DDSCB23: All In

[Wayne23]

11/28: Fast start. Up 12 after 10. 50-26. We looked great! 18, 6 for Loft in his first start at the new position, 11, 5 for Grah, 13, 7 for Will. +26 inside, 20-0 on 2nd chances.

Breezing along. Up 32 with 10 to go.

93-57. 30, 10 for Loft, 21, 9, 4 blocks for Grah, 17, 12 for Will. Total dominance inside. Our best game of the season.

Off on a 6 game road trip. I was NOT happy with my A. D. when I saw this. We start at 1-4 Duquesne.

12/1: Good start. Up 4 after 10. 55-46 at halftime. 16, 8 for Loft, 11 for Toxy. Grah got in early foul trouble. We’re playing poor D again, 62.1%.

Still leading but they’re closing the gap. Up 7 with 10 to play.

94-81. 24, 9 for Loft who seems to love playing at PF. 17, 4, 3 for Toxy, 11, 2, 7, 5 for Vann, 16, 4 for Will, 10, 5 for Keet. Solid inside play.

At 1-4 George Mason.

12/5: Close early. Up 5 after 10. Late run and it’s 52-33 at the half. 14 for loft, 12, 3, 0, 3 for Vann, 10, 4 for Will. Shooting 61.1%. Toxy has 3 fouls.

Up 27 with 10 left.

87-58. 23, 8 for Loft, 18, 4, 0, 3 for Vann, 18, 8 for Will, 11, 10 for Grah. Total control inside.

We’re chasing a guard because we fear our #1 recruit may not hit our SAT score.

At 5-2 UAB.

12/12: Back and forth. Up 4 after 10. 46-43 at the half. Poor D again. 14, 6 for Loft, 8, 4 for Will. Good inside play.

Down 9 with 10 to play. Close late!

OT! 95-92. Whew! 18, 11, 1, 3 for Will, 18, 9 for Loft, 11, 10, 5 blocks for Grah, 13, 6, 3 for Cage, 10, 1, 8, 5 for Keet, 14 for Vann. 70 in the paint.

One more pre-conf game. At Missouri ST, 4-5.

12/19: They take the lead. We come back. Down 9 after 10. 34-47. Awful 1st half. 3 fouls for Loft, 2 on 4 others. Poor D, 57.1%. Poor shooting, 35.3%. Poor inside play.

We’re coming back. Then we’re not. Down 17 with 10 left. It’s ugly!

68-95. Maybe our worst game since I got here.

6-3 going to MAC play. +9 PPG, +9.3 RBs, -5.2 TOs, + 5 steals. We’re #2 in RBs, #5 in PPG.

Loft leads us in scoring with 18.8, 7.7 RBs. Grah gets 14.3, 7.9 RBs. Hatt gets 12.8, 6.5. Sub Joe Will gets 11.8, 6.6 RBs. Vann gets 10.8. Toxy leads in assists with 6.7.

Hatt is about 2 ½ to 3 weeks away from returning.

We start MAC play at 5-4 Toledo.

[Wayne23]

12/26: Early lead, They come back. 41-46. The poor D is discouraging. 10, 3 for Loft, 11, 2, 1, 3 for Grah.

We tie it. Up 10 with 10 to go.

82-74 but that was as close as they got. Much better 2nd half. 13, 6, 3 for Cage, 15, 3, 1, 3 for Grah, 14, 3, 3 blocks for Loft, 12, 6 for Vann. +20 in the paint.

The 6 game road trip ends at 9-3, 1-0 Ohio.

12/29: Back and forth. Up 2 after 10. 55-48. Great O, poor D. We shot 58.8%, they shot 54.8%. 15, 4 for Grah. 3 fouls for Loft.

Close! Down 4 with 10 to play.

102-100. They hit a three at the buzzer to make it appear a little closer than it was. 30, 6 for Grah, 17, 5 for Loft, 11, 8, 3, 2, 4 for Cage, 14, 1, 0, 3 for Vann, 12, 4 for Will. +38 in the paint.

Finally back home with Miami (OH), 6-5, 2-0. Hatt is back.

1/2/2025: Close early. Up 5 after 10. 50-37 at the half. D is better with Hatt back. 14, 5 for Loft, 8, 4 for Will.

Up 13 with 10 to play.

91-74. 19, 11 for Loft, 19 for Vann, 11, 11 for Hatt, 14, 6, 3 for Will.

5-7, 3-0 Eastern Michigan is here.

1/5: Back and forth. Tied after 10. 35-35 at the break. 11 for Hatt, 10 for Grah but no one else is doing much. +16 inside.

Up 6 with 10 to go. Late run.

