I'll preface all of this with a thank you to the this team, coaching staff and athletic administration. This team dealt with things NO other team had to do deal with. They started the season under a modified lockdown where most of their interactions with other students were limited. Then they were dealt an even tougher blow when their season was put on hold for 2.5 weeks and they couldn't even practice or workout and were quarantined at home. And for the last three weeks they've been on the road in Indianapolis staying at different hotels, living in a bubble, trying to win Big Ten and NCAA Championships. They never complained; instead, they embraced the challenge and carried the banner for an entire conference. Not only that, they were fun to watch, easy to root for, and brought us a lot of joy. They sacrificed a ton for this season and for that I'll always be thankful.
As for last night:
As for last night:
- All year we've heard the coaching staff and especially Mike Smith talk about the importance of pace. Last night we played UCLA's pace, not ours, and it kept them in the game. Often, winning in the NCAA Tournament comes down to which team imposes their style of play on the game. UCLA did a much better job of that last night than we did and it is why they not only stayed in the game, but were able to prevail. I didn't think they were capable of scoring 65 on us, but I never really expected us to not break 50 either.
- While we obviously didn't close the game well, I thought there were two stretches in the first half that really sort of sealed our fate. The first was the first 10 minutes. Our defense was lights out but offensively we couldn't get it going. We lead 11-4 with 10 minutes to go in the first half but it should have been more. We actually had several good looks, we just didn't knock them down. And we weren't careful with the basketball. On a better night, we might've built a 12-15 point lead off that start and never looked back. The other stretch was right before the half. We've let teams hang around early before - FSU and LSU for instance. But we usually make a move before the half and either take the lead or tighten the game. Instead, we let UCLA put some distance between them and us. Four points didn't seem like much, but for a team that usually stretches the lead it was a problem. And given the premium on points in this game, 4 points was more like 8.
- Along those same lines, this team had found success thie year by just keeps squeezing teams with a series of mini runs and suddenly we've built a comfortable lead. We just couldn't get over the hump in the second half. We grabbed the lead twice briefly, but never had the ball with the lead and a chance to stretch our advantage - UCLA always answered. Credit to them for doing that but when we needed stops we couldn't get them.
- One of the advantages of being a "team" that has a different guy step up each game is that you're not too dependent on one individual. The downside to that is that sometimes you need a guy to just carry the team - like Juzang for UCLA last night. We've gotten that from guys this year at different times, including Franz down the stretch vs LSU. Last night nobody really took the reigns and said "follow me". Wagner and Smith obviously had off nights offensively. Dickinson was good but not as efficient as he usually is. And though Eli made some plays when we did need them to get us back in the game, he also made several head scratchers. The vision that is going to stick with me from last night isn't Wagner or Smith's misses, but Eli grabbing the rebound with 10 seconds left and casually just flipping the ball up for a reverse layup like it was a hot potato he couldn't wait to get out of his hands.
- This one ends up feeling a lot like the 2014 game vs Kentucky. Though that game was much better played and we deserved to win as much as Kentucky. Elite 8 runs are nice, but closes losses are soul crushing because of how close you came. It doesn't wipe away the accomplishments, but this team really did deserve a Final Four banner too. And while I fully expect Juwan to have us back in this position in years to come, you never know. I know another coach who got very close to the promised land in Year 2 and lost by inches and hasn't gotten close since. I don't think that will happen to Juwan, but I also know you don't take these things for granted and can be bummed out that we didn't take advantage of the moment when it presented itself. But I'm still extremely grateful for this season and am looking forward to watching this team (with whomever is on it) in person again next year.
