Hereafter

[Wayne23]

5 to play and 4 of them should be wins with a real shot at the last one.

2/16: 12-13, 5-10 Minnesota is here. Their first 2 bigs off the bench are both out with injuries. On paper this one looks close. Hopefully the home court will see us through.

2/17: They take a lead and I go right to max D. Down 4 after 10. Down 1 at the half. Front court is in foul trouble.

“MOVE WITHOUT THE DAMN BALL! Play D without FOULING! We go over this stuff every day. DO IT!”

Down 3 with 10 left. I'm disgusted.

87-78. We take over in the last couple of minutes scoring 13 of the last 17. It should not have been this hard.

18, 8 for Bowe from the bench. Time to bring him back to starting? Yep, but Hern will get minutes. Bowe plays better D, which has been a problem.

12, 4, 6, 4 steals for Sams, 12, 3, 4 for Ster, 11, 3 for Mack, 9, 10 for Tuck.

12 TOs. We shot 39.4% to 36.5%. We've played better. Of course we've played a lot worse, but not lately.

Back up forward Rich Mack hurt his back. He'll miss at least one game.

Still alone in 6th, ½ game back of 5th, 2 ½ ahead of 7th, 2 1/2 back of 4th. Our NET is #28 so the NCAA tourney is well within reach.

Still no sign of the probe. It will be some time before the new probe reaches the area.

The plant problems continue. Fortunately they have not spread to any of the other chambers but we're still getting no production of broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, peas. The kitchen is doing a great job of being creative, but there are only so many salads people want to eat.

[Wayne23]

2/21: 11-14, 3-13 Iowa is here. This is another team we should beat, especially at home. Their backup PG and a forward who plays about 9 minutes a game are out. They give up 4.5 more than they score. They don't rebound and they turn it over.

Crowds have been very good, much better than in the past few seasons. Usually, 12,000-14,000. Only three sellouts. As we get better the people will come.

2/22: Early lead. Up 12 with 10 to play in the half. Up 15 at the half. 13, 3 for Mill but he has 3 fouls. The D is solid, 29.6%.

I take Rash Mill aside as we head back to court.

“Think, Rash. Two of those three were dumb plays. You're smarter than that.”

“Yeah but the third one was a bad call.”

“Which wouldn't have mattered much if you hadn't committed the other two. Stay within yourself and if the guy beats you let him have the basket, don't foul him.”

Up 18 with 10 to play.

71-61 but it wasn't that close. They got points in garbage time.

21, 4 for Mill but he only played 24 minutes before fouling out, and one of the last two was another dumb foul.

11, 13, 4 blocks for Tuck. 10, 5, 5 for Star, 10, 3, 4 for Hern.

We held them to 34.5%. +12 in the paint.

I didn't yell at the guys much back when they were playing brutally tough teams. But lately we're playing teams we need to beat and SHOULD beat, so I'm kicking butts.
3 left to play, 2 on the road, but given the quality of the opponents I'll be disappointed if we go 2-1.

I'd like to finish 5th. Our last game is with Illinois at our place and they're 1 up in the lost column. We could be in a position to beat them and finish 5th.

Plant problems continue. No solution in sight according to the plant science people. Salads are really getting old. I have to admit that I don't like salads and never ate them when we had the other veggies.

[Wayne23]

2/23: At 15-12, 7-10 Purdue who we absolutely destroyed at our place. They have a decent back court but we handled them well last time. We need to do that again and control the inside, which we did terrifically last time.

2/24: Starting in max D. Down 7 after 10. Not happy. Up 2 at the half. Bowe managed to get 3 fouls in 5 minutes. Mack is doing great in his place, better than Hern.

“You need to do more inside. I can't believe you're not kicking their butts in there.”
Up 3 with 10 left.

77-85. I'm truly disgusted. I walk out of the locker room without saying a word.

22, 9 for Mill, 13, 4 for Mack, , 11, 6 for Tuck, 13, 4 for Ster but crap D, 54.5%. Lousy inside play, -6 RBs, only +2 in the paint.

Illinois lost so we're still a half game back of 5th.

