Rhoda Cox

[Wayne23]

11/14: 45-36. +10 RBs. Logg had 15, but 3 fouls.

Slow start then we took control. 79-64. +16 RBs. The points, at least a lot them, came outside. 22, 3 for Logg, 11, 4 for Roy, 8, 3 for Harm. Del Hack had 13, 8, 3 with 5 blocks.

It’s #23 Creighton, 1-0, next. They upset #6 seed Michigan.

11/16: 34-30. We’re not shooting well and we’re in foul trouble.

80-76. They never led in the 2nd but they got it to 1 or 2 several times. We always had an answer. +12 RBs. 20 TOs, but they had 24. 25, 10, 1, 3, 3 for Hack, 15, 9 for Mack, 30 points outside, so good balance.

#7 seed, #4 ranked Florida in the semis. We may be over matched.

11/18: 38-41. Holding our own. Foul trouble though.

74-70. We went O/D very effectively at the end, and played terrific D throughout the 2nd, but especially in the last couple of minutes. 31 fouls called on us, 22 on them. +6 TOs. 24, 5 for our leaded Del Hack, 14, 2, 2, 2, 3 for Ray Deck. My 4
guards combined for only 5 TOs. Great win!

Walk on guard Tom Dock, who had 5 in 5 1st half minutes, hurt his calf. Out about a week.

#8 seed, #9 ranked Michigan ST for the title.

I wasn’t confident we’d get this far. I’m encouraged.

11/20: 26-18. A defensive struggle. We held them to 22.7%. 9 and 7 for Hack.

56-52. They came within a point or two but never tied or led late in the game. 18, 13, for Hack, 14, 3, 2, 2 for Logg. We win the NIT!

#8 Oregon ST, 2-0, is next, here, in our home debut. My former team continues to do well.

11/23: 30-28 at the break. Back and forth all the way.

59-59. Jed Roy hit a 3 at the buzzer.

66-76 in OT. 2 big guys fouled out and we just couldn’t keep up. 24 lead changes, 18 ties. -8 RBs, +4 TOs. We shot 25.4% for the game.

Rematch at 2-1 Creighton. We won by 4 in the NIT.

11/26: 17-42 at halftime. That may be as ugly a 1st half as any of my teams has ever gone through.

I gave up and pulled my starters with 5 ½ to go. 42-66. 22 TOs.

2-1 Oklahoma is here next. We need to turn this around.

Lineup change. Mack is starting for Hans, and Kitt is getting the rest of Hans’ minutes.

11/30: 35-42 at the half. Never heard Gampel Pavilion this quiet.

60-58. They had the ball last, with 13 seconds to go. We defended it excellently. We NEEDED this one! +15 RBs. A terrible 21 TOs but they had 18. 15, 6, 3, 3 for Logg. 10, guys scored.

It was a win but there’s lots to fix with this team. We only score 65.3 per, and we give up 15.7 TOs. Only our rebounding is keeping us in games, 37.6, which is #3 in the nation and +6.0. We’re going to try giving Jed Roy a few more minutes at guard. We’re also going to play Hack exclusively at C. We were switching him between C and PF.

At #1 North Carolina, 7-0, next. We’re not ready for this team.

12/3: 45-30 at the half. Don’t wake me! +10 RBs, 5 TOs. Solid team D and we found the open man on O. Now to hang on!

Got it to 20 early. 85-58. +14 Rbs, +4 TOs, 7 fewer fouls. We shot 45.3%, they shot 33.9%. 19, 10, 2, 2 for Hack, 15 each for Harm and Logg, 8, 12, 2 for Kitt from the bench, and 10 for Hans from the bench. We did everything right.

“Dan Druff here after the game with Coach Cox. Coach, your guys just annihilated the undefeated #1 team in the country. Tell us about it.”

“If I’m dreaming don’t wake me, Dan. Everything just worked. You chart it, you practice it, you expect certain things. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. Tonight they played about as well as a team can play.”

“And things have not been going great up ‘til now. Except for the season opener you hadn’t won by more than 4 all year, and you got blasted at Creighton.”

“Well, when we lost our experienced Point Guard we knew we’d need some time to come together as a team, and that has been very evident in most of our games. Maybe tonight shows we’ve finally put the pieces together. I hope so!”

“Best of luck, Coach.”

It doesn’t get easier. We’re at #24 Syracuse, 4-2, next.

12/7: 33-38 at the break. We played chase the whole half, trailing by as many as 14, and never leading after the first 2-3 minutes. Still, we’re in it.

62-59. Big turn around and we held on late. +16 RBs, 7 fewer fouls. That made up for -6 TOs. 24, 12 for our leader, Del Hack, but 9 guys contributed. Our back up guards really did some fine work.

#9 Maryland, 6-0, is here.

12/10: 48-23. This team is exceeding my expectations right now. +8 RBs, +6 TOs (3 for the half), shooting 53.3% to their 25%.

73-59 but I emptied the bench with 5:00 to play. We led by as many as 29. +7 TOs. 17, 7 for Hack, 13, 6 for Deck, 12 for Logg, and great bench play.

Loyd Feld hurt his back. Out about a week and a half.

8-2, #2, RPI #1.

At #23 Auburn, 6-1, next.

12/13: 44-48 at the half. A shootout. We blew a 10 point lead. They’re doing it all outside.

