The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Basketball Blog With Donnie Marsh
3/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2009
This isn't the blog I had hoped to be writing this time. We have just returned from the C-USA Tournament after a semi-final loss to Tulsa - a team quickly becoming a rival for us. Doug Wojik's team has become a thorn in our sides by knocking us out of the tournament last year, winning by a point at their place this year to edge us out of 2nd place in the league standings, and now eliminating us in the semi-finals this year. We know each other very well. In fact they joke that neither of us can run any of our offensive sets because we all know what's coming. What that usually means is that the team that is better at improvising & making plays when things are taken away is usually the team that will come out on top. They did that better than we did yesterday and that's why they moved on to face Memphis in the finals. Our mistakes early in the second half - 4 or 5 straight empty possessions - put us in a difficult hole most of the half. We changed some things defensively to try to create more pressure and we were able to turn them over. That allowed us to close the gap to 1 point, but we weren't able to get any closer. It was disappointing as I had hoped to face Memphis for a shot at the C-USA Tourney Championship & that automatic bid. As it turned out they had no trouble with Tulsa and breezed to another championship.
I'm finishing this blog on Selection Sunday as we wait to hear about a bid to the NIT. With the way the NCAA selections went, the NIT will have some quality teams in its field and there will be some good teams that get left out. You can expect the committee to set up some intriguing match-ups for either the opening or 2nd round games. You can read into that whatever you like. Once we have the match-ups we will go to work rounding up as much info as possible on the first 2 opponents including videotape. We tape a ton of games throughout the year for just this type of situation. It is an interesting process preparing for an opponent on short notice. You rely on relationships with coaches from teams that have played your upcoming opponent to get as much material as possible. We will divide up the scouting assignments and have a report ready by practice tomorrow. An important aspect will be when you are scheduled to play and if there is travel involved. That can shorten your preparation time. At any rate we are on hold for a while longer. Stay tuned...and stay positive!
GO BLAZERS!!!
