Tulsa is ranked 323rd in NET. Previously I stated that Tulsa would define the season, and it has. Had ECU lost either of the games it played vs Tulsa it almost certainly would have been in the top 3 to 5 worst seasons of the last 45 years by RPI. With the win on the road this ECU team likely avoids that distinction at least. I don't have much to say about the game. Kasanganay getting 20 minutes was kind of out of no where at this point in the season. I think Schwartz got it right by fouling up 3 at the end. That's what you do. He just needs to instill where you funnel the inbounds and how quick to foul a little better.
After the SMU loss I questioned if Jaden Walker would every have another performance like he did in that game (18 points 10 assist 4 steals on 8 floor shots) . While not quite the same level he had another strong performance. Walker had 24 points on 11 shots while playing all 40 minutes in a two point victory.
I'm not sure what happened to Walker this month but he is now 23-37 for .622% from the floor, this after going 4-35 for .114% in January. I suppose that's everything balancing back out but that's as big a difference in the splits as I can ever remember seeing.
Walker as a starter in 10 games this season is now averaging 8.1ppg, 4.3apg, 4.0rpg, 1.7spg in 31.4 minutes. I don't think Walker is anywhere as good as he's been this month, but I have thought his versatility and ability to guard and play multiple positions was valuable to this team. As a bigger player he's played and guarded from point guard to power forward this season. It's nice to have a guy like that around and I was highly skeptical of the signing. When he played in the rotation meaningful minutes at Iowa State he was one of the worst players in the country.
MS has gotten more out of Walker without Small than I ever expected. At this point I hope they don't try to bring Small back. I don't really see the point. There is probably less than a 1% chance you could get through Houston in Texas in the tournament. Bringing him back now might not even help if he's not really in shape or form. The team had developed decent chemistry now that the rotations have been cut down. I wouldn't risk it.