81-65. 46-30 in the 2nd. 22, 4 for Grah, 11, 4, 6 for Toxy, 15 for Hatt, 11, 4 for Cage. +34 inside.

10-3, 4-0. Alone in 1st, 4 teams one back.

4-9, 2-2 Ball St is in.

[Wayne23]

1/9: Early lead. Up 12 after 10. 53-36 at halftime. 14 for Vann, 9, 5 for Hatt. We are SO much better with Hatt in the lineup.

Big lead. Up 28 with 10 to play.

106-58. 20, 2, 3, 2, 4 for Vann, 16, 8, 8, 3 for Toxy. Unusual when our guards do this much scoring. 17, 5 for Grah, 15, 8 for Hatt. 72 in the paint.

At Bowling Green ST, 4-10, 1-4.

1/12: Back and forth. Tied after 10. 39-33 at the half. 12, 3 for Loft, 8, 3, 3, 4 for Grah. +22 inside.

Up 13 with 10 to play.

88-85 on a three by Toxy with 0.4 left. We fell apart late and barely hung on.

18, 7, 3, 4 for Grah, 18, 4 for Loft, 10, 3, 7 for Toxy, 12, 2, 4 for Vann, 12, 3 for Hatt. +30 in the paint.

Only Western is one back.

At 0-15, 0-6 Central Michigan. I always worry about a game like this. Is this the night they snap out of it? Their guards are good.

1/16: Fast start. Up 8 after 10. 51-29. 13, 5 for Hatt, 8, 7 for Loft. +32 in the lane. Toxy has 3 fouls.

Holding our lead. Up 21 with 10 left.

90-74. 15, 11 for Loft, 17, 5 for Cage, 15, 9 for Grah, 15, 5 for Hatt. +52 in the paint.

10-8, 4-3 Buffalo is here.

1/19: They take the lead. We come back. Up 3 after 10, then a run. 50-28 at the half. Shooting 64.5%. 10, 4 for Cage.

Rolling along. Up 19 with 10 to go.

85-66. 10, 4, 8 for Keet, 12, 5 for Cage, 5 others with 10 or more.

1/22: 14-3, 8-0, 1 up on Western Michigan, 3 or more on the rest.

Western Michigan, 15-2, 7-1, is here in the battle for 1st place. Terrific guards.

[Wayne23]

1/23: They take a quick lead. Down 6 after 10. We come back. 50-42 at the half. 13, 7 for Loft, 14, 3 for Grah, 9, 3 for Hatt.

Holding the lead. Up 15 with 10 to go.

103-80. 27, 11 for Loft, 24, 5, 3, 4 for Groh, 18, 10 for Hatt, 16, 9 for Vann, 84 in the paint.

10-8, 5-4 Kent ST is here.

1/26: Quick lead. Up 9 after 10. 51-39 at the half. 11, 5 for Loft, 12, 3, 2, 3 for Hatt. +28 inside.

Up 22 with 10 to play.

95-73. 21, 10, 3 for Loft, 21, 11 for Grah, 14, 7, 2, 4 for Hatt. 11, 4 for Will. +50 inside.

1/29: Our top recruit hit our SAT score. Whew!

At 9-12, 3-7 Buffalo. We won by only 7 at home.

1/30: They take the lead right away. We come back. Up 1 after 10. 37-45 at the half. Not playing D, not winning inside.

They’re hanging onto the lead early. Down only 1 with 10 to play.

68-76. Awful! Only 8 more in the paint than they got, and that’s the key to our game.

Still a 3 game lead in the MAC.

Rematch at Western Michigan, 15-5, 7-4, one of two teams 3 back. Beat them by 23 at our place.

2/2: Back and forth. Down 3 after 10. 54-48 at the break. 9, 5 for Loft, 11 for Vann. They’re shooting 57.1% but we’re +11 from the line.

They’re back in it. Up 6 with 10 left.

98-91. 17, 11 for loft, 19, 4 for Grah, 16, 4 for Hatt, 13, 5, 4 for Vann, 11, 4, 4 for Keet. +26 in the paint.

4 game lead over 4 teams with 8 to play.

2/5: Ranked #22, NET #25. 17-4, 11-1.

Bowling Green ST, 9-12, 6-6, is here. We won by only 3 there.

[Wayne23]

2/6: Slow start. Down 7 after 10. 30-36 at the break. We stayed sluggish for the entire half. 3 fouls for Loft.

We catch up then fall behind again. Down 7 after 10. Late rally.

80-76. We didn’t win, we escaped. Hope we don’t meet these guys in the post season! 17, 6 for Loft, 15, 4, 2, 7 for Vann, +30 in the paint.

The ever fragile Jem Hatt breaks an ankle (Never had a player who got injured so often.). Grah will start.

4 game lead over 2 teams with 7 to play.

