Temporary: Don't get too attached

[Wayne23]

1/20: At 13-4, 4-1 Temple. They're one of 5 teams tied for first. We're one of two teams a game back. They're a good team, especially on D. We'll need to control the inside to win this one. At least we're finally at full strength for the first time min almost two months.

1/21: Early lead. They come back. Down 3 at the half; they led by as many as 13 before I maxed and went to man. 12 and 10 for Star but we're shooting only 33.3%. Back and forth; the fans are loving it.

71-78. Poor shooting, 35.1%, did us in. D could have been better, 47.1%.

19, 15 for Star. 16, 3, 3 steals for Joon, but 5 TOs. 11 each for Burk and John but Tsir was invisible and outplayed. Not enough from the bench.

Hopefully, we'll get better.

The injury thing won't stop. Joon will miss one or two games with a calf injury. This is getting very frustrating!

[Wayne23]

1/24: 14-5, 5-1 Memphis , tied for 1st, is here. They can play; 2-0 vs. Ranked teams. It will be their outside vs. Our inside.

1/25: Back and forth. Up 8 at the half. Our lead is all from the line. They can play! We stretch the lead out.

88-70. The O was hot tonight. 18, 9 for Star, who was up against a very good C and held his own. He's not fully back to his A game yet so this was a good sign.

15, 9, 4 for Burk, 20, 4 for Wink, 11, 7 for Hyme, 12 for Nunn.

+11 RBs. 18 TOs, which I do NOT like, but they had 15.

[Wayne23]

1/27: At 8-10, 5-2 Cincinnati next. They're 0-4 vs. Ranked teams. They have trouble scoring, and they give up more points than they score. But it's a road game...

1/28: Early lead. Double digit lead. Up ,12 at halftime. 16, 8 for Star but 3 fouls again; I chew him out. They get it to 5 but we come back.

93-77. Great O! 19, 13 for Star in 23 minutes. 18, 3, 4 for John, 17, 0, 3 for Joon, 12, 3, 4 for Wink.

9 fewer TOs. +12 from the line.

We climb to #16.

Tied for 5th. 2 teams in 3rd, 2 in 1st.

Star does not make the Top 30 Norton list. The injury took him out of the running.

[Wayne23]

1/31: 7-14, 1-7 Central FL, there. We won by 25 at our place. This is a game we should win handily.

2/1: They're staying with us; tied after 10. Tied at the half; NOT good. They've hit 6 threes, we've hit none. I let my guys have it at the half. We need to play our game. I've maxed the D but have not gone to man. I shouldn't need to. I go to man 6 minutes in. Not happy; Star has 4 fouls.

77-70. Much too close. 19, 15, 3 steals for Star but those damned fouls! 25 for Joon, 13, 4 for Wink.

+6 RBs, 12 TOs. We outshot them 48% to 40%. +12 in the paint. But this was not a good night.

[Wayne23]

2/3: #18 Wichita ST, 15-7, 4-5, is here. Not sure why they're still ranked. They have very good guards. They are 1-1 vs. ranked teams.

Temple and Tulsa aren't losing; still 2 games ahead of us. Only one team, Southern Methodist, is one ahead of us.

2/4: Early lead. Up 11 at the half. Star was awful, 3 fouls in 9 minutes. Good shooting and good D for the rest of the guys. Burk has 12.

78-69. They tried very hard to steal it; got it to 2 three times.

16, 7 for Burk, 12, 6 for Hyme. Star was awful and he is definitely in my dog house.

+9 RBs, and the D was there when it needed to be.

In a 3 way tie for 3rd, 1 back of Tulsa, 2 back of #17 Temple.

We're #14.

Lu and I have developed a really great friendship. We have lunch together every day that we're both on campus, which is not all that often during the season. We often spend an evening breaking down video of her team's opponent or mine.

[Wayne23]

2/7: 8-13, 2-8 South FL is here. This is a game we should win easily.

2/8: They take an early lead. We're flat. I take my starters out after 8 minutes. The worst team in the conference is up by 25 at the half. I am mystified... We're shooting 15.4% and are -12 on the boards. It's not happening; we're going to lose this game.

60-67. Big comeback was too little, too late. Hopefully there's a lesson here.

17, 9, 5 blocks for Star but all too late in the game. Nothing from the bench. -7 RBs. Awful.

Drops us into a tie for 5th place, 3 back of 1st with 8 to play. This season has been painful in so many ways.

[Wayne23]

2/10: At 17-7, 8-3 Memphis. We won by 18 at our place. The way we're playing now I just don't know...

2/11: Close early. We take a lead. 46-39 at the half. Star and John both have 3 fouls. We're dominating inside so far. Up 9 with 10 left.

70-81. We fell apart late. They shot 50%, we shot 37.7%.

16 each for Star and Tsir, 12, 5, 4 for Joon. Their bench beat ours 35-17.

Still tied for 5th but the wheels are falling off of the bus.

Drinking again.

[Wayne23]

2/14: 10-13, 4-8 Tulane is here. They won by 4 at their place but we didn't have Star. We should win easily but we need to actually play...

2/15: We take an early lead. We stretch it out. Up 18 at the half. 24, 6 for Star with no fouls.

96-62. We needed this. Hopefully it will restore our confidence. We'll see.

34, 13 for Star, 16, 4 for Burk.

+16 RBs, 9 TOs. We shot 56%. +30 in the paint!

Still tied for 5th place.

[Wayne23]

2/17: At 7-18, 1-12 Houston. We won by 26 at our place. This should be a win but we're so unpredictable lately...

2/18: Close early. Up 12 at the half. +13 RBs, playing good D. We quickly get it to 20.

77-60. 15, 18, 3, 4 steals, 3 blocks for Star. 18, 7, 3 for Joon. 12, 4, 6 for John.

+11 RBs. 16 TOs but they had 21. +12 in the paint.

Alone in 5th. 1 back of 3 teams, 2 back of Temple. 4 left to play.

[Wayne23]

2/21: 16-9, 10-4 Tulsa is here. They're tied for 2nd. They beat us by 5 at their place. They have trouble scoring and they don't rebound well. If we play our game we can win this one.

2/22: We take a lead. 46-29 at the half. Shooting 55%, owning the boards.

76-60. Whatever funk we were in seems to have resolved itself.

14, 11 for Star, 15, 3, 3 for Joon, 15 for Wink.

Both teams shot the same percent but we took 19 more shots.

+11 RBs, 10 TOs.

In a 2 way tie for 3rd, 1 back of 1st, and we play both of the first place teams.