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It's the 1954-55 NIT SEMI-FINALS
DePaul has a very tough test in 1-seed and perennial post-season team NC State (23-12). The Wolfpack are disappointed to be in the NIT and DePaul hopes to capitalize because they're very much the underdog in this matchup.
In the other semi-final, top-seed Pepperdine takes on 5-seed Loyola Chicago. How fun would it be to have an all-chicago NIT Final?! Chances are, this will not happen because both teams are overmatched and playing against programs that are a lot better.
In any case, just *being* here with this DePaul team is absolutely wild and crazy. We've far exceeded any expectations for the program, though obviously the goal is to build sustainability. Still, this run is magical and it would a delight to keep it going all the way to raising a banner. We're not getting ahead of ourselves though, let's just go have fun against NC State and test ourselves against the kind of program we'd hope DePaul could be someday.
NIT SEMI-FINALS
Code:
DePaul 71, NC State 57
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DePaul (24-12, 11-7):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Mark Mercado SF 31 3-6 0-0 1 3 8 2 6
Michael Little PF 29 3-6 0-0 5 13 0 2 7
Ward Thomas SF 24 6-11 3-4 0 0 1 0 16
Alfie Mitchell SG 29 6-13 0-0 1 2 2 1 12
Kelly Weeden PG 26 2-2 0-0 0 0 6 4 5
David Montanez C 21 4-5 0-0 2 5 1 1 10
Brennan Marsh C 17 4-4 0-0 3 3 0 2 8
Tom Dupont SG 12 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 5
George Harris PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
John Titus SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Roger Graham SG 6 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0
Theodore Glasgow PG 2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Turnovers: 13 (M.Mercado 1, M.Little 1, W.Thomas 1,
A.Mitchell 5, K.Weeden 2, D.Montanez 2, T.Dupont 1)
Blocked Shots: 7 (M.Little 1, A.Mitchell 1, D.Montanez
4, B.Marsh 1)
Steals: 11 (M.Mercado 1, M.Little 1, W.Thomas 2,
A.Mitchell 5, K.Weeden 2)
3P FGs: 6-13 (M.Little 1-1, W.Thomas 1-2, A.Mitchell
0-5, K.Weeden 1-1, D.Montanez 2-2, T.Dupont 1-1,
R.Graham 0-1)
NC State (23-13, 9-9):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Harold Mclaughlin C 34 2-5 1-1 5 10 4 0 5
Neemias Reed PF 32 1-7 2-2 2 2 0 1 4
Elmer Smith SF 35 2-4 4-4 0 0 1 2 9
Jeromy Bracey SG 35 3-6 4-6 2 3 3 2 11
Frank Raymond PG 35 9-17 4-5 3 4 1 1 22
Gregory Holder PF 13 1-4 0-0 1 3 0 0 2
Michael Crawford SF 5 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0 0
Coleman Noles SG 9 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 2 4
Robert Canty PG 1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Roger Noon SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 17 (H.Mclaughlin 3, N.Reed 1, E.Smith 7,
J.Bracey 1, F.Raymond 3, G.Holder 1, M.Crawford 1)
Blocked Shots: 6 (H.Mclaughlin 3, G.Holder 3)
Steals: 4 (H.Mclaughlin 1, E.Smith 2, F.Raymond 1)
3P FGs: 3-8 (E.Smith 1-2, J.Bracey 1-2, F.Raymond 0-1,
M.Crawford 0-1, C.Noles 1-1, R.Canty 0-1)
Player of Game: SF Ward Thomas (DEP)
I cannot believe my eyes. It wasn't just a win, it was a true victory despite Frank Raymond's 22 points. The balanced attack coupled with Ward Thomas' continued brilliance in the post-season means that the Blue Demons stand one game away from the most improbable title imagined. Okay, that'd be an NCAA title. But this is pretty wild in its own right. For context, the furthest this program had ever been was the 2nd round of the NIT and that was in 1920 the first season of this simulation. Since then, they've had a lone NCAA (!934) appearance and a CBI (1942) bid. That's it.
Loyola Chicago (26-12) did their part against a very heavily favorited Pepperdine team meaning that we indeed get a Windy City matchup for the NIT title. Either way, just having our names in the record books will be meaningful and these players will be remembered for that no matter what happens next.
