The close loss to WKU has affected the newcomers on the team more than I thought. They are playing tight and not relaxed. Pick any sport, the player has to be relaxed and play on instinct. Otherwise it is not going to happen for you.
It is a simple matter of playing without expectations vs playing with expectations. At the start of the season, there were no high expectations on this team from majority of the fans and media and they played on the confidence they had built up playing at a lower level. After a win against a Top 25 Indiana and a fabulous shooting night at CSU, confidence was high but so did expectations.
A variety of reasons, including coming in at 5 am from CSU game, caused a one point loss to WKU. Looks like it was enough to sap the confidence of the newcomers. And then the built up expectations took over.
This cycle was inevitable for a young inexperienced team. It was bound to happen, Now, they just have to pick up the pieces and win a few games and start playing relaxed again. Hopefully that started today. It will be interesting to see if they step up to the challenge.