Path to the Hall of Fame

[randy]

(6) Oregon beats (2) Colorado in the other semi-final. Which means the same two teams who battled out for the championship last year, meets again this season

3/8/01: (6) Oregon (19-12, 10-8) vs (1) #4 USC (29-2, 16-2)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Outside
3. Key players: Sr SG Frank Perry (23.6 ppg - #1 Nat'l, 5.5 rpg, 2-time Conf POY and DPOY)
4. 3PT shooting: 7 3PApg, 28%
5. Oregon is 2nd in the nation in FTAs, and they convert most them at 79% FT
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto (double on Perry) / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

30% of Oregon's pts come from the FT line; we need to control our fouls. For this game, we'll use a ratio 40:40:20 for our defensive formation (m2m:2-3:1-2-2). We'll try to force Oregon to shoot more from beyond the arc, which they are not accustomed of doing
[/INDENT]

Last Meeting
[INDENT]1/28/00 (Home): Won 78-63
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:43, Up 10-8
SG Mark Austin canned both his 3PT shots. Both teams 4-7 3PT

11:49, Down 13-15
OR in penalty. We're 1-4 FT

7:27, Up 24-21
Both teams are handling the ball well, only combining for 3 turn overs

3:28, Up 32-24
OR's shooting has cold lately, now at 33% FG


Halftime, Up 42-30

Highlights
- OR's SG Frank Perry a non-factor so far, 3 pts, 0-2 FG, 2 turn overs
- We scored 22 pts in the paint
- OR shot only 32% FG; they are 1-6 3PT
- We committed only 4 turn overs
- We registered 5 blocks

Lowlights
- We're 6-11 FTs
- We committed 11 fouls, and allowed OR to shoot 20 FTAs; they made 13

Top players
- USC: SG Mark Austin, 10 pts, 2-3 3PT
- OR: C Tierre Craig, 10 pts, 6-8 FT

Adjustments
- Lower def intensity to 6


Start of 2nd Half

15:11, Up 48-36
C JR Myers scored on 2 post plays, and up his tally to 10 pts. OR's SG Frank Perry with his 1st 2 FGs of the game; Perry has 7 pts

11:52, Up 53-42
After having only 4 turn overs the entire 1st half, we have turned the ball over 6 times already in just 8 minutes of the 2nd half. We're missing our chance to build up a bigger lead because of these turn overs

6:27, Up 65-48
SF Anthony has exploded coming off the bench, 13 pts, 6-9 FG

3:43, Up 67-52
We'll slow down the game, and shift to 1-2-2

We forced OR to commit a turn over in each of their last 3 possessions. We're up by 17, 1:07. I replace everyone the floor. Walk ons get to see some court time also. That should do it.

Back-to-back Pac 12 Tournament Champions!


Final score: Oregon - 52, USC- 69

Box Score

[INDENT]Bryant 13, 2, 1
Myers 12, 9, 1, 5 blks (*)
Austin 10, 3, 1
Salvi 10, 2, 0
Thorne 8, 2, 0
Forney 6, 13, 1
Millar 4, 4, 4, 2 stls
Hutson 2, 3, 1
Wheat 2, 1, 1
Jamison 2, 0, 7, 4 tos
London 0, 0, 0
Coley 0, 0, 0
Woods 0, 0, 0
Riggs 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 48-35%
REB: +11
TO: -2
Paint: +22
2nd Chance : Even
Fast Break: Even
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]Majority of our pts were scored in the paint (36)
We limited OR to 35% FG; 1-10 3 PT
After allowing OR to shoot 20 FTAs in the 1st half, we limited them to only 5 in the 2nd
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]None
[/INDENT]

Other notes
[INDENT]OR's SG Frank Perry finished with 17 pts, 5-9 FG, 5 turn overs. He is most likely to win his 3rd consecutive Conf POY. But over the course his collegiate career, he and his team went 0-5 against teams that I coached (once with Sam Houston St, and 4 times with USC)
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Our RPI is 2, and ranked #3

We're in the Midwest Regionals (Columbus)

1st round matchup:
- (1) #3 USC vs (16) Coppin St.

Other notable teams in the Midwest Regionals
- (2) #2 Southern Illinois
- (3) #11 St John's
- (4) #20 New Mexico - 1 time National Champion
- (5) #25 Seton Hall - 1 time National Champion
- (6) #18 Xavier
- (7) Duke
- (8) Minnesota
- (10) Kentucky - 5 times National Champion


Other Pac 12 teams appearing on post-season tournaments

NCAA:
- East: (10) UCLA vs (7) Virginia
- East: (6) #24 Oregon vs (11) West Virginia
- West: (7) Colorado vs (10) Arizona

NIT:
- Midwest: (1) Stanford vs (8) Arizona St

[randy]

3/16/01: (16) Coppin St (16-14, 9-7) vs (1) #3 USC (30-2, 16-2)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: 1-3-1
2. Offense focus: Balanced
3. Key players:
- So SG Mario Howard (12.7 ppg)
- Sr C Tim Blackshear (7.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg - #2 MEAC)
4. 3PT shooting: 16 3PApg, 31%
5. They force their opponents to 17.0 topg (#1 MEAC)
[/INDENT]

