Agree about JQ. Plus/minus (+ 11), only 1 TO but offset by his 1 steal, overall, balanced play from the PG. The 11 pts were big.

This team’s turnaround and recent racking of wins has been nothing short of impressive. Felt like we were done’zo in early January, just barely hanging on by life support. Intrigued to see how things play out in the remaining 4 games + A10 tourney.

Defense was awesome to start the game.

Bench contributions last night were very critical. JQ and DeLoach came thru in some huge ways. I also agree on Miles with his 14 and 4 blocks. It was important to get him going early and he had 7pts before his first substitution.

Dayton really shocked me with their perimeter defense limiting us to 14 attempts. Did not see that coming. We could not find any holes to get good looks until second half when Sheldon hit 2 and Des hit 1. Two of them were nearly at the baseline and the worst angle imaginable. Those two makes had no business going in. Sheldon’s other three out of the TV timeout off that errant pass was big time.

Just a massively entertaining game + social atmosphere.

Not much discussion on it but Dayton was off the entire week too.

Fantastic ball game. The turnaround has indeed been impressive. The 2 key drivers of our recent success? 1) Turnovers. Single digit turnovers again....and only 1 or 2 that were silly/unforced. That's tremendous progress. 2) Miles - lack of fouls. None in the first half! He is playing great - and is staying on the floor.

Quinn was excellent in this one - had to play a more minutes due to Dawson's would trouble. His best game in a while.

I think this was Deloach's best game of the season. Very active on defense. 4 for 4 on free throws!

Des has put together a string of really great games. He's looking like the Des we saw in the first 20 games last year.

But I have to comment again on our late game execution. Failure to box out on a free throw....twice! (and once forgetting to box the shooter!). Fouling a 3 point shooter with the lead and just 15 seconds to go? Des - reaching in from behind to knock the ball away on the last possession with a 4 point lead? Why? Why? I am all for playing hard, but we have to start being aware of the situation. A huge and exciting win - but I walked out with a bit of a bad taste.....

well someone deserves some credit...first I am going to say the coaches for 1. Figuring out the best means of producing an offense that uses the talents of the players we have. and 2. Getting the players to improve their play on several levels.(setting picks, passing the ball and not forcing drives and shots,) . And the players for improving overall in the small areas. Being below double figures in turnovers for 4 straight games was something I thought was impossible.
What really has me excited is that I think we still have room to grow. DeLoach, who to me recently makes the most mistakes, can get better at finishing, Houinsou also can get better at finishing and really offers some opportunities for mismatches and Miles is getting more aggressive on the low post...establishing something down low was essential and now with the 3 point threat from Edwards, Watson and Dawson the court is really opening up...and we also have guys like Watson and Dawson who have a decent mid-level game....
Impressive to me that Miles seems to know when his blocks are needed and they seem to pile up near the end of the game at crucial times.
We are a long way from where we were early January and coaches and players need some credit.

Was at the game and haven't had the chance to watch the replay saved on my DVR. Agree on coaching. Watching us on offense (movement, screens, intent) vs Dayton (stand around and hope someone makes a good move off the dribble) was eye-opening. Dayton fans all around complaining about AG and his lack of offensive sets (and his emotionless behavior on the sidelines).

The guys we needed to really step up (Watson and JD) have done so. Miles looks like a different player the last few weeks. Sheldon is deadly from deep and can get absolutely red hot. Houinsou has been essential and stepped into a new role to really save this season.

Atmosphere was great. Still major issues with the beer lines, not sure how this hasn't been fixed for sold out games. Some obnoxious UD fans here and there--was nice to shut them up.

Four games left. Two home. Two away. Let's give this group a great send-off in their final two home games.

Onward.

Broken Record Time:

Stat of the Game is, and always be, Turnovers! No/Low turnovers affect the game in various ways such as:

1. You get more shots up! This means you score more points regardless of what your shot percentage is. How many more points will be dictated by your shooting percentage, but the more shots, the more points. This becomes especially important when you play good defensive teams like Mason/VCU who tend to make shooting more difficult.

2. You give up fewer points and fewer easier points to your opponents. Points off of turnovers are a killer. Also very important when you are in a rock fight with teams like Mason or VCU.

3. You make your opponent work harder and longer on defense. Some of these teams are not deep and its rare when we give up quick points or shots when we are locked in defensively and not turning it over. This is how you tire teams out and impose your will on them.

We are finally taking care of the ball and the results have been very good. We are also moving and passing the ball better. It took this group a long time to start to mesh and the injuries probably had a lot to do with the slow progression, but at least we are starting to put ourselves in a position to possibly make a run in A10 tourney.

Final thought: Drew has more lives than a cat. Just when you get frustrated with him or the team, they start to play better. Guess it's partially life in the transfer portal era with big turnovers every year.