EMBARRASSMENT

Pretty much all that is needed to be said about the loss today to Depaul.

I don't even have the words to describe disappointment.  What happened?  Did Cronin push them too far after making them leave the locker room after the Louisville loss?  Does he not have the ability to excite/pump them up?  Do they have no pride?!? These, and many other questions, will maybe never be answered.  I just want this season to be over - I hope we don't even make the NIT.  We surely don't deserve it.

Cap'n Crunch

It is now crunch time.  Correction.  It was crunch time last week.  We stepped up to the challenge against a solid West Virginia team, but shot ourselves in the foot (not literally, Plaxico) in the blowout loss at Syracuse on Sunday.  With two regular season games remaining, we're in "dece" shape.  We can't afford to have any more of these "not ready to play" games.  Fortunately for us, the games remaining are against two of the lowest teams in the Big East standings.  However, every remaining game must be approached with the utmost seriousness. 

Here is what we can expect:  South Florida is not a good team by any means, but they definitely have some players, most notably Dominique Jones (18 points per game).  They're a team that lacks depth, especially with several key injuries.  They're a team that beat Marquette.  (Remember how we lost to Marquette by eleventy billion?)  This game, however, is not about  South Florida.  This game is about whether or not we want to go to the Big Dance or not.  If we come to play with the passion of a desperate team trying to prove ourselves, then we should win in impressive fashion, party like rock stars in Tampa, and come home to ready ourselves for Seton Hall.  If we go into the game thinking it's just a gimmie against a struggling 3-13 Big East team, and we go away from our game plan of giving the man-child a touch every possession and kick it out to the guards if the inside shot isn't there, then we could very easily struggle and possibly leave the sunshine state headed for the NIT.

From here on out, every game is judgment day.  We control how favorably we will be judged.  Prediction:  we win 63-49, and Yancy Gates comes home a father.

-Keller