We were not at our best, so I'm proud of the guys for keeping it close and fighting till the end.
Harmon had a rough night -- 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting, 0-for-6 from deep, 1 assist, 2 rebounds, a turnover and 2 steals. I'm not trying to single him out, but with Reaves out, we needed him to have a strong outing and he didn't. Could have been a very different game if we'd had Austin tonight (and Williams too would have contributed).
We were oddly hesitant to shoot at times tonight. If I had a dollar for every shot we almost took but didn't (thereby giving their defense that much more time to close in), drinks would be on me. I know good defense can get in a team's head, but I think our hesitancy amounted to us giving in to them.
Kevin Henry had an interesting point during the radio broadcast: Tech ls long but not especially fast or quick, and we took a lot of midrange and deep shots tonight, which plays into their strength. How many shots did they alter? Not full blocks, just a fingertip or two? I lost count, but it was plenty. But unlike Tech, we couldn't get a whistle when we drove it to the basket, which arguably kind of forced our hand.
I was not counting on a win tonight -- I was half-expecting a loss -- but man, if we'd had Reaves (at full strength, with no rust), I think it would have been a very different outcome. I think we were fatigued at times tonight, and Reaves and Williams could have made a huge difference in that regard, if no other.
