from the FT line in the last five minutes and somehow held on to win by three. We only committed 11 turnovers. That is close to where we need to be. And while we only shot 66% from the FT line, we did seal the game at the stripe. So a road win is a road win. Now, what’s next for this undermanned team? Oh, the only SEC team that’s been to the last three Elite Eights.
.
.
Ok, the Dawgs have to be all in for this one. While the Repulsive Reptiles started out struglling, they’ve put it together. They’re looking to run their record to 4-0. This is must win, but it’s very, very important. We need a large, loud crowd. Tipoff is a 2 pm. Run grab some bloody marys and brunch at your favorite established and get a little vocal when you hit the Steg! We’re understaffed. Hopefully, we’ll be underfed as well. There’s nothing more dangerous than a hungry Dawg. Let’s turn the Coliseum into a scream machine. Go Dawgs!!