How they got here
[INDENT]Finished 3rd in MEAC regular season; won conf tournament title
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

We need to take care of the ball, to prevent any easy transition pts for Coppin St. Don't take them lightly; we almost lost to a (15)-seed last year.
[/INDENT]

Injuries
[INDENT]C JR Myers (strained hamstring, 93%, 1 day); will start and play limited minutes
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:01, Up 13-6
C Antonio Forney with 2 fouls; we may need to stretch our front court rotation, since I don't plan to play C JR Myers too many minutes

11:46, Up 19-8

7:50, Up 26-13
SF Anthony Bryant good performance off the bench, 7 pts. CSC in penalty

3:54, Up 36-22


Halftime, Up 53-32

Highlights
- We scored heavily on high-percentage shots; 11 fast break pts, 22 pts in the paint. This resulted to a 64% FG performance in the 1st half
- We hit 3-3 3PT
- We shot well from the line, 10-12 FT
- We committed only 3 turn overs
- We picked up 6 steals
- We dominated the boards; +11 rebs differential

Lowlights
- None

Top players
- USC: C Aaron Thorne, 12 pts, 6 rebs
- CSC: C Merv Hollins, 7 pts, 3-6 FG

Adjustments
- Rest key players early


Start of 2nd Half

15:40, Up 64-38

11:47, Up 70-44

7:28, Up 76-48
Bench players to come in. Slow down game. Go 1-2-2 zone

3:08, Up 80-55
Shift to 2-3 zone; we have a small lineup on the floor


Final score: Coppin St - 61, USC- 82

Box Score

[INDENT]Bryant 15, 2, 1
Forney 14, 4, 0
Hutson 13, 5, 3
Thorne 12, 10, 0, 2 blks, fouled out (*)
Austin 7, 1, 4, 3 stls, 4 tos
Salvi 6, 5, 1
Millar 6, 3, 3
Jamison 5, 0, 2, 2 stls
London 2, 3, 0
Wheat 2, 1, 1
Myers 0, 2, 0
Coley 0, 1, 1
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 53-39%
REB: +16
TO: -6
Paint: +30
2nd Chance : +9
Fast Break: +12
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]FG shooting dipped a bit late in the game, but we still finished with a 53% FG
We didn't forced too many outside shots, but still made 4-6 3PT
We only committed 9 turn overs
We grabbed 12 offensive rebounds
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]For what its worth, 2nd half scoring was tied at 29
[/INDENT]

[randy]

We face (8) Minnesota, which eliminated us last season in the Sweet 16. We had difficulty breaking their 1-2-2 zone, which resulted in a 36% FG performance. They have 2 returning starters

3/16/01: (8) Minnesota (17-15, 9-9) vs (1) #3 USC (31-2, 16-2)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: 1-2-2
2. Offense focus: Balanced (fast)
3. Key players:
- So PF Valery Stuart (8.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, #6 class rank)
- So(R) SF David Smith (11.1 ppg)
- So PG Todd Reid (10.1 ppg)
4. 3PT shooting: 18 3PApg, 32%
5. Similar to last year's team, MINN's major strengths are their rebounding (34.5 rpg - #2 Big 10) and defense (62.3 opp ppg - #3 Big 10)
[/INDENT]

How they got here
[INDENT]Finished 7th in Big 10 regular season; lost 1st round in conf tournament title
(Round 1) Defeated (9) Florida St, 65-59 (Stuart - 16 pts, 7 rebs)
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Motion / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

Instead of using the default 1-2-2 zone attack, we'll override our offensive sets to use purely motion offense (or sometime off freedom). We used a similar strategy against Coppin St's 1-3-1 zone last game with much success (although the quality of opposition is different)
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:42, Up 7-6
I was very upset with PG Marquel Jamison during the huddle; he had 3 passing turn overs already. I replaced him early

11:34, Up 13-12
We have 6 turn overs already, at least 2 of them resulted in break away dunks for MINN

6:55, Up 25-24
We lead by 6, but MINN able to erase it quickly with 2 3s. MINN is in the penalty since the 10 minute mar; we're shooting a decent 8-10 FT

3:28, Tied at 31

We go on a 9-0 run, before MINN hits the last shot of the half (a 3)


Halftime, Up 40-34

Highlights
- MINN only converted 3-12 3PT
- We shot 10-12 FT
- Assuming our passes inside didn't result in a turn over, it almost always results in an easy basket; 10 assists on 14 FGMs; we shot 54% FG

Lowlights
- We only have 4 fast break pts
- Our 9 turn overs, a great number of which were responsible for MINN getting 10 easy transition pts
- We allowed MINN to grab 5 off rebounds

Top players
- USC: C JR Myers, 8 pts, 3 rebs
- MINN: PF Valery Stuart, 6 pts, 4 rebs

Adjustments
- Increase def rebounding to 10; we'll prioritize possession over fast break opportunities