87-87 and OT. They hit a three with 7 seconds left and then we missed one.

95-91. 3 of our guys, Hack, Mack, and Kitt, fouled out late in the 2nd so we were down to our 10th and 11th man in some situations with Feld out with the injury. But we pulled through! +9 RBs. 21, 5 for Hack, 16, 12, 2 for Deck, 18, 5 for Logg, 10 each for Mack and Harm. Kitt, Hans, Roy, and seldom used Joe Arne all gave us some great minutes.

We close out pre-conf. play with 6-2 Michigan here.

12/21: 39-42 at the half. 16 lead changes, 8 ties. Lots of fouls called both ways. 14, 3 for Hack.

79-81. We had a good look at the end but the shot missed. 28 lead changes, 15 ties, never more than a 6 point spread. +7 RBs, +5 TOs, but we gave up 11 threes. 29, 6 for Hack, 9,9 ,4, 2, 4 for Deck.

12/25: 9-3 at the end of pre-conf. play. +3.4 PPG, +7.3 RBs, +1.4 TOs, #1 in the nation in RBs and blocks.

We start conf. play at our chief rival, #12 Temple, 10-1.

[Wayne23]

12/27/2043: 26-27 at the break. Defensive war. +7 Rbs, 6 fewer fouls, but we shot 23.8%. They shot 34.6%. Hack has 3 fouls.

67-65. Jon Harm banked a 3 at the buzzer. +13 RBs, 12 fewer fouls. We won it at the line, taking 24 more free throws. 23 for harm, including the winner, 12, 6 for Hack, who played in foul trouble all night long; only played 16 minutes. Bryn Hans had 9 from the bench. He’s a good defender and we put him in for key situations.

Big win. Temple is the team we worry about. No one else in conf. is ranked.

Next is 4-6 Central FL, here.

12/30: 33-23 at the break. +8 TOs. We scored the 1st 13 points of the game.

77-46. Pulled my starters with 5 min. left. +10 RBs, +10 TOs. 17, 4, 2, 2, 2 for Hack, 14, 6, 2 for Hans.

1/1/2044: 11-3, 2-0, #3, RPI #1.

At 6-4, 0-1 Memphis.

1/2: 31-40 at the half. 14 TOs.

64-64. Another OT game.

73-80. 25 TOs, 10 by Harm. 30 and 6 for Hack.

5-6, 1-1 Cincinnati is here next.

1/4: 43-22 at halftime. +9 TOs.

72-56. We really didn’t play well in the 2nd. +8 TOs, 51% shooting. 14, 3, 3, 2 for Mack, 12, 2, 5 for Harm. 11 players scored.

At 6-6, 1-2 Houston.

1/8: 12-4, 3-1, #5, RPI #1. In a 3 way tie for 1st in conf.

1/10: 39-47 at halftime. Terrible D.

77-70. Much better 2nd half. Held them to 23. We shot 50.8%. 20, 5 for Logg, 15, 5 for Hack, 12, 8, 2 for Deck.

7-7, 3-2 Tulsa is here next.

1/13: 44-39 at the half. We led by as many as 10. +9 TOs but -7 RBs.

88-61. +17 TOs. 54.5% shooting. 20 each for Hack and Logg.

1/15: 14-4, 5-1, #5, RPI #1. In 1st, ½ game up on Memphis. 1 up on 2 others.

At 3-12 South FL next.

1/17: 39-25 at the break. +7 TOs. Shooting 50%. 14, 6, 2 for Hack, 10, 4 for Deck.

80-57. +11 RBs, +8 TOs. 52.9% shooting. 24, 12, 3, 2 for Hack. 10 each for Logg and Deck. 11 scored.

8-8, 4-3 SMU is here next after which we travel to… SMU!

1/20: 56-32 at the half. Firing on all cylinders. 20, 4, 2, 3 for Hack, 13 for Harm.

94-71. +13 TOs, shot 56.5%. 27, 7, 6, 5 for Hack.

1/22: 16-4, 7-1, #5, RPI #1. Still tied with Memphis but now 2 or more up on the rest.

Return match at SMU.

1/23: 37-21 at the half. 5 TOs. 14, 3, 2 for Hack, 11, 6 for Logg.

75-59. +8 RBs. 25, 13, 3, with 5 blocks for Hack, 16, 8 for Logg.

Memphis lost so we’re alone in 1st.

At 13-6, 4-4 Tulane.

1/24: 38-48 at the half. They’re red hot, especially outside, 9 threes.

68-94. Not tonight. We never really challenged them. Worst game in a LONG time. They had 17 threes. 24, 9 for Hack.

To make it worse Jed Roy reinjured his calf. 2 weeks. Back in a tie for 1st.

11-7, 5-4 East Carolina is here next.

1/27: 42-24. +10 RBs, +8 TOs.

71-57. +14 RBs, +6 TOs. 18, 4, 4, 2 for Harm. 11, 10 for both Hack and Deck, 12, 8 for Mack.

And Memphis lost so we’re alone in 1st again.

1/29: 18-5, 9-2, #4, RPI #1.

Del Hack is #2 on the Norton list.

[Wayne23]

At 6-13, 3-7 Central FL.

1/30: 42-29. +7 RBs. 56% shooting. Walk on guard Tom Dock has 7 and 2 in 8 minutes. He’s getting his chance due to the injury to Roy.

