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| (above) DU's cheerleader before the game |
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| (above) Joe Scott had words for Chris Udofia in the first half |
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| (above) The first half was a see-saw affair |
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| (above) WKU had a big edge in points off the bench |
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| (above) Not exactly an overflow crowd |
Sunbelt Tournament Semi-Finals
#9 Arkansas State 72 - #5 North Texas 76 Final
#3 DU 63 - #7 Western Kentucky 67 Final
#3 DU 63 - #7 Western Kentucky 67 Final
TV: Sun Belt Network [Not available in Colorado]
Radio: AM 1510 & FM 93.7
Web: www.ESPN3.com
****Web: Sunbelt Website [$5.95]****
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39 comments:
Every lower seeded team won today except in the DU game. Like Herb Brooks said, "If you don't win this tournament you will take it to your graves."
The table has been set for DU. Now they need to clean the plates.
DU needs to settle down the with turnovers, hit shots and get Udofia more involved if they hope to beat a resurgent, but young WKU team.
The Pios are the highest remaining seed and have beaten every remaining team, so if DU can play it's game, they have a great shot to go dancing,
with the injury to Hallam, there's no way to win the tourney
WOOHOO!!
If Denver beats WKU tomorrow, I will use the plane ticket that I bought months ago -- 6:00 AM Tuesday from DIA to Little Rock -- and go see the title game Tuesday night. I'm credentialed by the Sun Belt, I have a rental care and a place to stay, etc.
If WKU wins, I'll cancel everything and stay in Denver. So I won't know whether I'm actually traveling until roughly 8 hours before my flight leaves.
My adventure (if any) will of course be covered live over at Mile High Mids and on my Twitter account, @MileHighMids.
I sincerely hope I'm en route to Arkansas 30 hours from now!!!
I hope you're flying Brendan! Keep up the good work on the blog. Go_Pios
David Ramsey of the Colorado Springs Gazette called out the Air Force AD for a "sham" of a coaching search. Ramsey wanted to see DU's two hoops assistant coaches, Mike McKee and A.J. Kuhle, interviewed.
http://www.gazette.com/sports/mueh-134544-pilipovich-promised.html
IF Denver Wins tonight, there will be a Title Game watch event at Gaslight in Chicago on Tuesday.
And IF DU wins tonight they will play Sunbelt #5 seed North Texas.
DU defeated them in the last game of the season at Magness Arena by 10+ points.
Sucks... can't get ESPN3
Watching on Sunbelt Website. Quality is good. $5.95
Go Pios, finally took a lead in the first half.
DU down 3 at the half. Need to play with more precision, smarts and better defense if they hope to beat the quicker and more athletic Hilltoppers.
Udofia must be more of a factor in the second half.
Scott needs to make adjustments.
It's tourney time. DU's big guns - Stafford, Udofia and Oneal need to step up and play better.
DU had a nice 14-1 run midway through the first half
The game is free on ESPN 3...
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/source/espn3/id/415113/size/condensed/#
The game is free on ESPN 3...
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/source/espn3/id/415113/size/condensed/#
Does DU NEVER challenge for an offensive rebound? Urgh ..
5 minutes to play & game is ties.
refs calling fouls every time down the court
DU looks awful, Chase's absence is clear ...
DU needs to hit some threes now....
not going to happen. too many du misplays.
Great season.
Disappointing loss to be sure.
Super job by the coaches, Seniors and players to put DU basketball back on the map.
DU was just not good enough tonight.
Had no answer for Fant down low and could not shoot 3s.
Too bad there will be no more postseason for this year.
And we're done. It was a nice season, but the team just didn't have the knack for winning the close games.
Choke, gag, gag.
I guess there is always next year.
DU has some very good players coming back next year - Chase Hallam, Chris Udofia, Royce O'Neale, and Brett Olson will give DU some good talent and experience. But losing Stafford, Lewis, Coughlin, and Travis Hallam will hurt.
It was a great year, but this one will hurt for a while.
Hey, I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance.
I don't think really DU choked. They were just beaten by a bigger,stronger and more athletic team that is peaking right now.
Damn. Tough way for the season to end, but these guys had a good run. It takes time, but the future looks bright for this program.
Reminds me a little of the Iona game, where DU turned the ball over when they had chances to put the other team away down the stretch. By all accounts, Joe Scott did a great job this year. But that could be viewed as one of his failings, having a veteran team that didn't take control of games in crunch time. I'd be interested to hear Brendan's take on the latter.
On reflection, I think DU should have tried to do a better job shooting 3s to stretch out WKU and open up the inside. Instead, DU tried to go inside on WKU all night with mixed results.
WKU was bigger, stronger and had more energy all night than I would have expected with 3 games in three nights.
So can DU get an NIT invite?
NIT is unlikely. There are some sub NITs like the CIT, but I am not sure if DU would go to that.
www.nitology.com has the lowdown.
Just a couple of observations. I am not a conspiracy theororist but the free throws were nearly 2-1 in the favor of WKU. We were hacking their big guy but they were jumping into DU players, too. Also, the game announcers were very fair. They did say that no one in Hot Springs wanted DU to win because they did not want to have a team leaving the conference win a title. A good run but tough to lose to WKU with 80% of freshmen on the floor. We have a way to go...
The referees called the game very close inside for almost the whole way (with the exception of Royce's final putback). Unfortunately that favored the team with more of an inside post-up game, and Fant in particular. Although DU drew some fouls inside on offensive plays that would often be a no-call their offense did not generate as many of those situations as did WKU. At the other end Udofia, Lewis, Olson, O'Neal repeatedly tried to stand straight up as WKU shot inside but were called for fouls anyway. Not only did WKU get lots of FTs but Udofia's shot blocking presence was not there. The turnovers (travels, balls thrown away) were unusual for DU and the other real killer. Heartbreaking to lose while on what was (at least on paper) one of the easiest paths to an NCAA berth in the country due to the upsets.
I can't beleive we lost I really thought this was the year we would make the tournament and be the first team to knock off a number one seed. I think it's only a matter of time until we hit the hatrick. National titles in Lax, b-ball, and hockey all in 1 year
Playoff basketball games are decided in the last five minutes of the game. No one for DU was able to impose their will offensively down the stretch.
Still, I'll always remember this year as a "Dream Season." Lots of great memories.
I could see a hattrick. But it's going to be in hockey, lax and skiing.
Getting into the NCAA tournament would be like winning a national championship for the bball team. Getting to the sweet 16 would be like winning 2 championships.
For some reason, DU mostly blew teams out this year or when they did lose, it was often very close. The team never really learned how to win those close games.
The loss of Chase Hallam was huge for this team. He was the stabilizer out there, and his injury forced Royce O'Neale into a heavy driving role that he was only partially ready to assume, as the three pointers were not falling.
Without really big, strong players, DU will always be vulnerable to teams who have big, strong guys like Fant. And DU's Princeton system can't accommodate guys who can't run and cut. So for DU to win, they must hit threes and stretch defenses or they are toast. Last night, the threes weren't falling, and our inside game was not at the level of WKU.
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