Start of 2nd Half

15:31, Up 52-38
We continued to pound the ball inside. C Antonio Forney scoring 6 of our 12 pts in the 2nd half

11:58, Up 60-44
I had to sit C Antonio Forney (15 pts) bec of 3 fouls, but the other big men continued to score inside

7:49, Up 64-50
MINN drained a couple of 3s to cut the lead earlier to 12

2:07, Up 74-59
Closest MINN got was within 10 pts, but we responded with a mini-run of our own. We'll slow down the game. Go to 1-2-2


Final score: Minnesota - 65, USC- 76

Box Score

[INDENT]Forney 19, 9, 1, 2 blks (*)
Myers 14, 5, 0, 2 stls
Bryant 9, 4, 0
Millar 8, 2, 3
Thorne 7, 6, 0
Salvi 6, 2, 0
Hutson 5, 4, 8, 5 tos
Wheat 4, 3, 2
Jamison 2, 2, 3, 2 stls, 3 tos
Austin 2, 2, 1
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 55-42%
REB: +17
TO: +5
Paint: +26
2nd Chance : -2
Fast Break: -7
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]1. For the 2nd consecutive game, we shot over 50% FG; we found success scoring inside, with 50 pts in the paint
2. We shot well from the line, 12-15 FT
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]1. We need to reduce our 18 turn overs. We were lucky that MINN only scored 5 fast break pts in the 2nd half, thereby not being able to sustain a long run
[/INDENT]

Other Notes
[INDENT]1. We didn't have any big breakout game from any player during teh 1st two games. It was a just matter of everybody contributing, and doing their assigned roles
[/INDENT]

[randy]

NCAA Round 1

• East: (10) UCLA def (7) Virginia, 84-65 (Welch - 25 pts)
• East: (6) #24 Oregon def (11) West Virginia, 66-59 OT (Perry - 25 pts)
• Midwest: (1) #3 USC def (16) Coppin St., 82-61 (Thorne - 12 pts, 10 rebs)
• West: (7) Colorado def (10) Arizona, 58-55 (Campbell - 9 pts)

NCAA Round 2

• East: (2) #5 Indiana def (10) UCLA, 76-57
• East: (6) #24 Oregon def (3) #13 Brigham Young, 66-51 (Perry - 25 pts)
• Midwest: (1) #3 USC def (8) Minnesota, 76-65 (Forney - 19 pts)
• West: (2) #8 Louisville def (7) Colorado, 74-59

NIT Round 1

• Midwest: (1) Stanford def (8) Arizona St, 82-73 (Popp - 16 pts)

NIT Regional Semi-Finals

• Midwest: (1) Stanford def (5) Oral Roberts, 73-45 (Robinson - 23 pts)

Upcoming Games

NIT Regional Finals

• Midwest: (1) Stanford vs (7) Boston

NCAA Sweet 16

• East: (6) #24 Oregon vs (2) #5 Indiana
• Midwest: (1) #3 USC vs (4) #20 New Mexico

[randy]

3/16/01: (4) #20 New Mexico (23-10, 12-4) vs (1) #3 USC (32-2, 16-2)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced (slow)
3. Key players:
- Sr SG Dan Poole (15.4 ppg, 1-time All Conf)
- Fr PG Jeff Battles (10.1 ppg, 4.5 apg, #21 class rank)
- So C Marquise Burns (9.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 52% FG, #36 class rank)
4. 3PT shooting: 16 3PApg, 34%
5. They don't shoot the ball very well (41.7% FG - last in WCC). Defensive rebounding is also suspect (67.2 DR% - 7th worst Nat'l). They do win because of their defense (60.7 opp ppg - #1 WCC; 39.8% opp FG - #1 WCC)
[/INDENT]

How they got here
[INDENT]
Finished 3-wat tie for 1st in WCC regular season; lost quarter final in conf tournament
(Round 1) Defeated (13) New Mexico St, 61-59 (Poole - 14 pts)
(Round 2) Defeated (12) Portland, 67-49 (reserve PG Young - 16 pts, 6 asts)
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 9 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

One weakness that we can exploit is their defensive rebounding, i.e. we may be able to get a lot of offensive rebounds to generate 2nd chance pts. In New Mexico's 1st 2 tournament games, each of their opponents grabbed 11 off rebs.
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

14:44, Down 7-12
NM's SG Dan Poole goes berserk early, 10 pts, 4-5 FG. I will bring in SF Anthony Bryant to shadow Poole. We'll also double on Poole

11:48, Up 13-12
SF Anthony Bryant scores on a jumper. He defended NM's SG Dan Poole well, forcing Poole to miss 2 jumpers. C Anthony Forney wen to work scoring 4 pts down low

6:39, Down 21-22
We're getting the off rebs, but can't get our shots to fall. We're down to 35% FG

3:58, Up 23-22
Defense tightening up on both teams.