78-55. +12 RBs, 11 fewer fouls. 52% shooting. 23, 9, 2, 2 for Hack.

Back to back ranked teams at home. First is #15 Temple, 17-4, 7-3.

1/31: 35-24. They led early, then we got it together. Held them to 18.8%.

72-61. They got as close as 2 once, and 3 twice. They shot 26.7% for the game. 25, 9, 2 with 5 blocks for Hack. Dock gave us good minutes again.

Starting PF Ray Deck sprained a wrist. Out 11 days. That’s not good. Mack and Hans will get his minutes.

It’s #24 Memphis, 15-6, 9-3, 1 ½ back. They beat us in OT there. We’re shorthanded but it is what it is.

2/3: 33-36 at the half. Back and forth, and close all the way. We need to shoot better (32%). 12, 3 for Mack.

We get it to doubles with about 12 min. left. 79-71. +9 TOs. We shot >50% for the 2nd. 20, 7 for Mack, 19, 4 for Hack, 11, 6, 2 for walk on guard Tom Dock.

The win puts us up 2 ½ with 4 to play.

2/5: 21-5, 12-2, #1! RPI #1.

At 9-12, 5-7 Cincy next. We won by 16 at home.

2/7: 38-21. Great D! +10 TOs. Dock continues to play well.

74-54. Never close. 14 fewer TOs, 7 fewer fouls, but 9 fewer RBs. 16 for Hack, 14 for Logg, 13 for Hans.

Roy is back. But we’re gambling. Dock is playing so well we’re trying him as our #3 guard.

4-17, 1-11 South FL here next.

2/10: 42-28. +6 TOs. 48% to 26% shooting. We’re not playing all that well, there’s just a big talent differential.

77-52. I emptied the bench very early. +10 TOs, 50%-28.6%. 16, 4 for Hack, 12, 3, 4, for Kitt. Dock played 30 and did good work.

Deck is back.

10-14, 5-10 Houston is here.

2/12: 23-5, 14-2, Still #1, RPI #1. 3 game lead in conf.

Hack remains #2 on the Norton list.

2/13: 25-31. Not playing well and I don’t like it. I know we’ve clinched but I do NOT want us to lose our edge. I let them know I expect a win tonight. Shooting 27.8% isn’t helping.

55-52. Not a great win but a win. We never led by more than 4 and we didn’t take the lead for good until about 3 min. left. +11 RBs. We shot better in the 2nd, but not a lot. Balanced scoring and better inside play than outside.

One to go. At 11-12, 7-7 Tulsa. We won by 27 at our place. Up 3 on Memphis, 4 or more on the rest.

2/17: 27-32. Sluggish as hell. +7 RBs, 7 fewer fouls.

57-61. We had our opportunities but we did not play well, for the 2nd game in a row. Not happy! It was more about shooting than anything else, 31.3%. Some of that was not working to get open.

2/26: We end the regular season at 24-6, 15-3, #2, RPI #1. We win the conf. by 2 over Memphis, 3 or more over the rest.

Interesting year. No one in the Top 25 has fewer than 4 losses.

3/5: Jay Heck, a freshman big who doesn’t play, is entering the draft. He was ranked at #11 in his class but was a disappointment.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed Houston, 12-16, 6-12, won their play in. We play them in the quarters. We beat them by 7 there and then only 3 at our place. Their starting C is out with a broken foot.

3/10: 31-24 but we were flat.

67-63 but it wasn’t that close. We led by double figures for most of the last 12 minutes until they scored the last 7. 16, 5, 3, 2 for Harm, and 14, 5, 4, 3 for our walk on, Tom Dock. The inside players did not have a good game- any of them.

#4 seed, #15 ranked Temple, 23-7. 12-6, next. We won by 2 there, then 9 at home.

3/11: 29-37. I remind my guys that we wake up or we go home. -6 RBs, +4 TOs. They shot 50%, we shot 36.8%. Foul trouble inside- lots of it.

Tied it with 13 mi. to go. Took our first lead with just under 7 to go.

76-68. 10 more RBs, 10 fewer fouls. We shot 55% in the 2nd. 14, 5 for Kitt, 12, 6 for Logg, 13, 2, 2, 4 for Harm, 9, 7, 2, 1, 2 for Dock.

As expected it’s #2 seed, #21 Memphis, 21-8, 13-5. They beat us in overtime and then we won by 8 at home.

3/12: 47-44. It’s a war! +7 RBs. We’d like to tighten the D a little. Balanced effort and not much foul trouble.

Got it to 10 with 11 minutes left and brought it home. 94-82 and the conf. title. 10 more RBs, 7 fewer TOs, 7 fewer fouls. 25, 8 for Hack, 15, 8 for Deck, 14 for Harm, great bench play. We’re definitely a #1 seed. Will we be #1 overall?

Our best player, Del Hack, hurt a leg. He’ll miss our first game.

27-6, 15-3, #3, RPI #1.

#1 in the East, #1 overall.

We play 17-14 American.

3/16: 45-29 at the break. +6 RBs. 58.3% shooting. 16, 5 rfor Ray Deck, filling in at C for the injured Del Hack.

92-68. Never a doubt. +11 TOs, +7 RBs. 52.7%. Walk on guard Tom Dock had 29. Deck had 20 and 7.

