[BostonCard]

My reaction to the last seconds of the Title Game was very similar to the last seconds of the South Carolina, I thought we were really fortunate. What I didn't see in our last three games was the incredibly skilled, highly talented, and cohesive team that I saw some during the regular season. I didn't see passes flying around the court to open players for three point shots.  I didn't see defensive rebounds leading to fast break points at the other end. I sort of saw my team in the first quarter of the Arizona game, but that was petty much it.  Against Louisville, we were pretty bad until Ashten Prechtel just took over the game.  Against South Carolina we were up eight early in the second half and just hung on to win. Against Arizona we had a wonderful five minutes and then just hung on for thirty-five minutes on to win the game.  Maybe I'm not wired for Final Fours, but just hanging on is okay but hardly my expectation.


In any case congratulations to the players, coaches, and fans.  Twenty-nine years is a long time.

The entire second half of the Louisville game was a clinic, and truly beautiful basketball.  We scored 52 points in the half!  And while Prechtel was a big part of it, we got contributions from a host of players.  Remember, Williams got hot, and even Wilson connected on a three-point dagger.

AS for the national semi-final and championship game, we sometimes pretend that the other team doesn't have great athletes and a coaching staff that doesn't sit around thinking how they can disrupt our offense.  Give South Carolina and Arizona some credit (and Louisville for a half); they had the perimiter defense that challenged our ability to get our offense flowing.  They hustled, and they disrupted.  Remember that the Arizona team that held us to 54, held UConn to 59 (and they were on pace to score less that midway through the fourth quarter).  They didn't allow over 60 points all tournament long.  South Carolina held Texas scoreless for an entire quarter, and our 66 points were the high score against them in the championship.

It is easy to look at our own shortcomings when lamenting that our offense was not perfectly in sync.  But, short of going up against ourselves, I don't know that our offense could have had tougher opponents on the road to the final four.

Sometimes you just have to give the opponent credit for making your life miserable on offense.  Thankfully, we made their jobs just as miserable and our offense did just enough to win.

BC

[BostonCard]

My reaction to the last seconds of the Title Game was very similar to the last seconds of the South Carolina, I thought we were really fortunate. What I didn't see in our last three games was the incredibly skilled, highly talented, and cohesive team that I saw some during the regular season. I didn't see passes flying around the court to open players for three point shots.  I didn't see defensive rebounds leading to fast break points at the other end. I sort of saw my team in the first quarter of the Arizona game, but that was petty much it.  Against Louisville, we were pretty bad until Ashten Prechtel just took over the game.  Against South Carolina we were up eight early in the second half and just hung on to win. Against Arizona we had a wonderful five minutes and then just hung on for thirty-five minutes on to win the game.  Maybe I'm not wired for Final Fours, but just hanging on is okay but hardly my expectation.


In any case congratulations to the players, coaches, and fans.  Twenty-nine years is a long time.

The entire second half of the Louisville game was a clinic, and truly beautiful basketball.  We scored 52 points in the half!  And while Prechtel was a big part of it, we got contributions from a host of players.  Remember, Williams got hot, and even Wilson connected on a three-point dagger.

AS for the national semi-final and championship game, we sometimes pretend that the other team doesn't have great athletes and a coaching staff that doesn't sit around thinking how they can disrupt our offense.  Give South Carolina and Arizona some credit (and Louisville for a half); they had the perimiter defense that challenged our ability to get our offense flowing.  They hustled, and they disrupted.  Remember that the Arizona team that held us to 54, held UConn to 59 (and they were on pace to score less that midway through the fourth quarter).  They didn't allow over 60 points all tournament long.  South Carolina held Texas scoreless for an entire quarter, and our 66 points were the high score against them in the championship.

It is easy to look at our own shortcomings when lamenting that our offense was not perfectly in sync.  But, short of going up against ourselves, I don't know that our offense could have had tougher opponents on the road to the final four.

Sometimes you just have to give the opponent credit for making your life miserable on offense.  Thankfully, we made their jobs just as miserable and our offense did just enough to win.

BC