We go on a 15-2 run, to take a 12 pt lead, 37-22. 7 of those pts came in succession from reserve PF Brian Salvi, who provided a lot of energy either by finishing on a fast break or powering his way in the low post. Just before the half time buzzer sounded, NM's Dan Poole hits a long 3, to cut our lead to 8


Halftime, Up 37-28

Highlights
- Except for that last second 3, SF Anthony Bryant did a good job defending on NM's SG Dan Poole. Prior to assigning the defensive duties to Bryant, Poole scored 10 pts in the 1st 5 mins of the game.
- In a low scoring game like this, our 18 pts in the paint is quite huge
- We took advantage of our FTs, going 9-11
- Our defense did its job; we limited NM to 39% FG, forced them to commit 10 turn overs, and we got 6 steals in the process

Lowlights
- NM's SG Dan Poole showed he is a streaky shooter, and has the range if he needs to shoot from beyond the arc (3-6 3PT). If he gets hot again at the 2nd half, we'll be in trouble
- Our 2 key big man starters, C JR Myers and C Antonio Forney, both have 3 fouls. Together, they combined for 16 pts and 8 rebs in the 1st half. Both will not start the 2nd half

Top players
- USC: C Antonio Forney, 9 pts, 5 rebs
- NM: SG Dan Poole, 13 pts, 3-6 3PT

Adjustments
- Will not start Forney and Myers in the 2nd half. Start SF Anthony Bryant at 2, to guard Poole


Start of 2nd Half

14:50, Up 45-35
NM opened up on a 5-0 run, including a 3 by SG Dan Poole over the out stretched arms of 2 defenders. Lead was down to 4. We then went on a 8-2 run, with PF Brian Salvi adding 4 more pts his account. Salvi has been huge with 11 pts, and filling up for our starting post players who are both on the bench

11:46, Up 51-41
Teams alternating scores, with NM getting all of its last 6 pts from the FT line. We now have 6 team fouls, while NM has 4. After connecting on his 1st shot during the initial play of the 2nd half, NM's SG Dan Poole has missed 5 straight

7:17, Up 54-47
NM continues to get pts from the FT line; they are now 15-17 FT. C Antonio Forney and C JR Myers starting to miss their shots from the post

On the previous play, SG Mark Austin drove hard to the hole and got fouled. He was injured in the play (EN=0), but I wasn't allowed to substitute on Austin. He had to take the 2 FTs even if he is injured. Damn rules! Naturally, a visibly hobbling Austin miss both FTs. And I can't call atimeout because its NM ball. So I had to wait on the next dead ball before I can take Austin out. Those 2 FT opportunities were wasted!

We scored 4 straight pts to get the lead up to 11. NM scored on a fast break. And then they score a 3. We miss. NM scores again on a jumper plus a foul! Media timeout

NM put back in SG Dan Poole. I then called on SF Anthony Bryant to come in also

3:41, Up 58-54

We'll go m2m defense exclusively, and double on Poole

NM: To shoot 1 bonus FT. They hit it. NM on a 8-0 run

3:41, Up 58-55

USC: SF Damion Hutson shoots. Miss. Hutson is still scoreless, 0-4 FG
NM: PF Daniel Salvi steals the ball

USC: SF Anthony Bryant with the ball. He drives strong. Met by a double team. Block. NM recovers
NM: They miss

USC: Same play as earlier. SF Anthony Bryant gets the ball. He dribbles, drives, but instead of going all the way, he pop up for a jumper. Miss. But SF Damion Hutson gets the off rebound. Hutson shoots. Hutson scores! That is only the 1st FG by Hutson. What a time for it to come.

2:26, Up 60-55

NM: SG Dan Poole gets the pass. SF Anthony Bryant sticking with him. Just as everyone thought Poole will shoot the ball, he elected to pass to C Marquis Burns. Burns shoots. Blocked by C JR Myers
USC: We go to C JR Myers at the low post. Myers shoots. Miss. Out of bounds. NM ball

1:45, Up 60-55

NM: They isolate the taller PG Jeff Battles against PG Marquel Jamison. Battles drives. Miss. But Battles gets the off rebound. He shoots again. Blocked by the 5-10 Jamison (Battles is 6-5)! Jamison recovers the loose ball. I call a timeout

1:17, Up 60-55

We'll slow down the game. I bring in C Antonio Forney to replace C JR Myers

USC: PG Marquel Jamison to SF Anthony Bryant. C Antonio Forney cuts to the lane. Forney gets the pass from Bryant. Forney puts up a shot. Shot is good! Timeout NM

0:54, Up 62-55

3 possession game. They would need a 3. We go 1-2-2

NM: SG Dan Poole puts up a shot in traffic. Poole scores! Poole has 18 pts

0:43, Up 62-57

USC: They foul immediately. PG Marquel Jamison to shoot 1-and-1. Jamison hits the 1st. Missed the 2nd

0:39, Up 63-57

NM: C Marquis Burns gets the pass. He tries to pass to SG Dan Poole but can't do so. Burns decides to shoot. Miss but there was a whistle. Foul on C JR Myers. Double bonus situation. Burns miss the 1st. hits the 2nd. I called timeout

0:31, Up 63-58

USC: They foul SF Anthony Bryant. Only the 9th team foul. Bryant to shoot 1-and-1. Bryant calmly sinks the 1st. And also the 2nd

0:28, Up 65-58

NM: They can't get a shot. Good execution of the 1-2-2. Poole shoots a desperation 3. Time expires

On to the Elite Eight!!!!


