While refusing to wade into the swamp that is "moral victories", there are a couple of positives to take from last night.
After losing to tOSU by about a combined 100 points the last 3 attempts, I finally saw a glimmer of fight. Like Smiles says.........if you don't THINK you can win, you WON't win.....
After timidly starting the game (a lackadaisical effort that is becoming routine at the Bob), and getting hammered on the boards (like at Minny) early, we actually ended up winning that battle. That's a plus.
A guy like Rivers who was non-existent in the first half showed plenty of ATTITUDE in the second half and attacked the rim with great effort. That's a plus.
Almeida threw up a wall down in the block and swatted a few away and rattled them a bit (until the inevitable blocking foul calls started.....that guy can get run into a full speed and because he doesn't budge, fail to draw the charge). HIs play was a plus.
With a genuine and unmistakable talent gap, we actually had a shot at winning at the under four minute mark. That's a plus.
If we had a couple of shooting options outside of running Ray dizzy until he casts up a prayer, it would free him up exponentially.
Overall, if they play the rest of the year with the intensity of the second half, we will beat PSU on Saturday and have a shot at a couple of others to finish with 3-5 conference wins which is about what most of us predicted before the season.
Then, when you add in the newbies and reshirts for next year with the potential of Shields and Rivers and the return of Ray, it looks fairly promising.