#8 seed Texas, 22-8, is next. We beat them by 15 in the season opener at the NIT. Del Hack is not at 100% but I need him. I won’t play him full time but he’ll be in there for 20 minutes or more if need be.

3/18: 32-21. +9 RBs. The D did it for us. We held them to 22.2%. We only shot 33.3%; they’re playing good D, too. Fouls are even. Deck and Hack both have 3, which is not good.

65-51. They caught us with 14 to play, then we went on a run and got it to double figures. Our D definitely won it for us. +13 RBs. Hack played only 15 minutes but had 12 and 5.

Every other bracket is wacky except for ours, which has the top 4 seeds. Otherwise only 1 #1 (Kansas), no #2s and 2 #3s.

We play #4 seed, #17 ranked Pitt, 23-8, in the Sweet Sixteen. Hack is back full time, thankfully.

3/20: “Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat. Here with Coach Cox. Coach, you’re the #1 seed in the tourney, the favorite to take the national title. Talk about that.”

“We’re trying to ignore it. First, this is an unusual year. I think any one of the 16 teams left could win it. Most years one team is dominant. They may or may not win it all in a ‘One and done’ format, but they seem to emerge from the pack.

That didn’t happen this year. Only Kansas has 4 losses. Only Kentucky has 5. Everyone else has at least 6. I’m telling my guys they’re going to need to scratch and claw all the way.”

“Do you talk with your players about winning it all?”

“After the North Carolina game, when we crushed the #1 team in the nation in their own gym,

I told the guys that the goal was to win it all. Since then I’ve said that less than a half dozen times. It’s vital to focus on the next game, and ONLY the next game. We beat Pitt or we go home.”

“What would it mean to have a woman head coach lead a team to a national title?”

“I’m hoping it would mean more women would be hired! This is my 9th year as a Div. I head coach. I’ve been successful by any measure but not a single other woman has been hired for this job. I can name a dozen who are completely qualified. Maybe winning the title would change that.”

“You haven’t seemed to experience the insane attacks at UConn that you did at Oregon ST.”

“Thank goodness. Let’s remember that the overwhelming majority of the folks in Oregon were wonderfully supportive. I’ll certainly never forget that. There’s a group of very disturbed people out in that part of the country. They’re full of hate for almost everyone, not just the LGBTQ community. We defeated them, and I’m proud of that. But they’re still attacking minorities of all kinds, and the fight goes on. Connecticut isn’t paradise, but it seems to have far fewer of those types.
And it’s home. I was there for a long time as a player and a women’s coach, so they know me.”

“Good luck, Coach.”

3/23: 30-31 at the half. We blew an 8 point lead in the last 2 ½ minutes. +8 RBs.

63-70. They hit 3 threes in the last two minutes and that killed us.

It’s always really frustrating when you go out early. But again, it’s a crazy year. All 4 #1s are gone. One #2, one #3, two #4s in the round of 8. Also a 5, two 7s, and a 9.

3/27: #14, 15, 17, 20 in the Final Four. A 3, two 4s, a 5 seed.

4/1: #15 Oklahoma vs. #17 Pitt for the title.

4/3: Oklahoma 84, Pitt 71.

4/4: Awards: National COY. Senior Del Hack made national 1st team. In conf., was POY and 1st team. Soph PF/C Ray Deck was Def. POY and 2st team; should have been first. I was COY.

4/9: Our Team Prestige drops 5 points.

Indiana and Georgetown call. Thanks, but I’m not going anywhere, hopefully ever.

4/16: Still unable to hire anyone above a 9. And again, d*mned few above a 9 to choose from.

4/23: We ask for a facilities upgrade and move from A to A+.

29-7, 15-3, won the conf. regular season and tourney. Disappointing early exit in the round of 16. Overall, for 9 years, I am 240-64, .789. Hopefully next year!

Losing Del Hack, Tim Logg, Bryn Hans, Joe Arne, and walk on Tom Dock. If no one decides to transfer out I think we can make a very strong run.

[Wayne23]

5/1: We buy National and International Gold.

(Author’s note: Again this year my best player transferred out. Why? We’re preseason #3, there was never a hint of trouble all of last season. This is just wrong.)

6/5: Only 2 transfers we’re even glancing at.

6/9: No.

6/25: We’ll go to all the camps.

Daisy: Rhoda took the loss hard. She hit the bottle for about three weeks, but thankfully snapped out of it at that point and now she’s focused on trying again.

6/26: Hack goes only at #50 in the draft. I don’t get it.

4 scholarships. We need bigs a little more than guards. Looking at 10.

8/7: PG Ben Land is #2, SF Tre Sims #11, and C Coy Dunn #40 on the Norton list.

8/21: We offer to a PG, an SF, a PF, and a C.

9/11: Lost one we offered to, as well as our #1 backup. Added a few more.

9/18: Got 2, SF Rod Cal, #6, and PF Dan Deng, #21.

Going to the JAG Holiday. Tough schedule.

9/25: We get C Al Hart, #19. Lose a guard. No luck at all getting a guard.

10/2: 1st day of practice. We’re loaded.

11/6: The lineup, an 8 man rotation: At guard it’s 5 star frosh Ben Land at guard, with returning junior starter Jon Harm and juco junior Brad Jory splitting the rest of the time. Junior Al More and soph Jed Roy are in reserve.

