Color me even more impressed
Winning in Statesboro is never easy. Heck, GETTING to Statesboro is never easy. Winning by 21 points is a statement. A very impressive statement.
When you do it by holding the Eagles for nearly 15 minutes without a field goal, as UNCG did on Saturday in its 68-47 win, then you're doing more than just notchign a big SoCon win.
You're confirming that you're a very real threat to win the SoCon tourney.
To get through that three (sometimes four) game gauntlet, you need to have at least two go-to guys, with a rotating list of guys that can also chip in. Kyle Hines has always been option No. 1. Ricky Hickman has returned as the No. 2 guy. He's averaged over 20 ppg in the G's last four games - all wins. Coincidence? I think not. Guys like Koivistu and Stywall have shown the ability to have big games here and there, though not yet every game (hey, they're only freshmen). That's okay. Each of the role players don't need to be on every night. Just one or two.
The other ingredient to win at tourney time? The ability to get big stops when you absolutely must have them. We've known that Hines can block shots, and that - thanks to Hines and Stywall - opponents won't be getting many offensive rebounds and second-chance points. Now we know that the team as a whole can lock down an opponent, for an extended period of time.
The trick now? Keep playing at this level for, oh, the next three months or so.