KS 10-2
UT 10-2
BS 9-3
AU 9-3
NIU 7-5
UB 6-6
OU 6-6
BG 4-8
CMU 4-8
EMU 3-9
MU 2-10
WM 2-10
Toledo is 19-6 ( 10-2) and has won 9 in a row. They have also beaten Miami 18 times in a row, and can tie the all time series at 68-68 with a win tomorrow. Tod Kowalczyh is in his 13th season at Toledo. One more win and it will be the 7th time in the last 10 years that UT has won at least 20 games. Despite all that, Toledo has gone over 40 years without winning the MAC tournament and without an NCAA tournament appearance.
A I mentioned when we played them a couple of weeks ago ( 3 point loss) , 6 of the top 7 players are transfers. So he is not relying on recruiting freshmen and developing them. Top scorers Dennis, Shumate, and Milner have all been with Toledo multiple years but all started elsewhere and then transferred in. Also, last yearâs best player, Ryan Rollins, left with two years to go for the NBA draft or they would be a lot better.
I am going, my first road game of the year, and the last unless we get hot and qualify for the MAC tourney. I already have my all tournament tickets for that.
For better or worse, this team has been an emotional flatline most of the season. Based on Steeleâs press conference, I suspect his patience has been worn thin and some hell was raised the last few days. Will be interesting to see how this game starts out.
Ok, hereâs my pep-talk for anyone on the team likely coming in off the bench reading this for tonight:
Kamari: You were good enough to play in the ACC. Youâre good enough to take it to Toledo. But you need to unleash your alter ego âGlass Kamari.â Do it. Do it now!
Julian: You were Colonial Freshman of the Year at William and Mary. John Stewart went to William and Mary. John Stewart is awesome. You know what else would be awesome? If you light up Toledo with a double double.
Jaquel: Youâre a freshman from the Big Apple. You have seen real hoops in New York. Hoops Toledo can only dream about. Turn that dream into a nightmare for them.
Billy: Judge Smails won many a match at Bushwood with a very special putter named Billy Baroo. Coincidence? Youâre special, Billy. Billy. Billy. Billy. Billy.
Bryson: No one expects 15 rebounds from you. Not even you. But I do. Oh I do.
Miami has played to their opposition pretty much all conference season. Weâve lost to some bad teams, and hung in their against some good ones. Weâre 0-3 against Kent, Akron, and Toledo, though I believe those 3 loses have been by a combined 11 points. Can we test Toledo again, or will we lost by 20+?
Kamari: You werenât good enough to play in the ACC, hence why you transferred out. You have all the talent in world, but you lack effort and attention to detail, which is why you were academically ineligible to start the season.
Julian: You werenât CAA Freshman of the year, but you were on the CAA all freshman team. This âhonorâ is typically given to freshman on the worst teams because they are the only freshman that get to play. According to Bart Torvikâs website, you were statistically the worst player on William and Mary last year, who happened to be one of the 20 worst teams in the country last year.
Damn, I think all these years of losing is getting to me. Guessing we lose by 10-15 tonight, but itâs somewhat close for the first 30 minutes.
We play with absolutely zero margin for error which makes some of these whistles really stand out and annoy me. When did basketball get sooooo ticky tack? Is this a MAC thing? All of CBB? The constant whistles make the product lousy, borderline unwatchable (/insert Miami being unwatchable joke here).
The whistles on almost every trip down the court is a MAC thing. I go to several Xavier and UC games each year with family (as well as watching big time college basketball games on TV) and the refs let them play more for sure in the bigger conferences. Just like the player talent level, the referee talent level is different based on conference affiliation. I think the MAC officiating has been a rough transition for Steele. Having said that, if driving to the hoop gets you a foul called on your defender so often, letâs recruit some slashers and play into that.