Kind of funny that Virginia ended up covering the spread. I was aware of the number and watched it intently in the final seconds, even though I had no involvement.
That would have been an awesome comeback win. But it's not foundational. I agree with the NIT assessment. The fact that we were down 18 points at halftime on our own floor is more significant than nearly rallying to win. The deficit signals vulnerability, just like the double digit losses to Green Bay and Eastern Kentucky did. From the opening game I saw that we had very little inside game and nobody who could penetrate consistently and create a shot on his own. Virginia stunned us in the first half by playing tight on Rodriguez and our other perimeter guys, refusing to sit back and merely allow them to launch uncontested threes. We had no response to that until McClellan got more aggressive, even though he was off balance a couple of times while driving to the hoop. The early second half was our best basketball of the season, given caliber of opponent.
Sherman played a key role in that rally. I really like him. He's a building block with some rare skills, like nice hands and passing ability. Good to have a lefty with clever shot selection. We were too small against Virginia at the outset of the game. Not until Sherman joined Tonye did we matchup more effectively. Sherman does have a tendency to pick up cheap fouls. The referees never give him a break on the 50/50 calls. Plus he got nervous from the free throw line late in the game, including hitting the backboard first on his second free throw after missing the first one narrowly. Normally he has a smooth effective stroke.
