Well, since THAT is over and done now, can we finally get back to playing some good, quality basketball and winning some games?

Oh, bet you're wondering what THAT is.

THAT was the tumultuous past 10 days since the Bulldogs began Western Athletic Conference play.

It started Jan. 3 at home against perennial WAC-powerhouse Tulsa, a game the Bulldogs looked good in and won 70-62. Head coach Keith Richard got a solid all-around effort, with four players scoring in double figures.

Tulsa is down this year, and as strange is this may look, the Golden Hurricane may be one of the cellar-dwellers this season.

The Bulldogs needed that win because the next three games became a roller coaster.

Rice, one of probably the two top teams in the conference, pulled into the Thomas Assembly Center for a Jan. 5 game.

The Bulldogs -- especially freshman forward Paul Millsap (career-high 27 points and 17 rebounds) and junior forward Wayne Powell (21 points) -- played valiantly in a game that was closer than the final 89-77 margin.

It was a game that the Bulldogs appeared to let slip away, and to compete in the WAC, no team can let games just slip away, especially not home games.

Part of the reason for the poor second half was fatigue. Only seven players appeared, and only six played for more than two minutes.

Junior forward, and sixth man, Barry Thompson was out after having orthoscopic knee surgery.

Backup point guard, and seventh man, Bruce Edwards skipped practice the day before the Rice game. Then, Edwards decided to take a temporary break from the team because he was having problems adjusting to diminished playing time.

This happened right before the Bulldogs played, arguably, the three best teams in the conference. The timing was definitely brutal.

Two days later, the Bulldogs left for a road trip to Nevada and Fresno State. Left behind was not only Edwards, but also Joe Sykes, a rarely used senior center who missed the bus, and Brian Martin, who stayed behind to take a test so he can graduate in May.

Nine players made the trip out west, including Thompson and walk-on Nate Heflin. Neither played, leaving just seven players.

Those seven battled hard, losing 71-67 to Nevada and 61-40 to Fresno to fall to 1-3 in conference play.

Millsap turned in a stellar performance against Nevada, with 21 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. The Bulldogs fell apart in the second half at Fresno, scoring just 11 points after Fresno's defense went to a zone.

The bigger Bulldogs from California also frustrated Millsap and held him to a season-low two points, showing Tech's weakness if Millsap is held in check.

But all of that is over. Edwards, after taking the rest of last week off to think about his decision, returned to practice Monday, as did Sykes. Thompson practiced with the team out west and appears ready to return to the lineup.

At 1-3, things are not nearly over for the Bulldogs. They face two winnable home games this week, beginning with San Jose State tonight at 7 p.m. and Hawaii Saturday night also at 7 p.m.

The distractions and injuries appear to be a thing of the past. Same with the lack of depth that bothered the Bulldogs after the loss of Thompson and Edwards.

With just three conference losses and 14 more games ahead, the Bulldogs have as much a chance as anyone to win the league. It all starts tonight with San Jose State, and the Bulldogs must focus on the task at hand.

Bret H. McCormick is a senior journalism major from Ruston and serves as associate sports editor for The Tech Talk.