Final score: New Mexico - 58, USC- 65

Box Score

[INDENT]Forney 16, 7, 0 (*)
Bryant 13, 0, 4, 2 stls
Myers 11, 5, 0, 2 blks
Salvi 11, 4, 0
Jamison 5, 5, 5, 3 stls
Austin 5, 2, 1
Hutson 2, 6, 0
Thorne 2, 6, 0
Millar 0, 5, 0
Wheat 0, 0, 1, 3 tos
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 36-33%
REB: +4
TO: -5
Paint: +22
2nd Chance : +5
Fast Break: +6
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]1. As expected, this will be grind-it-out game where it is very difficult to score. 32 pts in the paint may not be much on a regular season game, but those were hard-earned pts that we scored. Throw in our decent 19-25 FT shooting. We were just able to "manufacture" more pts than NM in this game
2. Brian "Salvation" Salvi always saves the day. From a nip-and-tuck affair with less than 4 mins in the 1st half, Salvi engineered a run that allowed us to take a cushion that we would never relinquish the rest of the game. Salvi also held his own when he was forced to start in the 2nd half, due to the foul trouble of both my starting big men.
3. Another big performer is SF Anthony Bryant who was able to battle NM's SG Dan Poole on even terms, not only on defense, but also on offense. Bryant aggressiveness on on offense made Poole worked hard on defense, which may have contributed to Poole's inconsistency on his shooting
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]1. Our 36% FG might have been a lowlight, but that is expected on game at this stage of he competition, and also up against a very good defensive team like NM.
[/INDENT]

Other Notes
[INDENT]1. NM did not lack effort in this game. 9 off rebs, 8 blks, and forced some of our key players to get into foul trouble. SG Dan Poole finished with 18 pts, 4-14 3PT; he was hot at the beginning of the game, but was inconsistent the rest of the way
[/INDENT]

[randy]

3/25/01: (2) #2 Southern Illinois (32-3, 15-1) vs (1) #3 USC (33-2, 16-2)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: M2M
2. Offense focus: Balanced (slow)
3. Key players:
- Jr PF Clifford Douglas (14.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 53% FG, #18 class rank)
- So PG Josh Marshall (12.5 ppg, 4.9 apg, #18 class rank)
- Sr SF Elton Alexander (10.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 44% 3PT, #23 class rank)
4. 3PT shooting: 11 3PApg, 38%
5. Rare combination of excellent offense and defense capabilities
- They can score (74.6 ppg - #8 Nat'l, 48.2% FG - #7 Nat'l)
- They can defend (59.1 opp ppg - #16 Nat'l, 40.6% opp FG - #2 MVC)
- They can force turn overs (18.7 opp topg - #4 Nat'l)
[/INDENT]

How they got here
[INDENT]
Finished 1st in MVC regular season; lost final in conf tournament
(Round 1) Defeated Seattle, 66-46 (McCasland - 13 pts, 4 stls)
(Round 2) Defeated Duke, 83-59 (Douglas - 18 pts, 11 rebs)
(Sweet 16) Defeated Arkansas-Little Rock, 62-51 (Marshall - 17 pts, 6 asts)
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 10 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

A team with absolutely no weaknesses. What we'll try to do is quicken up the pace, and force them to use more of their bench. OUr advantage in bench production could be the key in beating this team

We need to make the most of our possessions, and get more possessions than them, e.g. get off rebounds, minimize turn overs
[/INDENT]

Injuries
[INDENT]SG Mark Austin (bruised abdominal, 67%, 9 days); won't play, SF Anthony Bryant to start at 2
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

14:59, Up 13-6
On offense, SF Anthony Bryant with 5 pts, connecting on a step back jumper and a 3. We ran thrice a dribble-drive penetration between SF Damion Hutson and C JR Myers, which produced 4 pts for Myers. On defense, SILL committed 3 turn overs.

11:05, Up 17-8
We got a basket each again from C JR Myers and SF Anthony Bryant. SILL scored on a fast break after we turn it over. The fast pace of the game is now affecting the physical endurance of their front court

6:59, Up 24-15
We gave up another basket off a turn over. We really need to minimize those easy pts given up

2:22, Up 29-21
Earlier C Antonio Forney converted a 3 pt play. And then he followed with another basket from the low post. Forney now beginning to be assertive with 7 pts. On defense, we gave up another pair of pts in transition


Halftime, Up 33-27

Highlights
- We got 24 pts in the paint. Interior defense could be the weak link of SILL's game.
- We passed the ball well to find open players; 12 assists for 15 FGMs
- We controlled the boards, including grabbing 8 off rebs
- Brian "Salvation" Salvi gave us quality minutes yet again, 6 pts in 7 mins

