But do you buy that the extremely tough early schedule played a huge part in our disappointing early season win loss record now?
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We were playing ***** basketball. That's why we had a disappointing record. I don't know why so many people on this board look for a crutch or excuse when we just aren't playing up to expectation. Its okay to say it if its true. Sure, a tough schedule doesn't help when you aren't playing well but it doesn't take away the truth that you still aren't playing well. It just doesnt.
This winning streak against bad teams has been great but we still aren't playing as well as last year. And I'm still leery of buying in and jumping back onto the belief train. Our defensive rating is a point and a half behind last year's defensive rating. And we've had a healthy Rudy all season. Last year he was out 20+ games and we had a better defensive rating? Not a good sign at all. We are giving up nearly 5 PPG more this season. Our defensive rating and opponent ppg during our big winning streak last season puts our defense at any point this season to shame. We still haven't returned to the level of defense we were playing last season. And as a team whose identity is defense, that is not good. Our offense is not benefiting from the rule changes at all. We basically have the same offensive rating as last season despite it being easier to score league wide.
I still see us winning 45 ish with this current group. And I still stand by my claim that we have taken a step back. Although I would LOVE to be proven wrong this time.