by Wayne23 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:41 pm
3/19: 88-79 but it wasn't that close. We jumped out to an 8-1 lead. They caught up with 8 to play in the 1st, then we jumped ahead again. Up 5 at the half and playing well. We jumped out to an 18 point lead in the 2nd and the final score was as close as they got. GREAT WIN!!!
Our big guys were totally dominant inside. 24, 10 for Celk, 17, 13 for Owen, 13, 3 for Mert, 7, 4 for Sage, and they all played solid D. +6 RBs.
Their SG lit us up for 22 andntheir back up SF had 20, but it didn't matter.
Excerpts from Post Game Presser:
Q: Coach, biggest win in program history?
Coach: Absolutely! We not only won,. We were in complete control for most of the game and all of the 2nd half. We dominated a ranked team- a damned GOOD team. WOOOOO!!!
Q: #1 seed, #5 ranked Louisville next. Do you have a chance?
Coach: Hey, we're in the Sweet Sixteen! Of course we have a chance. All the bad teams have gone home; we expect to play really good teams at this stage. I can tell you one thing, we'll do what we always do, give it all we've got.
Q: Any thoughts about how you'll play them?
Coach: Not yet. All of our focus was on Arkansas. But we have a few days to prepare. The staff will be up all night looking at video and we'll plan from there.
Louisville is 30-7. Early on they beat the then #1 team in the country on the road. They've played 9 ranked opponents.
Scouting Coach Pers Will: They're good, but that's to be expected. They have a terrific back court which we're really going to have to work hard to contain. It all starts with the guards with their team, and most of their scoring happens outside. We feel like we're stronger inside and as with Arkansas the game absolutely has to be played near the basket for us to have a chance.
On O they don't rush. They're very good at setting screens, moving without the ball, and finding the open man.
On D they play mostly man. They only press occasionally but their man to man is solid. They have an excellent bench.
To beat these guys our guards have to play tough D, and we need to work it inside all night long, and rebound, rebound, rebound.
We're a 5 1/2 point underdog.