Lowlights
- We're not sure if the faster pace we employed benefits us or them. Their top 3 players (Marshall/Alexander/Douglas) still played 18 mins each in the 1st half. On the other hand, I have reason to believe the faster pace was the cause of our 9 turn overs at the half
- SILL scored 12 pts, which is almost half of their total output. Those fast break pts are avoidable

Top players
- USC: C JR Myers, 6 pts, 3 rebs
- SILL: PF Clifford Douglas, 6 pts, 4 rebs

Adjustments
- Go favor inside focus on offense
- Decrease off pace to 8
- Increase def rebounding to 10


Start of 2nd Half

15:53, Up 40-39
SILL came out firing on all cylinders, converting 5 shots including 2 3s by PG Josh Marshall, who now has 10 pts. We had only 2 FGs so far, both on the low post; the rest were FTs.

14:37, Up 45-39
SILL just got into penalty. We converted 2 FTs. Earlier, SF Anthony Bryant sinks a 3, his 2nd of the game; Bryant now with 12 pts. We need to attack the basket more, and fish for fouls

SILL's PF Clifford Douglas drove to the basket and brings down a slam, plus a foul. He converted the FT. Up 3

C Antonio Forney scored 2 pts after getting an off reb from his own miss. Forney working hard for his 9 pts. Up 5

A basket by SILL. And then we turn it over, which again produced easy 2 pts for SILL. These players from SILL can run! Up 1

Brian Salvi gets a basket. Up 3. Trading misses. On our next offensive possession, we go to Salvi again. Salvi scores again. Salvi has 10 pts.

12:00 Up 51-46

SILL went to PF Clifford Douglas. Douglas posts up, shoots and scores. Douglas with 15 pts for SILL. Up 3

C Aaron Thorne scores on the low post also. Up 5

We were called for a series of fouls and got into penalty. However, SILL keeps on missing FTs (8-14 FT for the game). SILL is in the penalty as early as 5 game mins ago but we havent taken advantage of it.

We finally get a call for a SILL foul. SF Sam Millar cans both FTs for his 1st 2 pts of the game.

9:48, Up 55-48

We gave up an off rebound, got called for a foul, and SILL hitting both FTs. up 5.

SF Sam Millar felt he got his confidence back after those 2 FTs earlier. Millar shoots, and buries a jumper. Millar with 4 pts. Up 7

SILL gets a basket. Up 5. We turned the ball over. SILL miss. Another turn over for us. SILL missed again.

SF Sam Millar takes another shot. Milar hits the shot again. Millar was 0-4 FG earlier, and conncted on his last 2. Millar with 6 pts.

7:17, Up 59-52

Foul called on us. SILL hits 2 FTs. Up 5.

SILL also called for a foul. C Antonio Forney splits his charities. But we got the off rebound. We reset. We look for the hot hand. SF Sam Millar gets the pass. He fakes a jump shot, instead he drives to the basket. Millar scores again, plus a foul! Millar misses the bonus FT. Millar has scored 8 of our last 9 pts

6:16, Up 62-54

Turnover for SILL

We isolate C JR Myers on the low post. Myers makes his move. Myers scores. Up 10!

SILL cut the lead down to 7 on a converted 3 pt play.

We miss a 3. SILL's SF Elton Alexander, who has been quiet, shoots a 3. Alexander's shot is good. Suddenly, lead is down to 4. I call a time out

4:59, Up 64-60

We were attempting to pass to SF Sam Millar. Stolen by SILL. SILL missed their shot.

SF Sam Millar finally gets the ball. He unloads a shot from the right corner. Not this time. But C JR Myers grabbing the off board. Myers shoots. Myers scores plus a foul! Myers missed the bonus FT. Myers with 13 pts

4:13, Up 66-60

SILL: PF Clifford Douglas puts up a shot. Brick
USC: PG Shea Wheat calls teh play. Wheat is looking to make a pass. PF Brian Salvi gets a pass. Salvi puts up a shot. Salvi gets it to fall! Salvi with 12 pts

3:39, Up 68-60

SILL: PF Brian Salvi intercepts the pass
USC: Salvi throws an outlet to SF Anthony Bryant who slams it down on the break!

3:17, Up 70-60

We may have one foot already to the Final 4, but this game is very far from over

SILL missed again. I call a timeout

2:55, Up 70-60

I had to make my instructions clear during the huddle. Slow down the game. Waste some clock before taking a shot. We go m2m on defense. We go with a 2 PG lineup

USC: Miss. 2:32
SILL: PG Josh Marshall called for traveling. 2:21

USC: Miss. We took the shot too early. 2:04
SILL: PF Chris Douglas shoots. PF Brian Salvi with the block! But SILL recovers. They score.

1:38, Up 70-62

USC: SILL pressures on teh back court. PG Shea Wheat called for traveling. 1:27
SILL: It's PF Clifford Douglas with teh ball again. Douglas tries to make a pass. Stolen by SF Damion Hutson
USC: Hutson going coast to coast on the break. He might as well just stop and waste some time. But Hutson sees an open lane. Hutson goes all the way, and scores on a thunderous dunk on the break!!

