A few thoughts:
- Deandre Liggins is the man. I've said it over and over again, he is going to be one of, if not the most important role player on this team down the stretch. Last year, he had so much pressure as a freshman starting at point guard, but now with Wall and Bledsoe, he's playing loose and he's playing hard. Just take a look at his stat line for Saturday's game: in 28 minutes, Liggins ended up with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. And maybe the most important stat, one that doesn't end up in the books: a chest bump from Coach Cal after diving on the floor to secure a key loose ball midway through the second half. You gotta love the effort.
- Patrick Patterson finally seemed to be playing closer to the level everyone expects, and it was great to see the Cats isolate him in the low block on the first play of the game. He may not have scored on the play, but it was an encouraging sign to be sure. In a game where Demarcus Cousins played a bit more like the immature freshman we saw earlier in the year, we needed Patterson to step up and be a leader.
- I think John Wall might be back. He's not making as many of the flashy, highlight reel plays he did earlier in the year, but he is certainly stepping up in the right situations and making good decisions as the floor general of this team. Even though he may have had 4 turnovers and only 3 assists, his 24 points were crucial to getting this team back into the lead and back in control.
- Just a small side note: how terrible was the officiating?
The Wildcats now enter a crucial stretch in their season, one that will most likely determined whether or not Cal can lock up a coveted #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. I'm still pretty sure that this team will lose another game before heading into the SEC tourney, and I'm almost positive it will be against Vandy in the most poorly designed stadium in the country, but we shall see.
Preview of the Miss. St. game coming later today.
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