Solace/balm beyond the scotch, manhattans and SMU reruns

[winlots]

You could look at it (losing to Stanford) this way: We have a stable of very good shooters, and only a couple shot well (one didn't even leave the bench). We are noted for our defense, and for a rare change, we had defensive lapses. We usually don't foul a whole lot, except when we have the ND homers calling the game, but we had a player foul out of this one. We almost never get out-coached, and we might have this time; at the very least, an objective view would almost have to say that the Stanford preparation was very, very impressive.
Lots of folks think (or thought) we have a deep bench; it wasn't in evidence. Our foul shooting seemed less solid than usual, though I don't have the stats in front of me. Our aura of confidence from the top down did not seem as evident as it normally does. A number of players did not do what we've come to expect them to do with regard to their usual specific strengths (beyond shooting).

So, all this, and perhaps other things that others think of, and we still lose by a hair and in OT at that, and to the then #6 team in the land. I don't think this same pyramid of issues is likely to be repeated this year. That's the additional balm and solace in defeat.

(Granted, not so great that Stanford then loses to Texas; there are a lot of very good teams out there.)