At SF it’s potential superstar frosh Tre Sims.

Inside it’s junior Wyl Mack who will play 3, 4, and mostly 5, and frosh Coy Dunn. Frosh Cal Sax and senior Sam Kitt will back up.

I think this is our best shot at a title yet. We’ll see.

[Wayne23]

We start with #15 Indiana, here.

11/15: 73-57. It took a while but we finally took control in the 2nd, leading by as many as 26. Our two “stars” led us, Land with 22 and 3, Sims with 19, 3, 2. Good start to the season.

Next is #6 Pitt, 1-0, here. This could be a test.

11/18: 89-76. We trailed at the half but opened the 2nd with a 14-3 run, and were in control the rest of the way. 23, 7, 7 for Land, 16, 5, 3 for Sims, who is terrific on D, and 13, 7, 2 for Center Coy Dunn. Guard Brad Jory had 16 from the bench.

Yep, we have one tough team.

11/20: All 3 recruits signed.

New #6 Georgetown is her next.

It’s early but 8.5 TOs per game, and 39.0 RBs.

11/22: 76-61. We lead all the way, by as many as 26. 24, 7 for Sims, 13, 6 for Dunn, 11, 5, 7, 2, 2 for Land. , 10, 6, 3 for sub Brad Jory, who will now start. We’re tweaking up front minutes. Mack is losing some, Sax and Kitt gaining them.

At #5 Kansas, 4-0, next.

11/25: 40-32 at the half. +7 TOs.

82-74 but it wasn’t that close. They got it to 2 early in the 2nd and then we pulled away, leading by as many as 20 late. +10 TOs. 23, 4, 3, 2 for Land, 18, 5, 4, 2 for Sims, 8, 9, 3 for Dunn, and 10 for Jory.

11/27: 4-0, #3, RPI #1.

2-1 Louisville is here.

11/29: 87-64. 25, 8, 4, 3, 2 for Brad Jory, 17, 6, 3, 2 for Tre Sims. 16, 4, 3, 3 for Harm from the bench.

At #7 Michigan, 6-1, next.

12/4: 5-0, #2, RPI #1.

12/6: 35, 10, 3 for Land; a brilliant performance. 12, 8, 2 for Jory.

4-2 Auburn is here.

12/11: 6-0, #1, RPI #1. This team probably IS the #1 team in the country.

We offer to an SG who is ranked #42.

#1 in RBs, #3 in TOs. That’s a powerful combination.

12/14: 87-59. 211, 3,2 for Jory, 16, 12 for Dunn, 13, 8, 3, 2, and 6 blocks for Sims, 9, 8, 5 for Land. 8 each for Mack, Sax, and Harm, the latter two from the bench.

We DO have weapons.

12/16: “Gary Gray, EPSN Sportschat. Coach Rhoda Chayne Cox is here. Coach, your guys are looking unstoppable.”

“Thanks Gary. We’re playing really well.”

“I think it’s more than that. You really have some weapons.”

“We do. We have three legitimate superstars and at least 5 other guys who would be starting almost anywhere.”

“Undefeated season?”

“We don’t talk about that. I don’t even think about that. I want to win our last 6 games of the year. If we lose some before that, no problem. I don’t WANT to lose- I never do, but if it happens it happens, and hopefully we’ll learn and grow from it.”

#5 Oregon, 9-1, is here next.

12/20: 86-75. We never trailed. 18, 5, 5 for Land, 16, 5, 2, 2 for Sims, 10, 5, 2 for Dunn, 12 for Jory, but both of them fouled out. Sax and Kitt did great work from the bench.

Off to the JAG Holiday to face 1-7 Chattanooga. We’re only the #2 seed but that was determined in September.

12/23: 85-61. 20, 5, 3 for Sims, 16, 10 for Dunn, 17, 5, 5 for Land, 15 for Jory.

Brad Jory hurt his leg. He’ll miss the rest of the tournament. Harm will start, and Al More will get his shot backing up.

#3 seed Ohio, 4-7 in the semis. Oklahoma was upset. This tournament should be a breeze.

12/24: 74-55. 31, 6 for Sims in his best game so far. 14, 10, 1, 2, 3 for Dunn. Harm was flat, but More took up the slack with 8, 5, 4.

East Carolina, the bottom seed, made it to the finals. But they’re a decent team, 8-2.

12/25: 82-61. 22, 7, 6 for Land, 12 each for Dunn, Harm, and Sax, 10, 9, 3 for Sims. 7 for Al More.

Jory will miss at least one more game.

11-0, #1, RPI #1, +17.1 PPG (#6 in points), +7.8 RBs (#1), +5.6 TOs (#2), #2 in blocks.

[Wayne23]

At 4-6 Houston to start conf. play.

12/27: 65-57. Closer than expected due to our worst offensive game of the year. 25, 4, 4, 2 for Land, 11, 10 for Dunn, 9, 9, 3, 5 for Sims.

Jory is back for our next, a rematch with 8-3 East Carolina here.

12/30: 83-56. 28, 5 for Sims, 15, 7, 5 for Land, 16, 5, 3 for Jory in his return from the injury. 10, 2, 3, 4 for Harm.

At 2-9, 1-1 South FL next.