1:13, Up 72-62

SILL: SF Elton Alexander with the ball. Alexander takes a shot from beyond the arc. Alexander drains the triple

0:53, Up 72-65

USC: We pass the ball around. SILL not fouling. With 2 secs on the shot clock, the ball was stolen. Timeout SILL. We ate up a lot of clock in that possession.

0:19, Up 72-65

SILL: Miss a 3. We rebound
USC: PG Marquel Jamison even hits a 3 before the buzzer sounded

FINAL FOUR!!!!


Final score: Southern Illinois - 65, USC- 75

Box Score

[INDENT]Bryant 14, 5, 1, 3 tos
Myers 13, 5, 2, 3 tos (*)
Salvi 12, 1, 1
Forney 10, 7, 0
Millar 8, 4, 4, 4 tos
Jamison 8, 4, 3, 2 stls, 2 blks, 4 tos
Hutson 6, 6, 7, 3 stls
Thorne 4, 4, 0
Wheat 0, 2, 2
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 48-42%
REB: +13
TO: +1
Paint: +22
2nd Chance : +2
Fast Break: +1
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]1. We finished with 46 pts in the paint. Yes, we did go out to a test SILL's interior defense and we succeeded
2. We finished with 20 assists (30 FGMs)
3. We controlled to control the boards in the 2nd half, including 14 off rebounds. Some of those off boards proved to be crucial late in the game
4. The bench delivered once again. Salvi and Millar both had their moments in the game, and they combined for 20 pts.
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]1. Our transition defense was exposed in this game. At this stage of the competition, we will go up against elite athletes who can thrive in the open court
[/INDENT]

[randy]

We go on to face the number 1 team in the country, Oklahoma University. Against the same school that I had to battle 3 years ago, during the championship game, when I was the HC at Sam Houston St. It was regarded as one of the best championship game of all time. Below is a recap of that game:

http://www.wolverinestudios.com/forum/showpost.php?p=153638&postcount=360

3-time national champion Oklahoma is appearing on its 9th Final 4, and a title contender every year. This season is no different; they nabbed the #1 ranked freshman in the country


4/1/01: (1) #3 USC (33-2, 16-2) vs (1) #1 Oklahoma (35-1, 15-1)

Scouting Report
[INDENT]1. Primary defense: 1-31
2. Offense focus: Inside
3. Key players:
- Fr SF Jason Sanders (20.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 6.0 spg - #1 Nat'l, 48% FG, #1 class rank)
- Sr PF William Jarrett (11.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.4 spg, 3-time All Conf, #22 class rank)
- Jr(R) SG Jason Roy (8.4 ppg, #34 class rank)
4. 3PT shooting: 13 3PApg, 32%
5. Defense is what makes Oklahoma a yearly title contender. This season, they are the #1 defensive team by a mile. They limit their opponents to only 51.1 opp ppg (#1 Nat'l) for a number of reasons:
- You'll be lucky to even come up with an attempt, either by forcing 20.8 opp topg (#1 Nat'l), steal the ball an average of 12.0 spg (#1 Nat'l).
- Even if you manage to attempt a shot, they make sure its a difficult shot as the average 39.6% opp FG (#15 Nat'l, #2 Big12). They are #1 Nat'l in terms of DEff and DeFG%
As if their defense is not enough, Oklahoma is also one of the top rebounding team in the country
[/INDENT]

How they got here
[INDENT]Finished 1st in Big 12 regular season; lost final in conf tournament to Kansas St
(Round 1) Defeated South Dakota, 66-43 (Jarrett - 22pts, 13 rebs)
(Round 2) Defeated Gonzaga, 72-50 (Sanders - 18 pts, 7 rebs)
(Sweet 16) Defeated #10 Memphis, 73-51 (Sanders - 27 pts, 12 rebs)
(Elite 8) Defeated #5 Indiana, 82-52 (Sanders - 22 pts, 12 rebs)
[/INDENT]

Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Focus: Auto / Balanced
2. Offense Pace / Freedom: 8 / 25%
3. Off / Def Rebounding Crash: 8 / 9
4. Defense Sets / Intensity: Auto / 7
5. Pressure Set / Frequency: Auto / 10

Assuming we're lucky enough to score 60 pts, there is still the problem of limiting Oklahoma's offensive production. During the last 3 tournament games, Oklahoma averaged 27 FTAs per game (and they convert almost 80% of them). If we can limit their trips to the FT line, we may have a chance; easier said than done though

Oklahoma starts 2 SGs in their back court. We need to harass them and force turn overs. Again, we have to find different ways to manufacture points against them
[/INDENT]

Injuries
[INDENT]SG Mark Austin (bruised abdominal, 87%, 2 days); he is suited up but won't start; SF Anthony Bryant to start at 3, while SF Damion Hutson at 2
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:32, Down 5-6
Can't get a break. Our most consistent player, C Antonio Forney, called for 2 early fouls. He's sitting on the bench.

