I watched the Kentucky game again, this time in “analysis mode.” A couple of comments…

1) Both teams were tight in the first couple of minutes. Kentucky actually ran a couple successful plays that got players wide open under the basket and the ball was either stolen, blocked or just plain missed by Kentucky players. Our defense and scrappiness in the first couple of minutes set the tone for the game.

2) About two minutes in, Brown nailed a three from the corner to go up 4 -1. Then Sneed hit back to back threes and we were up 10-1. Those guys hitting shots gave the entire team confidence to keep it up on the defensive end. 

3) Stokes has matured as a player. He’s no longer “shoot first.” He still does shoot, but only when he’s wide open or the shot clock is winding down. He actually had a couple of looks early in the shot clock and pulled the ball down and ran the offense. I have always been frustrated with Stokes “shoot first” mentality and it looks like he has outgrown that. It’s something I didn’t really notice while watching the game in real time, but definitely noticed when watching it a second time.

Hope the team can keep it up against Loyola Chicago today.