Since Doyle got to Loyola, I've always had the feeling that we're not far from getting a good, sustained winning streak going and challenging for the top 3 in the conference. His first year, he tried to take over too much and we had some players who were not ready or able to do what it takes to win. His second year, we got going pretty good (12-3 overall, 2-1 in conference, won the Vegas Tournament) before he got injured and had to miss all but a few minutes of 12 (I think) games, during which we were 4-8. When he got back, it was just before Arch Madness, and we had sunk to 6th place. Last year, he was good, but not the player he was at the beginning of his sophomore season before the injury.
This year Doyle has been excellent, his best season-- double digits in points every game, high efficiency on shooting, great go-to performances, a career high game in points and rebounds, top 10 in the conference in points, assists, and a variety of other categories-- up until last night. So you can't really complain one bit.
Still, as a team, we can't seem to accept any kind of sustained success. The loss to Drake-- coming when it did in the conference opener, playing a totally alien style and pace, all but neglecting defense in an attempt to outscore a conference rival on their own court-- was a massive setback for the season. The next game had a bit of a hangover from the Drake game, and we got embarrased on our own court by a better team. We get going against UNI at home, look very good against Bradley, put up a good fight on the road against WSU, and come back from a big deficit in a stoic first half against Missouri State. And then we blow 8 or 10 golden chances to win in regulation and two different overtimes on the road against UNI.
In the next two games we've got a chance, again, to atone for our crappy game against Drake, which would have been nearly forgotten with a win against UNI last night. It will take another game or two of encouraging performances after the next two to forget about the could-have-beens and but-fors from last night.
We expect losses to come, and especially on the road. It happens. I don't think anyone EXPECTED a win at Wichita State, or EXPECTS a win at Illinois State. I have hope, but I don't EXPECT a win in Springfield, Missouri. But how can you not have expectations of wins at the bottom conference teams with arguably our best player in two generations in his senior season, and the kind of supporting cast of upperclassmen (three juniors and a redshirt sophomore transfer from a Big 12 team) in the starting lineup? And what does it say about the attitude, leadership, or mental state of a team that they keep missing close-out opportunities against lousy teams just when they're at the doorway of breaking ahead of the .500 pack? The Iowa teams have 11 D1 wins COMBINED this year (two of them against us), and we've lost on the road to both of them. We can't do that with the stronger-than-average team we have this year and expect anything better than .500.
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