1/1/’45: 13-0, 2-0, #1, RPI #1.

1/3: 62-42. Easy win, great D, but 2 of the last three games our offense has gone missing. 18, 4, 2, 4, 2 for Sims, 14, 6, 2, 2 for Harm.

6-6, 1-2 SMU is next, here.

1/6: 100-61. Okay, the O is back. 7 guys had between 10 and 13. 13 and 12 for Dunn.

Al More hurt his hand. Day to day.

1/8: 15-0, 4-0, #1, RPI #1. Alone in 1st in conf.

At 5-7, 1-2 Tulsa.

1/9: “Joe King, ABZ Sports. We have UConn men’s basketball coach Rhoda Cox with us. 15-0 Coach. On paper no one in the country matches up with you. AND, you’re deep.”

“I like our team, Joe. I think it’s the best we’ve had here.”

“Can anyone beat you?”

“Joe, it’s college basketball. Lots of teams could beat us. A good, even a decent team gets hot, we have a cold shooting night- there it is.”

“I think it will take a lot of luck and lot of skill, even if the team does get red hot. Anyway. Best to you, Coach.”

1/10: 67-45. The D did it again. 18, 10, 4, 2 for Sims. Very good bench play.

9-7, 2-3 Temple comes to Storrs.

1/13: 86-67. 24, 10, 2 for Dunn, 22, 4 for Sims, 11, 4, 3, 2, 2 for Harm. Stop one or two of us and one or two others will get you- at least so far.

1/15: 17-0, 6-0, #1, #1.

10-6, 3-3 Central FL is here.

1/16: 74-52. 18, 5 for Sims, 15, 9, 4, 2, 2 for Dunn, 14, 6 for Jory, 12, 4, 6, 3 for Land.

At 11-6, 3-4 Tulane next.

1/20: 72-62. 23, 5, 2, 2 for Land. We never trailed.

1/22: 19-0, 8-0. #1, RPI #1. 2 game lead in conf.

At 12-6, 6-2, 2nd place Cincinnati.

1/24: 77-55. I expected more of a challenge. Maybe we really are this good. 24, 8, 4, 3 for Land, 15, 12 for Sims, 10, 10, 3 for Mack, 15, 6 for Sax.

#13 Memphis, 15-5, 6-3 is next.

1/27: 73-54. They led 2-0, we scored a three and never trailed or were tied again. 19, 10, 3 for Sims, 17, 6, 4 with 4 blocks for Land. 11, 4, 6 for Jory, 8, 7 for Dunn, 8, 4 for Sax.

1/29: 21-0, 10-0, #1, RPI #1. 1st in conf. by 4 games.

Ben Land is #11, and Tre Sims #8 on the Norton list.

+18.9 PPG, +6.7 RBs, +7.2 TOs.

Dan Shagnastie, Boston Glob: When will it end for UConn? Or will it? They are beating up on good teams, and they threaten to be the first team since 1977, an eternity ago, to run the table. People thought it could no longer be done but this is one STRONG team, and they’re DEEP!

[Wayne23]

At 13-9, 5-6 East Carolina next.

1/31: 84-62. Huge game for Land, 25, 5, 9, 6, 2. Almost as big for Sims, 27, 5.

5 of our last 7 are at home.

11-10, 7-4 Houston is next. We won by only 8 there, tied for our closest game of the season.

2/3: 97-66. Not close this time! 31, 7, 4 for Sims, 22, 6, 3, 2 for Land, 16, 5 for Sax.

Land hurt his wrist. He may see limited time in our next game which is with 5-18, 4-10 South FL here. We won by 20 there.

2/5: 23-0, 12-0, #1, RPI #1. 4 game lead on Memphis, 5 or more on the rest.

2/6: We decided to sit Land. Harm will start, Al More will back up. We think we’ll be okay.

2/7: 79-44- with one of our two best players out. 5 guys had between 10 and 14, and it was never a game.

Land will be back for our next game at 15-10, 8-6 Temple.

2/10: 92-76. Only led by 1 at the half but opened the 2nd 17-2. 17, 9, 3, 3, 2 for Mack, 19, 8 for Sims, 16, 2, 4, 2, 3 for Land, 15, 8, 3, 1, 3 for Dunn.

Brad Jory has a little tendinitis but he shouldn’t miss any games.

Rematch with 14-10, 6-8 Tulane here. We won by only 10 there.

2/12: 25-0, 14-0, #1, #1. 4 up on Memphis, 6 or more on the rest.

Tre Sims #7, Ben Land #13 on the Norton list.

2/14: 76-72. We never trailed after the first minute, and it was never tied after 0-0, but they made a big run at the end. 4 was as close as it got, and that was on a last second three. So close, but never dangerously so. 16, 10, 2, 2, 2 for Dunn, 15,
13, 5, 2, 2 for Sims, 14, 4, 6 for Land, 9, 13 for Sax, 10, 4 for Jory. Closest score of the year. Tulane could be trouble on a neutral court in the conf. tourney.

At 13-12, 6-9 Central FL next. We won by 22 here.

2/17: 77-59. 25, 5 for Sims, 11, 7 for Sax, 12, 3, 3 for Harm.

2 left, both at home. Next is 16-10, 10-6 Cincy. We won by 22 there.

2/19: 27-0, 16-0, #1, #1, 5 game lead in conf.

