I am here to stop you all from jumping off the cliff. But I will also acknowledge your gloom in this two-part blog.
The Gophers shouldn't have lost 87-79 to Virginia Monday. Or any day.
They held a 13-point advantage at the start of the second half but blew it down the stretch. Before they knew what hit them, they were down by 14 points against an unranked Virginia team that lost to Washington by 43 points last week.
The Bad
-The Gophers opened up the game with a lot of energy and momentum. Trevor Mbakwe got the crowd going with a pair of monster slams. He scored six straight points.
Blake Hoffarber hit a couple of threes in the opening minutes. We're rolling, baby!
Not so fast. Tubby Smith put both players on the bench (Mbakwe at 14:51, Hoffarber at 14:21).
Yes, the next group turned a 14-5 lead into a 22-9 edge before the starters returned. But the way the starters were playing, especially Mbakwe and Hoffarber, the Gophers had a chance to open up the game even more.