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2023 Postseason
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 16-18, 6-10 America East.
3/14/23- NCAA First Four vs. Seattle (W 76-64).
3/16/23- NCAA East Region First Round vs. (1) Syracuse (L 70-69).
Can't be disappointed about this performance from the Hawks. They won an NCAA Tournament game, albeit a First Four game, and came within 1 basket of upsetting the #1 seed in their region. Coach Ginsberg should feel very very proud of how his team finished the 2022-2023 season and they will look to build on that next season.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 18-14, 10-8 ACC.
3/16/23- NIT West Region Second Round vs. (5) Missouri (L 73-65).
A very disappointing season for the Blue Devils, as they just couldn't buy a win against a top ranked team, and sputtered their way to the finish line. Coach Hoo won't be able to afford anymore seasons like this.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 21-13, 10-8 Big Ten.
3/17/23- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (9) Iowa State (L 84-50).
Talk about ending the season with a whimper! That's exactly what the Spartans did. Very uncharacteristic of them, and they also are going to have to figure it out. While they got to 20 wins, 13 losses and a disaster of a game in the NCAA Tournament doesn't bode well for a Coach whose seat is already warm.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 20-13, 9-9 Big Ten.
3/16/23- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (8) Southern Illinois (W 84-81).
3/18/23- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (1) Louisville (L 96-88).
Not a bad postseason for the Wildcats, as they get to 20 wins with the NCAA First Round win over Southern Illinois, and give Louisville a heck of a fight. Something to build on, now if they could just do a little better in Big Ten play.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 21-13, 8-8 Big West.
3/15/23- NIT Midwest Region Second Round vs. (7) Memphis (W 76-70).
3/20/23- NIT Midwest Region Semifinal vs. (3) Manhattan (W 82-74).
3/23/23- NIT Midwest Region Final at (5) New Mexico (L 53-50).
Nice run by the Warriors who also get over 20 wins, but are another team that has to do better in conference play. Firecoachgunn.com quieted down some, but the fans aren't happy about blowing a double digit halftime lead at New Mexico.
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 25-9, 13-5 Conference USA.
3/17/23- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (13) Kansas State (W 84-74).
3/19/23- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (5) Florida State (W 84-74).
3/24/23- NCAA South Region Semifinal vs. (1) Louisville (L 94-90).
Not often you have teams win consecutive games by the same score, but that's what we had here. Coach Hawkins took FIU farther than they have ever been in this dynasty, the Sweet Sixteen. They came very close to winning that. He might have a tough decision to make in the offseason, and it's long overdue.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 18-15, 9-9 Pac 12.
3/15/23- CBI First Round at (8) Utah State (L 78-69).
Of all the teams that whimpered into the postseason, the Buffaloes take the cake. Coach Nielsen was not happy with his team being shipped on the road in the CBI, and they certainly played like a team that either wasn't happy or wasn't deserving.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 25-10, 14-4 Pac 12.
3/16/23- NCAA Midwest Region First Round vs. (13) Ohio (W 59-43).
3/18/23- NCAA Midwest Region Second Round vs. (5) Ohio State (L 53-42).
The Cardinal had a tough draw, having to play 2 pretty solid Ohio teams. They split with them, and will end their season much sooner than they were hoping for. Still a heck of a season though.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 24-10, 13-5 SEC.
3/17/23- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (14) North Dakota State (W 73-65).
3/19/23- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (6) Old Dominion (W 60-51).
3/24/23- NCAA South Region Semifinal vs. (2) Wisconsin (L 83-61).
Nice run for the Crimson Tide, who make it to their first Sweet Sixteen in this dynasty. Would have liked a better performance in that Sweet Sixteen game though, but Coach Roger will definitely have a nice, cool seat to sit on next season.
And that concludes the postseason for our FOFC teams. 2 teams made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, both in the South Region, and we had another team in the Elite Eight of the NIT. But.. several teams lost in their first game, so still some work to do.
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