If you haven't heard already, the Dawgs downed the team from the Pat Dye School for Remedial Sociology 80-65 on Thursday night. This sets up a difficult matchup with the defending National Champion (God, that hurts to say) Florida Gators on Friday night. As Paul notes, the Dawgs RPI nudged up to 58. A win against the Gators, however improbable, puts us back on the bubble, and at least assures us of great seeding in the NIT. Perhaps most important from a psychological perspective, Florida is really the only team in the tournament that on paper we will have trouble beating even if we shoot well and don't turn the ball over. It can only get easier if we get over this hump.
Takais Brown was, in a word, beastly. If you see Auburn head man Jeff Lebo today, buy the guy a cup of coffee to get him through the afternoon. He was up all night having nightmares in which he conflated TB with the Chupicabra. To paraphrase the WuTang Clan, 13 rebounds ain't nothing to fool with.
Stukes shot the way we need him to shoot. This is part of what cleared up Takais under the basket to assert his Nietzchian will to power over Auburn's big men.
There's really not a whole lot to be said in preview of the Florida game tonight that hasn't been said before. The Gators are bigger, faster and more experienced It's not that we match up poorly with them, it's just that, on paper, they're superior on a man-by man basis. Of course, on paper there's no such thing as the Chupicabra, but you'll never convince Jeff Lebo of that.
Go Dawgs!