by Wayne23 » Thu Jun 29, 2017 8:30 pm
3/7: We’ll play #7 seed Alabama, 18-10, 9-9, in the quarter finals. We beat them by 29 at our place.
3/8: 95-68. 23, 7, 4 for Ando, and he had a lot of help. +15 RBs, 11 TOs.
#3 seed Missouri, 23-6, 13-5, in the semifinal round. They shellacked us by 20 there. We think we’re much better than we were that night and feel that if we play well we can beat them.
3/9: 87-73. We were up 19 at the half. 27, 5 for Ando, 19, 12 for Sand. 11 TOs.
As expected it is #1 seed, #2 ranked Kentucky, 29-3, 16-2, for the title. They beat us by the exact same score, 65-70, both here and there, so we don’t need to get a great deal better. But they are VERY good.
3/10: 63-71. They went on a 172 run at the end of the 1st half to take a 13 point lead. We couldn’t catch them. 17 for Ando, 11, 10 for Sand, 14 for Smat. -8 RBs.
28-4, 15-3, #6, RPI #3.
3/12: #1 West. We play 17-15 Northern Kentucky. This is a bracket where we should do well!
3/17: It was a mismatch, but 39 points? 25, 11 for Sand, 18, 10 for Smat, and those two outscored the entire other team! +16 RBs. We were sloppy, though, 16 TOs.
#9 seed Wisconsin, 19-11, in round 2. They lost their starting PG to grades and have not been the same team since.
3/19: 88-58. 20, 4, 12 for PG Jeb Chow, 24, 4, 5 for Ando. We took advantage of their weakness at guard. 9 TOs.
#4 seed, #19 ranked Oregon, 23-9, in the Sweet Sixteen. We beat them by 17 here in December.
3/24: 9-80. It was a shootout and we had the bigger guns. 21 for Ando, 17, 3, 8 for Chow, who is playing really well. 3 others with 10 or more. +9 RBs, 9 TOs.
#2 seed Louisville, 30-5, in the Elite Eight. They are big and good inside.
We’d LOVE to return to the Final Four!
3/26: 81-79. Terrific game. Our backcourt and bench won it for us- barely. 15 each for Chow and Ando, and 11 more from #3 guard Mpeb. Sand had 12 and 11 and Smat had 11, but their front court dominated ours. On the final play we went to our best, Tobe Sand, and he managed a dunk in traffic. They didn’t have time to get a shot off, only a ¾ court throw.
We’re back in the Final Four!
All 4 #1 seeds made it here. We play #3 ranked Syracuse, 33-3. They lost their #3 guard to grades but they adjusted very well. This is a VERY good team.
On the other side it’s #1 Michigan ST, 35-2, vs. #2 Kentucky, 34-3.
4/1: 79-63! We never trailed. Ando had 22, 4, 4, Chow had 14. Sand had 9 and 12. Our bench outscored them by 9 and out rebounded them by 4.
We play #1 ranked Michigan ST, 36-2, for the national title. They are #1 for a reason. They’re strong at every position and they are deep as well. We’ll need to really, really be at our very best, and hope that they are not.
4/3: 62-68. We had our chances. We knew the key was to hold the score down, and we did that, but their D was outstanding. A couple of bad calls late didn’t help, but the ref didn’t beat us. Poor free throw shooting was a factor though, 13-23; that’s terrible. 20 TOS was the biggest factor; it allowed them 14 more shots from the field. 14, 11 for Shtu, 17 for Ando, but both he and Chow had 8 TOs. We did what we could and I couldn’t be prouder of my team.
4/4: Awards: Once again, the SEC honors me with Conf. COY, but disrespects my players. Ara Smat is the only player honored, making 2nd team. I do not understand how Tobe Sand could have been overlooked, and I am being quite public about my disappointment!
Dorothea brings up the point that we may wish to consider moving. She says there are places we could go to that would make her work easier. I have no desire to leave UMass, but her career is certainly a consideration. I would love to win a national title here though, and I think we’re close, even losing Smat and Sand. We have the #8 and the #14 big men coming in, and everyone else is back. Let’s see what sorts of offers we get.
4/9: Our TP is up to 82, so it will be difficult to find a team. But someone with a half million dollar budget and A level facilities would make me ponder.
Florida and Memphis call. Then LSU and Stanford. The only one of interest would be Stanford but that’s not a step up. We have no interest in living in a hot climate. Louisville calls. Again, too darned hot.
We’re staying.
Something called the “Teapot Dome Scandal” is going on in Washington. It’s brand new but Josephus says it involves the president’s close advisors using their positions to make huge sums of money illegally. He says it is no surprise since Harding is such a fool, and he says it will bring him down.
4/16: We need to hire a #1 and a #2. Always stressful. Hired.
4/23: I ask for a budget increase. Had to spend a lot on assistants. No.
Great season, 33-5, title game! Overall, I’m 400-108, .787.