Why I am excited about our basketball team...

[snag]

OK, I'll admit it. I was mad last night. That was the most painful loss, for me, in the Stan Heath era. I was so furious that I wanted to get on here and rant about Brewer's failure to take the ball to the hole at the end or about Hill's inability to hold on to the rebound that bounced right into his hands or McCurdy's inability to breathe while standing at the free throw line. But I've settled down now, and I am back to being optimistic about our basketball future. Here's why:

- First of all, the reason everybody is so upset about last night's loss is that we played the best game of the Stan Heath era last night - and we did it in classic Razorback fashion. We got into the legs of the Tigers last night, and we did it by relentlessly pushing the ball on offense. The way that we relentlessly pushed the ball on offense reminded me of the old Nolan days - at least offensively. Now, I'll admit that we didn't apply a lot of defensive pressure until the last five minutes (I guess you could say it was 5 minutes of hell), but we pushed the ball offensively for most of the game. And it worked to perfection! All we needed was good execution the last 45 seconds of the game and everything would be different today. We would be talking about Heath's great game plan (which it was) and the amazing tenacity displayed by the Hogs.

- I do believe the Hogs are getting better as the season progresses, and I also think they believe they can play with anybody. I don't think any team wows them. Their confidence is growing. The only missing ingredient is knowing how to win (which I will admit is huge) - but I believe that will come.

- I liked Stan Heath taking the blame for the loss. That was a stand up thing to do. Instead of saying "boy, Sean McCurdy is a good free throw shooter, and if he could have hit just one of those", he said "I shouldn't have put Sean McCurdy in that situation". He could have also blamed the guys (I can't remember if anyone besides Thomas touched the ball on that play) for even passing the ball to McCurdy instead of letting themselves get fouled, but he didn't. That's being a stand up guy. The players will respond to that.

- I think the Hogs will win 4 or 5 of their last 7 regular season games, make a good showing in the SEC Tourney, slide into the NCAA, and win one or two. That's what I have expected from the beginning, and my expectations are still the same.

[hogfan064]

I hope you're right, but last night was our chance to really move up in the RPI.  THe Hogs will have to win 6 of 7 to guarantee a NCAA bid.  Even 9-7 doesn't make things certain. 

[The_Bionic_Pig]

If they take care of business at home at worst they go 4-3 but they should/will WIN atleast one of these two road games (Georgia/Ole Miss) That's 5-2 which would put our conference record at 9-7 (Overall 20-9)  You just need to win 1 SEC tourney game for insurance.

[Biggus Piggus]

- First of all, the reason everybody is so upset about last night's loss is that we played the best game of the Stan Heath era last night - and we did it in classic Razorback fashion.

I can't buy that.  Most of the game we looked overmatched.  Only the rally at the end was memorable, and it happened because LSU played four guys almost the whole game.

I have to believe the best game of the Stan Heath era was a win.  I choose the 11-point win over a ranked Alabama team in 2003, or maybe the 16-point win over a ranked South Carolina team in 2004.

In our last seven regular-season games in 2004, we played five pretty well.  Lost six of 'em.  Our last game was at Ole Miss, and we were awful.  Then we lost in the first round of the SECT to the same Gamecocks we had beaten.

[hoggystyle78]

I'm excited also, but for a different reason, last night was just one more nail in the coffin for Stan, it won't be long now and we'll be rid of him, hopefully JFB will make a good hire next time cause I'm not sure if our BB program can take much more of this before we're just an afterthought in college BB. It's obvious that heath cannot get it done, there's no reason with the kids we've got that we couldn't make the NCAA. I just wonder how many more losses like the one last night before the players give up like they did last year?

[snag]

- First of all, the reason everybody is so upset about last night's loss is that we played the best game of the Stan Heath era last night - and we did it in classic Razorback fashion.

I can't buy that.  Most of the game we looked overmatched.  Only the rally at the end was memorable, and it happened because LSU played four guys almost the whole game.

I have to believe the best game of the Stan Heath era was a win.  I choose the 11-point win over a ranked Alabama team in 2003, or maybe the 16-point win over a ranked South Carolina team in 2004.

In our last seven regular-season games in 2004, we played five pretty well.  Lost six of 'em.  Our last game was at Ole Miss, and we were awful.  Then we lost in the first round of the SECT to the same Gamecocks we had beaten.

Dude, you have a much better memory than I. You are pretty much the basketball guru around here, so I'll defer to you on your analysis of the previous seasons. I probably should have said that last night's game was, IMO, the best one of the season. All I know is that I never thought they would beat LSU at home. Many people feel LSU is the best team in the SEC. They have so much talent in their starting five - head and shoulders above our starting five. To come back like we did and have the game in our hands, based on an effectively executed plan, was exceptional from my perspective.