[Wayne23]

2/28: I have said not a word about the loss to Purdue. No references to the game at all. Practices have been intense.

At 17-12, 8-10 Michigan. We won by only 5 at our place. They have 2 bigs out, a starter and their 6th man. We won it inside and Bowe had a very big game. I was thinking of sitting him but instead I'm reminding him of how well he played last time. We played really good D against them last time, too.

3/1: Down 6 and playing poorly. Down 22 at the break. No idea what to say in the locker room. They're shooting 58.1%. Both Tuck and Bowe have 3 fouls. We're getting beat inside.

I say nothing in the locker room, just sit there.

We're getting beat up in the 2nd. I pull my starters with 6 minutes left. The subs do better.

81-99. They shot 50%, we shot 40.5%.

Mill had 20 and 8 but his man outplayed him. 15, 8 for Bowe and his man outplayed him. 20, 3, 3 for Ster, 13, 4 for Turk. We got beat in the paint as well.

Amazingly enough, if we win our last game we could finish 5th. But if we lose it we could finish 7th.

Still no solution to the plant disease. It still hasn't spread, thankfully.

Our new probe is almost where the old one was. No sign of the old probe or of the object that made it disappear- or at least that's what we're assuming.

[Wayne23]

3/2: Indiana is here. I read the schedule wrong and thought it was Illinois. It isn't. Indiana is 14-14, 6-13. We're 17-12, 10-9. Illinois is almost certainly going to lose at #4 ranked Michigan ST so our fate is in our hands.

This one is rated a toss up so we can only hope the home court will make a difference. The Athletic Department has been really promoting the game. I hear ticket sales are not that great.

Indiana shoots the three better than we do. But we're better on the boards, and they turn it over. I need my guys to show some heart.

3/3: Illinois played in the afternoon and lost, so it's in our hands. If we win we finish 5th.

Up 3 after 10. They're not playing like it's a big game. Then they are. BIG run! Up 23 at halftime. 15 for Tuck, 12 for Mill, 11 for Sams, all late in the half. +9 RBs, 5 fewer
TOs. Shooting 58.8%

“Okay, keep doing what you're doing. Get it inside; they can't stop that and it leaves the three open.”

Up 25 with 10 left. It's in control.

93-68. 2nd most points we've scored all season.

23, 12 for Mill, 17, 7, 4 for Tuck, 18, 2, 3 for Sams, 12, 8 for Bowe.

+23 RBs.

Illinois gets the #5 seed. Oh well.

We finish the regular season 18-12, 11-9, NET #44. I'd say we need to win a game, maybe 2 in the Big Ten tourney to make the big dance.

+1.1 PPG, +3.6 RBs, we're #3 in the nation in RBs, -1.7 TOs but a pathetic 13.7.

Mill leads in scoring with 14.9, is 2nd in RBs with 7.6. Tuck leads in RBs with 8.3. Sams leads in assists with 5.4.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #11 seed Minnesota, 14-17, 6-14, in the play in round. We won by 9 at our place. We played good D that night but they outplayed us in the paint, handily. Our bench and our guards got us through. Their PF really did a number on us. Tuck got in foul trouble early. We need him and the other bigs to stay in the game. They have a good PG but Sams more than held his own. They have a hell of a rebounder in the middle, gets 11.3. If we play our game, and with this team you never know, we'll be okay.

3/8: They score the first 7. We come back, then fall back. Down 3 after 10. I'm in max D. Down 4 at the half. Mill has 3 fouls, Tuck 2 so just what I didn't want. 15, 5, 3 for Ster, 10, 7 for Mill. +9 RBs. But they're shooting 51.4% to our 40%. We need to do better scoring in the paint. 2nd chances are good though. +9. It's a game.

“Guys one and done. It's on you. Play smart, work to get open, get the ball down low.”

Up 1 with 10 left but foul trouble inside.

99-95. What a shootout! Both teams shot 49.3%. We were +7 at the line and that did it. +14 RBs was huge too.

Our guards stepped up BIG, 27, 7, 6, 4 steals for Ster, and 12, 3, 9 for Star. #3 guard Terl had 8. 15, 11 for Mill and 18, 8, 3 for Bowe. Tuck was utterly embarrassed by his man. Our bench helped a lot.

