by Wayne23 » Fri Feb 03, 2017 6:14 pm
3/9: #8 seed South Florida, 14-14, 8-8, won the play in so we play them in the quarters. They beat us by 11 at their place in our only meeting. We’ve won 7 in a row since then. We think we’re the better team.
3/10: We were down 2 at the half, after trailing by as many as 15. It went back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the second, and then we finally woke up, going on a 15-2 run led by big guys Jon Tark and Dee Radd. After that we basically traded baskets the rest of the way, winning 74-61.
20 and 6 for Tark, 14, 6, 4, 6 for Radd. Sub Luis Wolf had 10 and 4.
#5 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 21-8, 9-7, beat #4, so we play them in the semis. They’re another team that beat us there, by 12. We think we have a big edge inside. We didn’t exploit that enough last time. We need to do it in this game.
3/11: 92-82 in OT. We were a little lucky in this one- maybe a lot lucky. We were horrible shooting threes tonight, 1-14. But that one was a 29 footer by Lam Abam at the end of regulation. It seemed to demoralize FD, and we dominated the OT, but let’s face it, a 29 footer is pretty much a lucky shot. We could well be back home instead of playing form the title.
22, 16 for Radd, 18, 7 for Abam, 16 for Wolf from the bench. +17 RBs.
#2 seed, #14 ranked Tulane, 24-7, 11-5, for the title. We beat them by 15 there. On paper we’re better, but we need to do it on the court.
3/12: 76-69. We led most of the way, but never by more than 10. 20, 4 for Ping, who’s been quiet lately, 17, 6, 8 for Abam, 15 for #3 guard Vin Sola. +9 RBs, 10 TOs.
3 minor injuries, to Radd, Abam, and Wolf, but they should all be fine for our first tourney game.
25-5, 13-3, #13, RPI #10. 1st in conf. in both regular season and tourney. I think we can hope for a #2, and expect a #3.
#3 South. We play 20-11 Hofstra from the Colonial AC.
3/17: 74-56. We led for the last 37 minutes. 16 point lead at the half. Abam led us with 15 points and 7 assists, but all 7 guys played really well. +19 TOs.
Next up is #6 seed, #25 ranked St. Joe’s from the A10. They’re a good team. We’ll need to be on.
3/19: 94-67. We came to play! We were only up 4 at the half. I threw a fit in the locker room (It was all show. I was completely in control.). I never do that, and it got their attention. Then I said just two things, 1. Rebound. We were +3 at the half, and that was not getting it done. We were +20 in the second half. 2. Find the open man on O. We shot 40% in the first half, just a little over 60% in the 2nd. Our bench really came through. 20 and 8 for Wolf, 13 for Sola. Ping has 17 and 8, Hall 15, 3, 8, 3, Tark 12, 7. Great win, and we’re in the Sweet Sixteen. First time ever for both the school, and for me.
We caught a break in that #7 seed, unranked NC ST beat #2 seed, #4 seed Arizona. NC ST is 20-10, and they’re a good team. But they’re not Arizona! Once again, if we play our game we should be fine.
3/24: 82-72, and we’re in the Elite Eight!!! Once again, we led most of the way. We won this one on threes, and outside shooting in general. 14-35 from behind the line. 23 for Hall, with 5 threes, 18, 3, 8 for Abam, with 4 threes. 4 others had between 8 and 10 points.
The hoop gods are smiling on us. #9 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 24-9, upset #1 Kansas, then #5 Florida ST, and we play them for a trip to the Final Four. They beat us in the regular season, there, but we won by 10 in OT in the conf. tourney. This is a tough match up for us, but not nearly as tough as it could have been.
3/26: 78-81. 24 lead changes, 13 ties. We were up 2 with 59 seconds left. They came down scored a backdoor layup. We brought it down got an open 12 footer with 4 seconds left. It missed, they threw up a 30 footer, and it went in as the horn sounded.
Stats were even across the board. It really did come down to that one last shot. Really, REALLY tough way to end the season.
20, 6 for Radd, 16 each for Tark and Abam, 12 for Sola.
4/3: #1 Syracuse won it all.
4/4: Awards: Dee Radd made conf. 1st team. Beau Ping made 2nd. I got conf. COY. Frankly, we were dissed again. We won it all. How could we not get any individual awards? How could Lam Abam, and probably Sean Hall not be recognized. Disgraceful.
Okay this week the coaching jobs are offered. Let’s see what happens.
4/9: We’re going to the PAC 12, Arizona ST.
4/16: I hire a new #3 assistant.
4/23: We need a budget increase. No.
Great season at Central FL! 28-6, owned the conf., got to the Elite Eight. Overall, after 6 seasons I’m 130-55, .703. I’m expecting one or two rough seasons before we turn things around at Arizona ST.