The trip to Akron could prove to be a turning point for this team. Apparently Dru really wanted that one and got a much needed win. Still Towson isn't a very good team, and it could have been a one game aberration.

Irvine has won more than 20 games 9 of the last 12 years and was picked to win their conference this year. They might not have played a murders row, but there also aren't really any cupcakes on the schedule other than their season opener. We held them 20 points below their season average and scored 7 more than they've allowed on average.

Beyond just numbers though, this team looks very different than earlier in the season. Fitting DiMichele back in will be vital whenever he returns, but whether it's just personnel changes or something else, this lineup seems to have found some chemistry. Of course knocking down 14 threes on 56% shooting will make any offense look good, but the execution was much crisper than we've seen over the last month regardless of if the shots actually were falling.

The uptempo start to this game makes everyone on the board who have been calling for it look like basketball savants. The positionless sets in the second half were great to see too. Necas has always had stat sheet stuffing potential, and Hronsky may be our most improved player even if he didn't have a great game tonight. Seeing some point forward flashes out of Dixon tonight was very unexpected though. I don't think anyone wants to see him shooting three threes a game, but he made some beautiful passes and worked well in the high post a few times too. For whatever reason he seems to play better coming off the bench, but finding the game he had last season would go a long way.

The increased time for Crawford has been big too. His shooting opens up the floor, and I don't see him as nearly the defensive liability most do. He'll never be a lockdown defender (which probably is why he took so long to see the floor), but he's not an open door either. 

Hopefully this doesn't prove to be a flash in the pan, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. I was cautiously optimistic after Towson though, and feel even better after this one since it's now two comfortable wins a row, and this one over a much better team. It may have taken longer for the lightbulb to turn on for Dru than any of us expected or wanted, but hopefully it has happened and we can look back on the 2-8 start to this season like we do on the 0-5 start to last conference season.