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2024 Postseason
With only 7 of our teams playing in the postseason this year, this will probably be a quick post. No feature games, so let's get to it:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 19-15, 8-8 America East.
3/14/24- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (3) Iowa (L 97-89).
The Hawks snuck into the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning their conference tournament, but they proved for the second straight year that they belong, taking Iowa to their limits. Coach Ginsberg has to be setting himself up nicely for bigger and better jobs, if he wants them.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 18-15, 10-8 Big 12.
3/12/24- CBI First Round at (7) UC Davis (L 91-69).
Ouch! Not the performance the Horned Frogs were looking for, as they came into the CBI being just 1 of 2 power conference schools. When you get to the postseason, that means nothing though. Coach Mighty will look to refocus for next season.
St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 28-10, 10-8 Big East.
3/15/24- NCAA Midwest Region First Round vs. (14) Northern Illinois (W 66-50).
3/17/24- NCAA Midwest Region Second Round vs. (6) George Washington (W 57-49).
3/22/24- NCAA Midwest Region Semifinal vs. (2) Baylor (W 77-75).
3/24/24- NCAA Midwest Region Final vs. (1) Virginia (W 66-65).
3/30/24- NCAA National Semifinal vs. (12E) Central Arkansas (W 79-71).
4/1/24- NCAA National Championship vs. (1W) Georgetown (W 82-71).
A huge, huge congratulations to the Red Storm and Coach Hoo, as he becomes the first coach ever to win a national championship in this dynasty. We've had some others win NIT championships and get to the final game, but none have won. They did it in impressive fashion too, beating some of the top teams in the nation. Admittedly, they got a little lucky in the national semifinal by getting a cinderella team, but they backed it up by beating their conference rivals Georgetown for the first time in 4 meetings this season. Great, great job by Coach Hoo, and he has proven that leaving Duke was the right choice, so far.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 19-12, 11-7 Conference USA.
3/13/24- NIT Midwest Region Second Round vs. (6) Rider (L 67-49).
An embarrassing way to finish the season, and not what the Owls expected. They feel good about where they finished, but Coach Shocker knows his team missed some golden opportunities.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-11, 11-7 Pac 12.
3/14/24- NCAA Midwest Region First Round vs. (10) Oakland (W 83-72).
3/16/24- NCAA Midwest Region Second Round vs. (2) Baylor (L 71-63).
Good effort for the Cardinal against a tough Baylor team, but they couldn't get it done. Coach Sanchez has to feel a little dissapointed, especially since Stanford started out going 10-2. Better luck next year.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 25-10, 13-5 Pac 12.
3/14/24- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (13) North Dakota State (W 73-63).
3/16/24- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (12) Furman (W 78-62).
3/21/24- NCAA South Region Semifinal vs. (1) Georgetown (L 85-78).
The Bruins can feel good about making it back to the Sweet Sixteen, but they left a lot on the table, running into a hot Georgetown team that as we now know made it all the way to the national championship. Consistency is the key for Coach Shepard, as he needs to continue to get this team into either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT year after year.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 22-11, 14-4 SEC.
3/15/24- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (10) UMass (L 74-73).
Tough loss for the Crimson Tide who fell victim to a buzzer beater. It wouldn't be March Madness with at least one of those. A step back for Coach Rogers and his boys, but they can still take some pride in knowing they won the SEC regular season title, which still counts for a lot.
That concludes the postseason for our FOFC teams. Stayed tuned for more.
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