Code:
DePaul 74, Loyola Chicago 65
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Loyola Chicago (26-13, 10-8):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
J.C. Jackson PF 37 3-6 0-0 2 3 2 2 6
Luis Gartner C 36 3-9 3-5 4 6 0 3 9
Dennis Real SF 37 3-6 1-2 3 5 3 3 9
Frank Matherly SG 37 3-8 5-10 1 2 5 4 11
Vern Crum PG 37 6-9 2-2 0 0 6 2 19
Irvin Richie PF 8 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 1 4
Mark Lee PG 6 2-2 0-0 0 1 0 0 5
William Pratt C 2 1-2 0-0 1 1 0 0 2
Turnovers: 11 (J.Jackson 3, L.Gartner 2, D.Real 2,
F.Matherly 1, V.Crum 2, I.Richie 1)
Blocked Shots: 0
Steals: 8 (L.Gartner 1, D.Real 3, F.Matherly 2, V.Crum
2)
3P FGs: 9-14 (D.Real 2-3, F.Matherly 0-2, V.Crum 5-7,
I.Richie 1-1, M.Lee 1-1)
DePaul (25-12, 11-7):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Mark Mercado SF 34 3-5 2-3 2 5 8 1 8
Michael Little PF 34 1-2 3-3 1 8 2 2 5
Ward Thomas SF 27 7-8 0-0 1 2 5 1 14
Alfie Mitchell SG 32 8-10 1-2 0 1 2 2 20
Kelly Weeden PG 33 6-6 1-2 0 2 5 1 15
David Montanez C 20 2-3 2-2 0 0 0 2 6
Brennan Marsh C 7 1-3 0-0 3 3 0 1 2
Tom Dupont SG 10 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 3 0
George Harris PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
John Titus SF 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Roger Graham SG 2 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 1 4
Turnovers: 10 (M.Mercado 7, M.Little 1, A.Mitchell 1,
T.Dupont 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (D.Montanez 1, B.Marsh 1)
Steals: 4 (M.Little 1, K.Weeden 3)
3P FGs: 6-8 (A.Mitchell 3-4, K.Weeden 2-2, T.Dupont
0-1, R.Graham 1-1)
Player of Game: PG Kelly Weeden (DEP)
Senior Kelly Weeden paired with Alfie Mitchell and Ward Thomas to have the games of their lives, propelling the Blue Demons to the most unlikely of NIT championships. I am speechless.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
In the Final Four, top seeds UCLA and Villanova advanced with 5 seed Portland and 4 seed Seton Hall. In the national final, Portland upset UCLA to win the national title for the first time in their first-ever appearance beyond the Sweet 16. The last time UCLA was in the national final was 1939, they lost then too. Both programs were sporting new coaches in their first year.
AWARD WINNERS 1954-55
Code:
1954 OVERALL AWARDS
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Player of the Year:
JR SG Peter Jones RIT 25.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 7.6 APG 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Freshman of the Year:
FR SG Michael Martino UConn 20.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG 2.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
Coach of the Year:
James Nuhu North Carolina 30 - 5 (19 - 1)
All-league 1st Team:
C SR Immanuel Sargeant Jackson State 18.7 PPG, 12.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.5 BPG
PF SR Keith Pickens Merchant Marine 22.9 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SF SR Francisco Burns Purdue 14.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 6.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG JR Peter Jones RIT 25.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 7.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG SR Wes Mayle Washington 17.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 8.2 APG, 4.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG
All-league 2nd Team:
C JR Greg Williams Utah State 13.4 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 2.4 SPG, 2.4 BPG
PF SR New Moody UConn 16.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG
SF SR Percy Duffy Kentucky 15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.2 APG, 3.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SG SR Ronald Bouton Villanova 15.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 5.8 APG, 4.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PG SR Thomas Burns UCLA 14.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 9.1 APG, 5.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG
All-league 3rd Team:
C SR Max Young Notre Dame 14.2 PPG, 14.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 3.7 BPG
PF SR Christopher Vansickle Long Island University 17.5 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG
SF SR Kennith Jensen Butler 18.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 4.6 SPG, 0.0 BPG
SG SR Lacy Collins Boston College 17.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.9 APG, 2.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG SR Cillian Murray Southern 17.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 9.6 APG, 3.4 SPG, 0.0 BPG
All-freshman Team:
C FR Joshua Swain Yeshiva 14.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG
PF FR Octavion Chiang Mississippi 9.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SF FR Reagan Moreno Florida A&M 12.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 3.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG
SG FR Michael Martino UConn 20.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG FR Alberto Belisle Florida A&M 11.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 6.5 APG, 2.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Neither DePaul nor Chicago State had any conference award winners. |