Hern sprained his wrist and is out of this tournament at the very least.

It's #9 ranked, #3 seed Maryland, 26-5, 15-5, in the quarter finals. They have 2 starters out, their SG, who's their leading scorer, and their PF, their 2nd leading rebounder and #3 scorer. They crushed us by 27 at their place but those two guys did a lot of damage. Their C is a monster though and he's 100%. They're a big favorite, even with 2 starters out. We think we have a little edge in the backcourt; that needs to happen and our bigs absolutely, positively MUST stay in the game.

[Wayne23]

3/9: Tied after 10. we're hanging in. Then we're not; they go on a run. We come back. Down only 2 at the half. But Mill played 3 minutes, got 3 fouls, and Bowe has 2. Their C got in foul trouble too. They're shooting 51.7% to our 35.3%. Their beating us inside, 22-8 in the paint. The guards are doing
great and Bowe has 12. It's a game! They open it up, down 16 with 10 to play. Not happening.

81-102. They scored more than 100 both times they played us.

They shot 65.5%! We shot 40.8%. -22 in the paint. 24, 3 for Ster, 15, 5 for Bowe, 11, 1, 9 for Sams, 12, 6 for Mack.

Now we wait.

3/12: #21 ranked Ohio ST shocked #3 Wisconsin in the title game.

[Wayne23]

NIT, #2 Midwest. We play #7 Oregon, 18-12. They have a very good PG and a solid backcourt. We think we have the edge inside. But this won't be easy.

3/13: I remind the guys it's one and done.

Up 6 after 10, up 10 at the half. 10, 6 for Mill, 8, 3 for Mack. No one in foul trouble on either team. +8 in the paint. It's going our way so far. I haven't maxed the D or gone to man. Up only 6 with 10 left. I max the D.

84-70. We were never seriously threatened.

20, 11 for Mill, 16, 3, 7 for Sams but 6 TOs, 13, 6, 4 for Tuck, 11, 6, 5, 3 steals for Ster, 10, 4 for Mack. +5 RBs, 7 fewer TOs. An amazing +28 from the line. +18 in the paint. A good win!

[Wayne23]

3/19: 21-14, #1 seed Tennessee in the quarter finals. Their starting PG and their starting SF are both out with major injuries. They're still pretty good.

3/20: Early lead. Up 12 after 10. 52-25 at the half. Their injuries are doing them in. 14 for Ster, 13 for Sams. They have 14 TOs already. We're shooting 62.1%.

“Their starting PG, which is their backup PG, has 3 fouls. That's huge since they're having to play their 3rd stringer. Don't let up!”

This is a rout, we're up by 40.

98-62 and we're in the semifinals!

20, 5, 3 for Ster, 20 for Bowe. 12, 9, 3 for Tuck, 13, 0, 9 for Sams. 12, 5 for Mill. 11 TOs to 25. We shot 53.5%.

[Wayne23]

3/27: #1 seed Eastern Kentucky, 27-6, in the semifinals. We're the underdog again. They're a good team but they didn't play a ranked team all season.

We think our tough schedule may make a difference.

3/28: Early lead again. Up 11 after 10. Up 13 at the half; we led by as many as 21. 15, 7 for Bowe, 12 for Ster. Sams has 3 fouls, which is a worry. We're shooting 60% to 46.4%. +10 in the paint.

“You have a big lead. Don't let up for a second though. These guys have come back often this season.”
Up 16 with 10 to go.

113-92. I can't believe we scored 113 points! Not happy giving up 92, but it didn't matter.

27, 14 for Bowe, 23, 2, 5 for Ster, 14, 6, 3 for Mill, 13, 5, 3 for Mack, 16 for Tuck. +8 RBs, 11 TOs. We shot 64.6%, 12-22 on threes.

I talked to the players in the locker room after they were showered and dressed:

“We've been through a lot of adversity this season and now, with our last game ahead of us, we have the chance to finish as NIT champions. I'm proud of the way you never quit. Let's go get that trophy!