2-20, 2-11 Central Michigan is here. We won by 26 there.

2/9: Fast start. Up 6 after 10. 43-29. Great D, 33.3% to our 53.6%. 11, 5 for Cage, 3 for Loft. +20 down low.

We get it to 20. Then to 30. Up 32 with 10 to go.

102-70. A walk in the park. 18, 8, 4, 1, 3 for Loft, 21, 6, 3 for Cage, 18, 7 for Grah, 11, 5, 10 for Toxy. 643 in the paint.

5 up on 5 teams. If we stay here at Akron next season we’ll need to move to a stronger conference.

At 10-13, 6-8 Miami (OH). We won by 17 at home. Their C is out.

2/13: Close early. Run and we’re up 10 after 10. 41-27 at halftime. 15, 10 for Loft, 10, 5 for Grah.

Holding the lead. Up 16 with 10 to play.

85-76 but that was as close as they got. 23, 17 for Loft, 23, 8 for Grah, 10, 1, 8 for Toxy.

At 11-13, 9-6 Eastern Michigan. Beat them by 16 at our place.

2/16: Back and forth. Tied after 10. 25-30. We’re not making shots. They’re not shooting much better. But we’re playing poorly inside so they’ve taken 7 more shots. I kick butts in the locker room.

We’ll see if it helps.

No change early on. Down 5 with 10 to play.

70-71. For some unknown reason we took a two instead of a three down three at the end. Shaking my head. 23, 1, 5, 3 for Vann, 18, 8 for Loft, 14, 9 for Grah.

4 game lead with 4 to play.

20-5, 14-2, ranked #19, NET #21.

15-11, 10-6 Toledo is here. We won by 12 there.

[Wayne23]

2/20: We score the first 10. Up 13 after 10. 50-28 at the half. Sometimes I wonder if we’re better with Grah in the middle rather than Hatt… 15, 6 for loft, 11, 3 for Will.

BIG lead. Up 23 with 10 to go.

90-64. A romp. 19, 14 for Loft, 20, 6, 3, 4 for Vann, 14, 3 for Grah, 15, 5 for Will. 62 in the lane.

Both Cage and Grah have minor injuries. Neither should miss a game but I may limit their minutes. We’ll see.

We’ve clinched the regular season so I can limit minutes with no worries.

18-10, 10-7 Ohio is here. We won by only 2 there.

2/23: Back and forth. Up 3 after 10. A big run makes it 55-39 at the half. 20, 3 for Loft, 10, 5 for Will.

They’re catching up. Up only 5 with 10 left. We finish strong.

104-83. 25,5 for Loft, 18, 9 for Will, 14, 4 for Keet. +42 inside.

Up 5 with 2 to play.

At 14-13, 9-9 Kent ST. We won by 22 at home.

2/27: Close early. They take a lead. Down 7 after 10. 37-50 at halftime. We look terrible. They’re shooting 57.7%. 3 fouls for both Loft and Toxy.

I guess I understand it’s hard to get up for a game that doesn’t really count, but I don’t like it.

Down 11 with 10 to go.

76-82. Not a good night. 14, 8, 18, 8 for Will, 16, 4 for Vann.

We end the regular season at 13-15, 9-10 Northern Illinois.

3/2: Early lead. Up 17 after 10. 40-35. We led by as many as 17. 11, 4 for Grah, 10 for Vann.

“You stopped playing hard. That is unacceptable!”

We’re flat. Up 13 with 10 to play.

79-66. Sloppy game. They had 21 TOs and we had 19. 18, 5, 2, 3 for Vann, 15, 4, 5, 3 for Grah, 11, 9 for Loft, 14 for Keet.

3/5: We end the regular season #16, NET #13. 23-6, 17-3. We win the MAC by 4 over Eastern Michigan, 5 or more over the rest.

Hatt is almost back at 100%.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We start the MAC tourney tomorrow vs. #9 seed Miami (OH), 14-16, 9-11. We beat them by 17 and 9. Hatt is back.

3/8: They take a quick lead. Down 5 after 10. We come back. 46-47 at the half. 11, 3 for Cage, 8 each for Grah and Hand. Poor D by both teams.

We start fast. Up 8 after 10. Run!

95-78. 19, 9 for Cage, 13, 4, 5 for Vann, 15 for Hatt in his first game back. +34 in the paint.

It’s #5 seed Toledo, 18-14, 11-9, in the semis. Beat them by 8 and 26.

3/9: Fast start! Up 5 after 10. 48-32 at the half. 11, 2, 4, 3 for Vann, 9 each for Toxy and Grah.

Holding the lead early in the 2nd. Up 24 with 10 to play.

