[TheFarm07]

I don't think we should completely discount the effects of the very tough end of season schedule.  That surely had some effect.  It was no excuse for losing to UCLA after getting up by 16 or so points though.  Being up that much in a semi of a tournament should give a weary team, if they were weary, a second wind and a reason to try hard to put away the opponent.  The team seemed to go into slow down mode, trying not to lose mode, too early.  Slowdown mode allows a motivated opponent to make a strong run.  I tend to doubt it is intentional from the coaches or the players.  I think rather it is that by the end of a game, when maybe a team needs to kick it into a more intense, aggressive mode to seal a win, the players tighten up trying to make the perfect play or that the combo of players and scheme does not allow for the team to find another gear.  It could just be the bounce of the ball, that UCLA got lucky and hit shots against us that they did not hit against WSU, for instance.  Sometimes the other team just hits shots, gets the calls, gets the bounces their way.

Stanford's MO under Tara has been to not get too emotional, to be steady, to not get too high or low.  That works well most of the time, especially when they have a dominant team.  This team is not that dominant, not in conference for sure, so maybe that tone, mode, whatever you want to call it, doesn't work as well when the opponent is all fired up and playing hero ball.  When we've lost in conference it has mostly been when someone on the other team plays hero, starts taking over and hitting shots.  Sometimes it isn't about calmly running your stuff against a very intense and fired up defense, it is about someone taking the bull by the horn, taking and making that tough shot with supreme confidence, making that tough drive and getting a foul call for the effort, etc.  

To be less windy, aggressiveness wins those tough games, and in the losses we did not "match their energy" as someone said in the post-game presser, did not amp up the aggressiveness or really get supercharged with focus.

I've noticed that to this effect, sometimes not just this year, when we do have a good lead in the second half, our players sometimes seem surprised when the opposing team is still trying to create something (poke the ball away when someone is dribbling too much, boxing out for a rebound, etc.) and get back in the game.

[TheFarm07]

I don't think we should completely discount the effects of the very tough end of season schedule.  That surely had some effect.  It was no excuse for losing to UCLA after getting up by 16 or so points though.  Being up that much in a semi of a tournament should give a weary team, if they were weary, a second wind and a reason to try hard to put away the opponent.  The team seemed to go into slow down mode, trying not to lose mode, too early.  Slowdown mode allows a motivated opponent to make a strong run.  I tend to doubt it is intentional from the coaches or the players.  I think rather it is that by the end of a game, when maybe a team needs to kick it into a more intense, aggressive mode to seal a win, the players tighten up trying to make the perfect play or that the combo of players and scheme does not allow for the team to find another gear.  It could just be the bounce of the ball, that UCLA got lucky and hit shots against us that they did not hit against WSU, for instance.  Sometimes the other team just hits shots, gets the calls, gets the bounces their way.

Stanford's MO under Tara has been to not get too emotional, to be steady, to not get too high or low.  That works well most of the time, especially when they have a dominant team.  This team is not that dominant, not in conference for sure, so maybe that tone, mode, whatever you want to call it, doesn't work as well when the opponent is all fired up and playing hero ball.  When we've lost in conference it has mostly been when someone on the other team plays hero, starts taking over and hitting shots.  Sometimes it isn't about calmly running your stuff against a very intense and fired up defense, it is about someone taking the bull by the horn, taking and making that tough shot with supreme confidence, making that tough drive and getting a foul call for the effort, etc.  

To be less windy, aggressiveness wins those tough games, and in the losses we did not "match their energy" as someone said in the post-game presser, did not amp up the aggressiveness or really get supercharged with focus.

I've noticed that to this effect, sometimes not just this year, when we do have a good lead in the second half, our players sometimes seem surprised when the opposing team is still trying to create something (poke the ball away when someone is dribbling too much, boxing out for a rebound, etc.) and get back in the game.