11:16, Down 11-15
Six of OK's pts were from 3 easy transition layups resulting from our turn overs; that hurts

6:30, Down 19-25
We were down 8, and before its too late, I brought back C Antonio Forney. Forney scored 2 FTs, but after 1 play, he picked up his 3rd. Both teams in penalty

2:59, Down 24-34
We got the deficit down to 3, but a series of turn overs resulting in easy baskets have betrayed us again. OK also began getting pts from the line

It came to the point where we were down by 17, 25-42. SF Anthony Bryant connects on a 3, and then PF Brian Salvi scores from the low post. It gave us some hope before the half time break


Halftime, Down 27-33

Highlights
- We need to get pts from multiple sources, and the only consistent area where we scored is from the line, 9-12 FT

Lowlights
- We didn't get enough pts from other sources where we normally score. For example, OK turned the ball over 8 times, but we only have 2 fast break pts. Also, zero 2nd chance pts, despite our 4 off rebs. All in all, we only generated 10 pts inside the paint
- What's worse though is that majority of OK's pts were generated the "easy way". They scored 12 fast break pts, all of which because we didn't get back on defense after we turn the ball over. OK also scored 4 2nd chance pts. And finally, we allowed them to take advantage of one their offensive strength, 15-16 FT. In total, those are 31 pts that we could have done something to avoid them from getting
- C Antonio Forney has played only 4 mins due to foul trouble

Top players
- USC: SF Anthony Bryant, 7 pts
- OK: SF Jason Sanders, 11 pts, 4-7 FG

Adjustments
- Decrease def intensity to 6; we absolutely have no chance of winning if we keep getting called for fouls and OK ending up shooting 30 FTs
- Max out off rebounding to 10
- I'll play C Antonio Forney more minutes, regardless of his foul trouble; no need to hold back now.

No need to be desperate and shoot a lot of 3s. We can still claw our way back in, just 1 possession at a time


Start of 2nd Half

15:54, Down 30-49
Started the 2nd half with consecutive turn overs. More fast break pts for OK. out post players can't convert anything down low; C JR Myers is 0-6 FG, and C Antonio Forney at 0-3 FG. We'll shift to Favor Outside

11:57, Down 36-55
I even gave SG Mark Austin some playing time. It's obvious he was not 100% and only lasted a couple of mins on the floor

7:24, Down 46-64
We cut the lead down to 15. Afterwards, SF Jason Sanders will score. We'll hit a 3 to cut the lead to 14. And the Sanders wills score again. now the lead is back to 18. Sanders is a big time player, 23 pts already

3:10, Down 54-69
We go Heavy Outside now. Shoot for 3s


Final score: USC- 63, Oklahoma - 81

Box Score

[INDENT]Bryant 12, 3, 3, 5 tos
Thorne 11, 2, 0
Salvi 8, 5, 2
Jamison 8, 4, 5
Hutson 8, 1, 3, 2 blks, 3 tos
Wheat 7, 0, 0
Millar 4, 3, 3, 5 tos
Coley 3, 0, 1
Forney 2, 3, 0
Myers 0, 3, 0, 2 stls
Austin 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]

Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 38-52%
REB: -11
TO: +2
Paint: -12
2nd Chance : -5
Fast Break: -13 (7-20)
[/INDENT]

Highlights
[INDENT]1. Hey, we did score 60+ pts, right?
[/INDENT]

Lowlights
[INDENT]1. No doubt the best interior defense we have faced the past 2 years. C JR Myers and C Antonio Forney combined for 0-11 FG.
2. We just couldn't keep up with OK's athleticism today. The most crucial stat is their 20 fast break pts, which we were hoping to limit, but obviously we did not succeed
[/INDENT]

Other notes
[INDENT]1. OK's SF Jason Sanders finished with 26 pts, 9-16 FG, 8 rebs, 4 asts.

[randy]

NIT Regional Finals

• Midwest: (1) Stanford def (7) Boston, 63-62

NIT Final 4

• Midwest: (8) Wagner def (1) Stanford, 74-62

NCAA Sweet 16

• East: (2) #5 Indiana def (6) #24 Oregon, 76-51
• Midwest: (1) #3 USC def (4) #20 New Mexico, 65-58

NCAA Elite 8

• Midwest: (1) #3 USC def (2) #2 Southern Illinois, 75-65

NCAA Final 4

• (1) #1 Oklahoma def (1) #3 USC, 81-63
• (1) #6 Georgia Tech def (1) #7 Arkansas, 73-61

NCAA Championship

• (1) #1 Oklahoma def (1) #6 Georgia Tech, 80-74

Congratulations to Oklahoma for winning their 4th National Title

[randy]

2nd Team All-American
- C Antonio Forney

Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year
- C Antonio Forney

Pac 12 All-Conference 1st Team
- C Antonio Forney
- C JR Myers

Oregon's Frank Perry won his 3rd consecutive Conference POY award

I won Pac 12 Coach of the Year, with a 34-3 (0.919) record