93-60. 21, 3, 4, 3 for Vann, 19, 7 for Grah, 11, 3, 11, 4 for Toxy, 12, 4 for Hatt, 11, 5, 3 for Keet. 60 in the paint.

#10 seed Ball ST, 12-20, 7-13, pulled off 3 upsets in a row and we play them for the title. Their PG is out and their SG is playing hurt. We won by 48 at our place.

3/10: They’re staying with us early on. Up 6 after 10. 46-31 at the half. They’re shooting 33.3% to our 52.8%. Balanced scoring. But both Loft and Cage have 3 fouls. +32 inside.

In charge. Up 19 with 10 to play.

86-68. 16, 10, 3 for Hatt, 23, 7 for Grah, 10, 8, 1, 3 for Will, 10, 3, 3 for Vann. +50 in the paint.

Hoping for a #4 seed.

3/12: #4 South. We play #13 ST Peter’s, 21-11.

[Wayne23]

3/16: I really think we’ll win our first NCAA tourney game tonight. In fact, I think we’ll get to the Sweet Sixteen!

Close early. Up 8 after 10. 53-37 at the break. 18, 6 for Loft, 11, 4 for Hatt. Shooting 63.2%.

Up 20 early. 20 point lead with 10 to go.

96-68. Easy win. 38, 9 for Loft, 19, 7, 3 for Hatt, 12, 7, 3 blocks for Grah. +40 in the lane.

#5 seed, #18 ranked West VA, 24-9, in the 2nd round. They’re 1-3 vs. ranked opponents but they’re favored. Strong inside game.

3/18: They take the lead early. Down 5 after 10. 36-49. They’re beating us inside and out and shooting 56%. 3 fouls for both Loft and Grah.

We start strong. Tied with 10 to go. We take the lead.

85-80. It was a battle! 13, 4, 4, 1, 3 for Hatt, 14, 6 for Cage, 14, 4 for Loft. Good bench play and much better inside in the 2nd half.

It’s #1 seed, #9 ranked Florida, 28-7, in the Sweet Sixteen. We’re really happy to be here! On paper we’re better outside, they’re better inside. Let’s see what happens!

[Wayne23]

3/23: Back and forth early. Down 1 after 10. 52-41 at the half after a late run. 11, 3 for Vann, 12 for Toxy. 10, 4 for Grah, 8, 3, 4 for Keet. Our guards are carrying the load so far but our bigs are containing theirs.

Holding the lead early. Up 10 with 10 left.

94-90. We made our free throws late. 20, 2, 5 for Toxy, 19, 5, 2, 3 for Vann13, 4, 7 for Keet- great guard play! 18, 5 for loft, 10, 6 for Grah, and we stopped their big guys.

Biggest win since I got here.

It’s #7 seed Washington, 26-9, in the Elite Eight. They beat #10, #2, #3 to get here so they can play!

3/25: Back and forth early. Up 3 after 10. It’s a battle! 36-34 at halftime. 12 for Will . 3 fouls for Loft and his man also has 3.

Close early in the 2nd. Up 5 with 10 to go. Late run!

76-67 and we’re in the Final Four! 17, 12 for Hatt, 18, 4, 3, 5 for Vann, 14, 4 for Will.

Grah broke his arm and is out for the season. Tough time for an injury to a key player. Joe Will gets his minutes.

Two #1s, a #2, and a #4 in the Final Four. We play #1 ranked Kansas, 35-3, in the national semifinal. On paper we’re in big trouble.

[Wayne23]

4/1: It’s close early. Up 10 after 10; we’re playing great so far! Big run! 53-32 at the half. Wow! 18 for Loft, 10, 10 for Will, 11 for Vann. Huge edge inside and we’re matching them outside.

“Don’t let up. You can do this!”

Holding our lead early. Up Up 19 with 10 to play. We‘ve got this!

88-64! 26, 11 for Loft, 16, 12 for Will, 16, 2, 3 for Vann12, 3 for Hatt. +30 in the paint, +28 RBs.

We played the game of our lives.

It’s #1 seed, #2 ranked, #3 NET Brigham Young, 37-2, in the title game. Their PG is out and their SG is playing hurt.

Can we keep the magic going for one last game?

4/3: Back and forth early. Tied after 10. Uh oh! 37-55 at the half. They went on a big late run. 15, 5 for Loft. Cage has 3 fouls. They’re shooting 65.5% to our 38.2%. We’re just not stopping them.

Not cutting the lead enough. Down 15 with 10 to play. WSe’re getting closer.

87-92 but that was as close as we got.

19, 11, 3, 1, 3 for Loft, 15, 6, 4, 3 for Vann, who is the only guy we’re losing. 12, 7 for Hatt, 10, 8 for Cage, 11, 5 for Will.

HELL of a season!