2/21: 77-54. 23, 13 for Dunn, who is not getting nearly as much recognition as he deserves. 14, 6, 3 for Sims. 13 RBs for Mack.

Al More hurt his hand. Out about a week.

We close the regular season here with 11-15, 7-10 Tulsa. We won by 22 there.

2/24: 79-53 and we never trailed. I wanted to close the regular season strong and we did. 28, 4, 5 for Land, 18, 3, 5, 3 for Sims.

2/26: We end the regular season 29-0, 18-0, #1, #1, 5 up on Memphis, 7 or more on the rest.

3/4: “Elsie Green, EPSN Sportschat here with Rhoda Chayne Cox. Rhoda, you ran the table for the regular season and there was never a game where it came down to the last possession.”

“In a way that scares me. 3 of my starters, and my 32 off the bench are freshmen. They haven’t been in that one possession situation at this level.”

“Maybe they won’t be, the way you guys are playing.”

“You know, I’ve never seen a men’s college hoops season where that didn’t happen. Not sure there ever was one. In the women’s game it happened with some of our teams here at UConn when Geno was coaching, but on the men’s side? I expect
we’ll be challenges somewhere along the way.”

“All the best Coach. You could be on your way to something very special.

3/5: Today was the day to declare for the NBA draft. This should come after the season ends (Gary!). We knew we’d get hurt, and we did, losing Coy Dunn and Ben Land. We were thrilled that Tre Sims decided to stay, and he can play both guard spots. We may put him there next season, but that’s a worry for later.

[Wayne23]

3/9: #8 seed, Tulsa, 12-16, 7-11 won their play in so we play them in the quarter finals. We beat them by >20 twice.

3/10: 71-55. 24, 9 for Dunn. It took a while, about 25 minutes, for us to gain control. Not our best night.

#4 seed Temple, 18-12, 10-8, was the only other favorite to win. We play them in the semis. We beat them by 19 and 16.

3/11: 89-79. Again, it took about 25 minutes for us to gain control. All 5 starters in double figures but this is the most points we’ve given up all season. Not happy with the way we’re playing.

#7 seed Tulane is the opponent in the title game. They’re 18-13, 7-11, and we beat them by 10 and 4, so we’re taking this one seriously.

3/12: 67-64, and it did come down to one possession. It was tied with 11.3 to play. We brought it down. They were in a 2-3 to protect inside, and they were overplaying both Sims and Land- seemed like they had 8 defenders. With less than 2 ticks to go Land got it to Jory who drained a 20 footer for the win. 17, 7 for Dunn, 10, 10, 2 for Jory, 12, 8, 3 for Sims, 10, 5, 4 for Mack, and 10, 5, 2 for Land. We earned this one.

“Mark Thyme, EPSN, here after the game with Coach Cox. Coach, your first scare of the year and your guys met the challenge.”

“Yes they did. I loved our poise. Tulane played terrific D all night. Nothing came easy. Given this was the first time in that situation all season for us I was thrilled to see how well my guys kept their poise.”

“And on that last play Land dished to the one guy whose opponent had fouled out, so Jory was up against a second team defender.”

“Not sure how much choice he had but it was a damned smart play. Jory was the only guy who had a semi-open look.”

“And he drained it.”

“Yes he did.”

“The Big Dance. Your thoughts?”

“We played our weakest ball of the season in the conference tournament. We’ll need to be better than that to win it all.”

“Your guys know how to win. Best of luck.”

#1 East, #1 overall.

We start with 15-19 Holy Cross.

3/16: 79-62. 30, 3, 3 for Land, 15, 7, 6 for Jory, 10, 11 for Dunn.

#8 seed Missouri, 21-10 next.

3/18: 77-61. 19, 5, 4, 2 for Land, 18, 7 for Sims, 11, 9 for Mack, 9, 4, 4 for Harm.

During this first weekend I thought we were way too relaxed. While it’s true the talent differential was so great it would have been nearly impossible to lose, I would have liked more intensity. I really haven’t seen that for some time now and we’d better find it- soon.

#2 ranked Pitt was upset by Cincinnati in the round of 32. Pitt has been #2 for most of the season and this is a shock. Our road just got a little less bumpy.

#5 seed, #23 ranked Florida ST in the Sweet Sixteen. They have a very good SG but we look like we’re a way better team. But it’s time to be focused.

3/23: 84-58. Much better! 22 for Land, 16, 10 for Sax. Good team effort. Too many TOs but everything else was on.

#10 seed Duke, 20-12, in the Elite Eight. They are not ranked, which is, of course rare, but they’re still Duke.

Three #1 seeds still in it.

3/25: 58-46. Least amount of points we’ve scored all season. We never trailed but we never got anything going either. 19, 8 for Sims.

And we’re in the Final Four, for the 2nd time in three seasons.

We got that SG, Nick Noon, #42.

Unranked, #9 seed Cincinnati scored 4 straight upsets and we will play them in the round of 4. We beat them by 22 and 23 in the regular season.

On the other side it’s #2 seed, #5 ranked Bradley, 33-5, versus #1 seed, #7 ranked Stanford, 27-5.

We’re close.

