@Cornell 73, Binghamton 68

... but despite what the BUbearcats.com press release tells you, I don't think the game really felt that close.

Sure, Binghamton kept it close in the first half, jumping out to a huge lead -- that quickly disappeared. Did anyone following along really think they could hold onto an early lead for any significant amount of time?

And, lo and behold, that's what happened. The problem was, because Binghamton (1-5) didn't hold onto said lead for very long, it didn't feel like a Walker-like loss. Walker would've kept the team ahead, or close, into halftime, before blowing the lead, whereas KB and crew let it slip away in the waning moments of the first half.

So here's the bottom line: Broadus can point to all the positive signs he wants -- of which Lazar Trifunovic's continued outstanding play is clearly paramount -- but sooner or later, the team has to come up with a victory, because ultimately wins and losses are how a team is judged. As the great Herm Edwards famously said, "You play to win the game!" And right now, Binghamton is not playing to win the game.

I didn't see the game or even listen on the radio (I was at work, forgive me), but seeing that Richie Forbes hit a lay-up with 1 second left just stinks of selfishness that really feels like a theme of this year's squad. You're down seven points with 4 seconds remaining. The game is over. Take it like a man, right, senior leader?

Wrong. Forbes obviously knew he was 1-for-8 at the time, and 2-for-9 looks that much cooler in the boxscore the next day.

- - - - -

I'm nervous to start making judgments in November, but I'm genuinely starting to believe that all this "talent" that everyone always talks about with all our players is merely hype. The team is 1-5, and it's not like we've played North Carolina and Duke; we picked up a much-hyped coach and installed a new system that, sure, will take some time to gel, but should at least show a bit of promise in these early-season contests.

From what I've seen in person, the Bearcats seem so excited to run on offense, and so intent on focusing on the new schemes on defense, that they are forgetting the fundamentals that made them Division-I basketball players. Failing to box out and getting beat inside on an inbounds pass are mistakes that I make playing intramural basketball -- not mistakes that a Division-I team should be making.

We're not playing as bad as 1-5 indicates, and I still wouldn't rank BU in the bottom two of the America East conference. But it's those little things that are continuing to cost us games, and as long as our starting senior two-guard is pushing for a last-second stat-boosting layup, Binghamton will continue to flounder as hopeless underdogs that are playing not for wins, but for "positives" to be found in game film.

(Anyone else miss Andre Heard?)