Hereafter

[Wayne23]

12/2: Early lead, as expected. Up only 1 after 10. 47-36 at the half; 6 threes is why they're that close. Up 24 with 10 left.

94-77. Easy win. A season high 29, 3, 8 for Shay, 19, 5 for Rama, 13, 7, 3 for Bond, 16, 4 for Dunn.

7 TOs. We shot 54.2%; +14 from the line.

Sany Rama hurt his back. Out for a week and a half. He'll miss at least 2 games, maybe 3.

4-2 Duke is here next. 1-0 vs. ranked teams but it's a down year. They don't score many but they give up very few. We think we have a big edge inside.

There is definitely traffic at the space station, or whatever it is. It's big enough to house actual ships, at least that's what we think we're seeing.

[Wayne23]

12/9: They're staying with us early. Up 6 after 10. Down 1 at the half; I ramp up the D. Up only 2 with 10 left. We're sluggish.

79-76. We were down 70-76 with 64 seconds left. First time we've been challenged all season. Nice to see that we responded and fought for the win. Scot Shay's three with .4 left got the win for us.

12, 12, 3 for Bond, 15, 3, 5 for King, 13, 5, 4 for Shay, 11, 8, 2, 4 steals for Fox.

16 TOs, which makes me very unhappy. They were +18 from the line and that almost won it for them. We countered that with 7 more baskets on 11 more attempts, and 5 more threes. We thought threes were their only hope but interestingly, they damn near beat us and only hit 2 threes. They were steady, they didn't panic or quit, and they got us in foul trouble.

Rama is back!

10-0, #2, NET #2. 3 more pre-conf games, all against ranked teams. Next up is #14 Cincinnati, 7-2. These guys can play! They are very good defenders so we'll need to work to get open shots. They average 2+ RBs more than we do. We need to play good D or we're in trouble.

[Wayne23]

77-72. Yet again, we win it in the last minute. It was 70-70 with 63 seconds left. I threw a full court man-to-man at them, turned them over twice, and that did it! Another real challenge which, again, is good for us! Not so good on my nerves, maybe!

18, 6 for Fox from the bench. 4 of our starters were in foul trouble and he was a gigantic factor in the win. Dan Hick, the 2nd big off the bench, also played well. He got a career high 29 minutes and had 7 and 6. He played well against Syracuse, too. 18, 4, 3 for Shay, 13, 5 for Rama in his first game back after the injury.

Fouls absolutely plagued us all night long, but to be fair, 2 of their starters fouled out, and we went to the line more often. We had an uncharacteristically poor night from the line, 24-37. We were +8 in the paint and +13 on 2nd chances.

The fans loved this one, and the Pauley Pavilion crowd definitely helped us.

A week off, #3 home, then #5 away.

#3 Xavier, 9-2, is here. They lost to #1 Oklahoma, on the road, by 2. We think the one edge we have is inside, especially on the boards, but this should be another battle.

They probably have an edge at PG. Statistically there's not much difference in PPG and points allowed. They shoot the three better than we do, but everyone does.

(Author's note: a 48-29 game between 2 top 25 teams. That shouldn't happen; totally unrealistic. Just happened to notice it.)

[Wayne23]

12/27: Their home crowd is rockin' the joint! Close early; we're shooting poorly. Up 1 after 10, but .333. Down 5 at the half. Max D for the 2nd, and I may go man-to-man. Up 1 with 10 to play.

74-80. We couldn't work our late game magic in this one and their PG was terrific, 21, 3, 5. We were -7 on the boards. 4 fewer TOs. We shot an awful 32.7% and that did us in. +6 at the line and 2 more threes kept it close but you need to make shots. I can't believe how many open looks clanged off the rim. -12 in the paint, so they beat us in most phases, not by a lot in any one, but by enough. A December loss is not that big a deal; hopefully we'll learn from it.

1/2/2034: At the end of the pre-conf. season we're 12-1, #4, NET #1. +14.6 PPG, +only 1.6 RBs, -8 TOs, best in the country 9.5. #12 overall NET Rating, as opposed to NET
Ranking (Why do these have such similar names!)

Shay leads us with 17.5, and with 5.1 assists (tied with King). 13.8 for Rama, 12.2 for Bond, 12.1 for King, 10.3 for Dunn, 9.2 for Fox.

Bond leads in RBs with 8.8. Nobody turns it over more than 1.8 times.

1st in conf is 8-4 Arizona ST there. We think we're better but they play good D.

We just got a message from the space thing, whatever it is. It was printed, not spoken, and appeared on our radar screen:

“Hummans of the vessell. We are a rest stashun set in space in the Pretonius Sector by the Ryndanlin peeple. Our mishun is to provide respit for voyagers. We have, in our facility, the capabbility to match your environment exactlie. We can provide the foods and drinks that nurrish you, and we can make availabul the entertainment you desire. The opportunity exists for you to interract with diverse species in a safe environment. We will be happy to meet you. If you desire this pleese change your course to meet up with us. In the meantime we provide you with video access to every area of our rest stashun. As we communicate further our understanding of your langwidge will improve.”

The Council met immediately, in emergency session. We decided by unanimous vote to hold our current position in space and gather more information. WOW!

[Wayne23]

1/3: Up 7 after 10. AZ ST has been a PAC 12 power the past few years. Tied at the half. Up goes the D. Up 6 with 10 to play.