4/1: 94-70, so we beat this team by 22, 23, and 24 this year. 31, 4, 5 for Land, 18, 6, 3 for Sims, 12, 8, 3 for Dunn, 15 for Jory, 8, 5, 3 for Sax, 6, 2, 7, 3 for Harm.

#7 ranked, #5 RPI, #1 seed in the West Stanford beat Creighton 77-76, so we play them for the national title. Their starting C, who is their leading rebounder, and only inside scorer, broke his toe in today’s game and he’s out. Huge blow for them. They’re very much an outside team to begin wirth so this will leave them vulnerable inside. We intend to take advantage!

4/2: “Gary Gray, EPSN< here with Coach Rhoda Chayne Cox. Coach, you’ve been here before.”

“A three point loss to Georgetwon two years ago. We were in that game all the way.”

“Differences? This is a much better team, clearly the best team in the country.”

“So you should win.”

“We should, but Stanford can play and we’d better be ready to play our best game. “

“Having their starting Center out changes things.”

“It does. You don’t wish that on anyone but it’s part of the game.”

“You’re installed as a 7 ½ point favorite, which is huge in a game like this. It’s usually Even, or at most 2 points.”

“Look, we’re a great team. If we win this game we’re in the conversation about the greatest college hoop teams. If we don’t… we’ll be forgotten.”

“Best of luck, Coach.”

4/3: 2 early fouls for Mack. Good thing we’re deep. Got it to 10 with 6 ½ to play in the 1st. 37-32 at the half.

Fouls are even, +4 RBs, but 12 TOs, more than our average for an entire game. They’re good on D. No one on either team has more than 2 fouls, or more than 8 points.

Got it to 10 with 14 ½ left. And then to 20 with 7 ½ left. I got to empty my bench with 3 minutes to go.

80-62 and the national title! Undefeated! We never trailed and the only tie was 0-0. +10 RBs. TOs were disappointing, 19 (They had 20). 19, 2, 4, 4 for Land, 16, 4, 3, 2 for Jory, 15, 3 for Sims, 9, 10, 2 for
Dunn. The surprise was that we beat them outside, not inside.

Postgame press conference: Ray Ratso SF Examiner: “Coach, first undefeated college hoop season in 68 years.”

“That means a lot. We felt this was a special team right from the start but, obviously, winning it all is hard- I mean 68 years!”

Mary Parm, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “First woman to win a national title in a major Div. I Men’s sport. Talk about that.”

“That’s great! I hope it will finally lead to more women given this opportunity. If this means anything it means we can do this. Give more of us a chance!”

Bone McKee, New York Daily Noose: “Land, Sims, Dunn, a cast of thousands behind them. How could you lose?”

“By not keeping our focus. By not keeping our energy. Certainly by not staying healthy. We only had one really close call all season, but we had an answer. We could have lost. You can always lose. But we didn’t!”

Gabe Foster, Pittsburgh Herald: “Next year?”

“Well, we’re losing Land and Dunn, but we’re still deep, and we have some good looking players coming in. I think we’ll be in the hunt.”

Robin Wood, CMN Sports: “What are your goals, Coach?”

“… I love what I do. This is my fifth national championship, 4 on the women’s side, and this one on the men’s side. It’s what it’s all about. I need to honestly say that I hope to win more of these- OH! Right here at UConn! I’m here for as long as they’ll let me stay.”

It went on like that for a while.

4/4: Awards: Ben Land won the NCAA tourney MOP. Tre Sims was 2nd team All American. I got the national COY award. In conf., Tre was POY, Freshman OY, Defensive POY, 1st team with Ben Land and Coy Dunn. I got Conf. COY.

Team Prestige all the way up to 95.

4/16: We get a 37 OVR for 2nd assistant. Not bad.

4/23: We ask for money but it doesn’t matter. Denied.

38-0 and a national title. Incredible! Overall I’m now 278-64, .813. Highest winning % in Div. I. A great 10 years. Looking forward to the next 10!

[Wayne23]

5/1: The usual reports.

6/5: No one in the pool that tempts us.

Preseason #1, and we’re going for a repeat!

6/25: Going to all the camps.

Ben Land was #4, Coy Dunn #5 in the NBA draft.

6/26: 6 scholarships. We need at least 4 guards.

Looking at 15, 11 of them guards.

8/7: Norton list: Tre Sims #13 (WAY too low), Wyl Mack #30, Jon Harm #43.

8/21: We offer to: 4 PGs, an SG, a C.

9/18: Got 2, lost 2. Got #5, C/PF Joe Thuf, and #14, PG Will Town.

We offer to a PG and a PF.

Going to the Coaches Classic. Marshall is our first opponent. All but one pre-conf. opponent is ranked.

9/25: We get one, lose 2. We get PG Sean Davy, #20.

10/2: Got PG Cole Day, #15, but he’s iffy on the SAT score. Still 2 to go.

First day of practice and we’re loaded. Rod Call, PF/C looks like a superstar.

10/9: Got one more, SF Dix Fee, #2. A huge catch! One more to go and we want another guard.

11/6: 7 man rotation but lots of talent behind those 7 waiting.

At guard it’s all seniors, Brad Jory and Al More starting with Jon Harm backing up.

Soph Tre Sims is back at SF.

Inside it’s senior Wyl Mack, who will play 3, 4, and 5, and frosh Rod Call, with soph Cal Sax backing up.

And we’re off to the Coaches Classic.