3/9: #9 seed South FL, 13-15, 7-11 in the round of 8. We won by 15 there.
3/10: 80-74 in a game that was way too close for comfort. Abe Dion outdid himself, 41 and 7. 37 RBs, 11 TOs. They stayed close by hitting 12 threes.
#4 seed Temple, 16-14, 10-8. We won by 8 here, then lost by 4 there in the regular season finale. We have a big edge inside and need to exploit that.
3/11: 57-55. Down 8 with 2:55 to go. Jon Cart hit a three, Dion rebounded a missed Temple shot and Jon Cart hit another three. Those were our only threes of the game (2-16). Dion RB’d another Temple miss, got fouled on the other end, hit 2. Then Dion blocked a shot, and Earl hit a back door lay up. We hit enough free throws down the stretch to hang on. Whew! 50 RBS (+27) made up for 23 TOs (-10).
#3 seed, #21 ranked Cincy, 21-8, 11-7, upset Houston, so we play them for the title. They may be a better team than Houston. We beat them by 15 here, then lost in OT there. We need to play our game and take care of the ball better than we usually do. This could be the difference between a #1 and a #3 seed in the Dance.
3/12: 84-81! Most of our games have been low scoring. This was a shootout and our guns were loaded. 33, 10 with 8 blocks for conf. tourney MOP Abe Dion, 20, 4 for Cape, 14, 3, 2 for Earl, 10, 7, 3 for Cart. Herr was useless, except for playing good D. Played 12 minutes. He has been our biggest disappointment, all season long. +11 RBs. Only -3 TOs.
Now we wait. 25-5, 14-4, #6, RPI #4.
#2 South. We play #15 Binghamton, 19-11.
One other teen has died. Autopsy results on the first two were not helpful. We’re submitting the problem to the kids still using Weekel. We’re hopeful.
3/17: 91-70. 27, 4 for Dion, 18, 12 for Herr, 17, 4, 3 for Cape. +17 RBs, 9 TOs. We expected an easy game.
Next is the #7 seed, Duquesne, 23-9.
(Author’s Note: The #1 seed in the entire tourney lost in Round One. This should not happen.)
3/19: 84-70. Dion had a season high 47, 11, 3, 3, 6. HUGE game, and he completely shut down the other C and his back up. +14 RBs, but 20 TOs.
#3 seed, #20 ranked Minnesota, 24-8, in the Sweet Sixteen. They have a great PG but we’re much better inside.
3/24: 86-102. Down 1 at the half then we gave up 60 (!) in the 2nd. Their starting backcourt combined for 59 total; ours had 8. 38, 11, 5, 2, 3 for Dion, 16, 7, 4 for Pace. +16 RBs, -9 TOs.
Given our horrendous backcourt it was a very good season!
No more teen deaths, and a possible solution.
3/26: We land a PG and a big.
4/3: #2 Louisville wins it all.
4/4: Awards: Abe Dion is national Defensive POY. Should have made 2nd team All American. In conf., Abe swept, POY, frosh OY, Def. POY, 1st team. Lou Herr made 2nd, which he did not deserve. Should have been Del Cape. I got conf. COY.
4/9: No job change this year, or ever, I hope!
We filled our roster, filled all 8 scholarships. 4 PGs, 3 bigs, an SF.
4/23: We ask for money. We got $23,000 and we now have enough money to recruit the way we want to.
27-6, 14-4, 1st in conf. #6 ranked. Sweet Sixteen. Given the # of walk ons this is terrific. No walk ons next season, or at most one, Kit Earl.
Overall I am 408-102, .800, for 15 seasons.
4/29: Airplanes- yes, airplanes, dropped bombs here, in Detroit, in Toronto, and in Milwaukee. Lots of casualties, lots of property destroyed.