63-60. A real defensive battle. +4 RBs but a horrific 22 TOs; they had 17. The difference was threes; we were 9-26, they were 3-18. -16 in the paint! Not good!

No one had more than 12 for us; that was King, 12, 5, 7, but 9 TOs, a career worst for him. 10, 8, 3 for Bond.

We were lucky to come away with the win! A big factor was a minor injury to Shay. He turned an ankle late in the first half and only played 4-5 minutes in the 2nd. He should be fine in a day or two.

4-8, 1-0 Washington ST is here. This is a game we should win. This should be a laugher.

We're keeping an eye on the “rest stashun.” It seems to be what it says it is. Looks like a place where anything goes. I don't know what they can offer us that the holo chambers can't except for one very important thing, the opportunity to interact with other intelligent life. That is a huge temptation.

[Wayne23]

1/6: Close early. Tied after 10. We have no energy. Up only 4 at halftime. I give them the silent treatment in the locker room. Up 9 with 10 left. We're still listless.

79-70. WAY closer than it should have been. Shooting 35.9% didn't help. +10 at the line was the difference. 13 fewer TOs, but -4 on the boards, -8 in the paint. Far from our best effort.

15, 6 for Bond, 14, 1, 5 for King, 16 for Shay with good D. Decent bench play.

At 9-4, 0-2 Oregon ST next. They're 9-1 at home but they haven't played anybody. If we actually play we think we should win this one.

[Wayne23]

1/10: Early lead. Up 12 after 10. We're cookin'! Up only 1 at the half; we stopped playing D. Up 13 with 10 left after a run.

88-73, but it took awhile. 17, 10 for Bond, 15, 3, 4 for Shay, 15, 6 for Dunn, 11, 3, 7 for King.

We shot 50% and made 10 more shots. +4 RBs, 7 TOs to 19. +30 in the paint, +10 2nd chances.

A VERY expensive win. Starting PG Kal King broke his foot. Out until mid-February.

Doon and Ston are going to get their shot at the job; if neither does well, Nadi Hara will get a shot. No great options.

6-8, 0-3 Washington is here. At least it's not one of the better teams; we'll get to try to put it together in a game we should win.

The Tralmorians seem to be a lifeform very much like us. They breathe an atmosphere essentially identical to ours. They look like us except their about 10% shorter, a little thicker, and their ears and noses are slits and their eyes are a little bigger. Oh, weird hair. Our psychologists are trying to engage with them. Language is a problem but both sides have translation devices, so it will get better.

[Wayne23]

1/13: Big early lead. Up 15 after 10. Up 14 at the half. Both PGs are doing well. Up 16 with 10 left.

86-69. 26, 3, 7 for Shay. The PGs? Doon went 8, 1, no assists. Ston was 10, 2, 4.Doon may be a slightly better player but he's not a PG.

8 TOs. We made 9 more shots. +12 in the paint. Rama sprained a finger and saw limited action but he should be okay for our next game.

At #14 Oregon, 12-4, but only 2-2. They are very big and bad inside. We need to turn them over, and we need to be at our best inside. I'm going to start Ston at PG and have him in at the end if it's close.

[Wayne23]

1/17: Back and forth early. They are definitely tough down low. Down 6 after 10. Down 8 at the half. They're doubling Shay and it's working. Down 5 with 10 left.

83-82 on a last second 28 footer by Shay. We worked a double screen. He still had a hand in his face but he made the shot!

17, 5, 3 for Shay despite the double, 17, 6 for Rama, 12, 8 for Bond, 11, 7 for Fox. Ston was definitely better than Doon at PG. We may give Hara some minutes.

10 TOs. We shot 50%, 60% in the 2nd half. Made 9 more shots. +22 at the line which was definitely the difference maker. The other coach got a T midway through the 2nd half. I'm guessing he's regretting that given the final score.

#17 Stanford, 15-2, 5-0, is here next. The tow of us and Utah are tied for 1st in the conf. They have a very good PG. We think we're better everywhere else. They don't score much but they're really tough on D. We feel like if we play well we'll be okay.

The Tralmorians are very interested in... mating... We're not. They are being kind of pushy about it. It doesn't seem to be about sex; they're talking about artificial insemination, with both gender parents involved. They want a dozen mothers and a dozen fathers, with half the offspring being raised by us, the other half by them. They want constant communication as the children grow up to compare child raising methods and all sorts of other things.

The Council is against this, 12-0. Interestingly enough the people who run the rest station are checking in on the side of the Tralmorians:

“We have done this experiment with many cultures over thousands of years and it leads to some very interesting things. Our own people, the Ryndanlins, are a result of such crossbreeding, are many other of the most successful races with whom we are in contact. Please open your minds to this idea, and regard all of the evidence. We will present it to you as time moves forward."

Meh.

[Wayne23]

1/20: Close early. Up 6 after 10. A run puts us up 16 at the break. BIG run! Up 19 with 10 to go.

94-66. Didn't expect a romp but we got one! 23, 4, 4 for Shay, who backed up at PG, and did an excellent job. 18, 4 for Rama, 14, 6 for Bond. Ston is my PG until King gets back. He's doing a good job.

+8 baskets, +4 threes, +8 at the line. +9 RBs, 10 TOs to 20.

USC, 10-7, 3-3, next, there. This should be a win.