by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 16, 2017 7:15 pm
3/7: #9 seed Minnesota, 11-17, 7-11, in the quarters. We won by 33 there, then 33 here. Let’s see how our new lineup does.
3/8: 85-67. 32, 7, 3 for Naby. 23 for backup guard Gar Bone.
And the injury jinx strikes again. Starting Point Guard Mick Onda broke his nose. He’s a senior so that ends his college career. We now have two starters out for the season. Gar Bone will start at PG. Pen Brin will get the other guard minutes.
The big difficulty is that we really don’t get even one practice with the new lineup, just a run through. Man! I can’t believe we lost a starter, then in the very next game, we lost another starter!
#4 seed Purdue, 18-10, 11-7, in the semis. We won by 20 there, then by 28 here.
3/9: 64-59. Bone and Brin didn’t play badly, but we didn’t have nearly the ball movement we had with Onda. 22, 11 for Cray, 13, 5 for Brin. +14 RBs.
#6 Maryland beat Indiana and then Michigan, so we play them for the title. We beat them by 11, then 33.
3/10: 72-56. Great D held then to 33.3%, 23.5% on threes. 29, 6 for Naby, 12, 8 for Cray, 11, 2, 8 for Bone, but he’s turning it over too much. +9 RBs, 12 TOs.
3/12: 30-3, 17-1, #2, RPI #2. The injuries may lower our seeding. I think we’ll still get a #1, but maybe on the right side of the brackets.
#1 Midwest, #2 overall. Pretty good bracket, actually, Not easy, but less challenging than a couple.
We play 15-15 North Dakota.
3/16: 60-42. 16, 6, 7 for Naby, 13, 6 for Bone, 11, 4, 5 for Cray. +11 TOs.
#9 seed Maryland, 19-14, in round 2.
3/18: 69-66. Teams were never more than 8 points apart. 17 for Naby, 10, 13 for Cray, 14, 5, 3 for Bone, 11, 1, 6 for Brin.
#12 seed Syracuse, 22-12, beat #5, then #4, so we meet them in the Sweet Sixteen. They beat us by 11 there in November. We need to play better than we did that night.
3/23: 71-64. 32, 8, 3 for Naby, 10, 10 for Cray, 7, 10 for Griz. +9 TOs, +8 RBs.
#2 seed, #9 ranked Georgetown, 27-7, in the Elite Eight. They’re strong inside. We won by 11 there in Nov.
3/25: 73-72. What a game. Naby won it with a three with .4 left. He had 21, 4, Cray had 22, 11. 12, 7 for Arri.
And we’re back to the Final Four, which I did not expect with the injuries. We play #1 overall seed and ranked North Carolina, 34-3. We beat them by 22 in December, but we don’t have 2 of the starters we had then. This is a challenge!
On the other side it’s #4 Florida, 31-3, vs. #12 USC, 25-10.
4/1: 54-67. We shot 24.6%, 17.9% on threes. -10 RBs. We never led. Naby had 21, 10 in his last game for us. Part of it was UNC was better, part of it was the injuries, but we really didn’t play well, especially on O. Oh well, given the injuries, I’m pleased we made the Final Four.
4/3: North Carolina won it all.
4/4: Awards: Rich Naby made 1st team All American. In conf., Naby was POY, Frosh OY, 1st team. Marc Cray was Defensive POY and 1st team. I got Conf. COY.
4/16: We need to hire #2 and #3 assistants. We got a decent #3 and a poor #2.
4/23: I ask for a Facilities upgrade again. Approved, and we actually went from A to A+!
34-4, Final Four. With the late injuries, I’ll take it. Overall: 1359-235, .853.