It's the first top 20 win since last years Auburn game. I love watching KD play. We were down 13 early in the second half. We won 80-70. Sorry to rain on your parade. Especially on Fat Tuesday. :-)

Yeah, that was a really good win for us. When they got up 12-13 pts in the 2nd half, we just didn't let them pull away. We stepped up our defense, got some stops and started making shots. I think we had 5 guys in double figures. That's the way we have to win - spread the scoring and defend.... KD really gives us energy and competitiveness. He clearly hates getting beaten. Our size is still a problem though. We are having trouble rebounding, defending the post and scoring around the basket. Can't correct that this year. Just gotta keep plugging away. We are close to .500. That's improvement, regardless of what the naysayers think.

Crean is 3-6 in years 2 and 3 vs Top 25, yet it seems some on this board still think Fox had a better program going. What was Fox his last 5 years vs Top 25, 0 for 30?

we are 6-4 in our last 10 sec games.
this team has flaws but we have definitely improved.
there is one thing i do not understand about the team though.
everyone says we are undersized and struggle to rebound.
horne plays 28 minutes a game and he cant rebound.
he only has 6 rebounds for the month of february.
i like that he is a threat for 3's and he hustles and plays smart.
however he is slow and too short to play as a 'big'.
he doesnt intimidate when players penetrate.
other than one great game winning basket he is not a threat inside on offense.

my first question is are mcmillan, ned and taylor all duds?
lack of playing time makes me wonder.

if we are so undersized why not try to be a quick team and play 4 guards more often?
fagan is a far better rebounder than horne.
etter is proving he can really shoot.
garcia is way more effective inside.

i have nothing against horne being in the rotation.
it just seems he plays way more than he should.

please help me understand.

Me too. Appears Crean has quit on Nd and Taylor for this season.

I can't understand McMillan. Maybe Crean sees something day to day not apparent to me. He should be getting more minutes. Especially if you're going to sit Ned and Taylor.

And I found it interesting the Mizzou coach quotes that our offense relies on breaking off the rebound - yet we do not appear to value a rebounder or any defensive authority in the paint.

All fastbreaking teams need to be able to rebound. That's what made the great UNC teams of the past able to run; that's why UNLV was so good in their heyday. We don't run as much we would like to because we get beaten on the boards. I'm sure Crean wants to rebound better. A great rebounder in the middle and a defensive presence in the middle would cover up for a number of insufficiencies. We just don't have that player right now.

Ned is a dud; Taylor is an unknown - he hasn't played enough to know what he can be. But if Taylor isn't playing when we clearly need help inside, Crean must know something. He sees the kid every day.

I think Horne plays because he's an outside shooting threat. Crean sees that we have to win by being better offensively. I agree that Horne should be a better rebounder than he is and that Garcia is better inside, but Garcia gets in foul trouble so his minutes are more limited. I think McMillan has potential, but he's been kind of a knucklehead, so I don't know how mature he is.

McMillan was awful in the minutes I saw vs Mizzou. Bad turnover, multiple defensive lapses, no rebounds, no points.

He had shown some promise earlier, but looked lost to me.l in that game.

Agree with the PJ Horne comments above, setter should start eating some of those minutes. He's a better rebounder, defender, and offensive threat.

Just for discussion: if we win one of the UF or LSU games and both of A&M/SC are we in the tourney or do we still need to win several in the SEC tournament

16-9, 9-9 In League play feels like bubble territory, but I am not nearly up to date enough on bracketology to know

We finish with that scenario with a W on FL we got something to hang our NCAA hat on. I'd still figure bubble out and needing two SEC tourney wins if not a final appearance. Really really need to make up that A&M game.

9-9 in conference play - I would be giddy at the prospect.