Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

[Tovarich]

@

E.A. Diddle Arena
Bowling Green, KY

Georgetown Hoyas at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Dec 23, 2013	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Georgetown (8-4)	37	46	83
Western Kentucky (11-4)	32	37	69

Georgetown Hoyas
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Pearson	21	9-12	3-4	2-2	2	8	0	0	0	23
Barley	24	1-6	1-6	0-0	1	0	0	0	6	3
Kou	23	5-7	3-5	0-0	2	3	1	0	2	13
Boddicker	22	8-10	1-1	0-0	10	2	2	0	2	17
Matthews	21	5-11	3-6	1-1	3	4	2	3	0	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Homan	9	1-1	0-0	0-0	1	2	0	1	1	2
Turek	4	1-5	1-3	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	3
Merritt	9	4-4	0-0	0-0	9	0	0	0	2	8
Vilardell	7	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	2	1	0	0	0
Dodd	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Nava	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Pitta	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		34-57	12-26	3-3	30	23	6	4	13	83
TEAM TOTALS		34-57	12-26	3-3	30	23	6	4	13	83

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	20	1-4	0-1	2-2	1	5	1	0	0	4
Lewis	20	6-13	4-9	1-1	3	0	2	0	0	17
Li	20	5-12	2-5	0-0	0	2	2	0	2	12
Jack	20	3-7	1-2	2-2	8	3	2	0	2	9
Suotamo	20	3-8	0-0	0-0	5	3	1	0	4	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shehan	8	0-3	0-0	0-0	4	1	1	0	0	0
Pawlak	8	4-5	0-0	0-0	1	1	1	0	0	8
Camper	8	3-7	1-2	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	7
Jordan	8	2-2	0-0	2-2	0	0	0	0	0	6
Capel	8	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	3	1	0	1	0
Blankenship	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		27-61	8-19	7-7	22	18	12	0	9	69

Tovarich: I can only laugh at all that. Suotamo missed his first 4 shots, one of which was a breakaway layup where someone literally looked like they flew in out of nowhere and knocked the ball out of his hand from behind while he's in mid air. Shehan never made a shot. They were all layups. It was hilarious to watch the things it took to miss every shot we took from point blank range. They shot 60% again. I'm getting used to that. We had good tight D on a lot of those shots. I think the shot chart shows that we shot 10/40 in the paint. I have to try and laugh because there's nothing else I can do.

Reporter: Do you think the schedule prepared you for conference play?

Tovarich: I don't know what preparedness comes out of performances like that. Obviously some other things were going on. I know Suotamo knows how to make a layup. I know Shehan knows how to make a layup. Of course, I wish they'd just dunk it more, but for some reason they refuse. Those are harder to miss than layups where things can inexplicably bounce against you in hilarious ways. 9 turnovers? 4 by Suotamo himself? A center? 4 turnovers? It's like he was hexed by a voodoo priest. I know I scheduled tough teams but no, I don't think anything like that helps for conference play because there was literally nothing that could be done to overcome all those things. Nothing that went on in that game is some kind of correctable mistake.

Reporter: @ Troy is usually one of the tougher conference games, but they're down this year, so do you expect to win that easily?

Tovarich: I don't expect to win anything easily. I know a lot of these guys are pretty new starters, but we're starting 3 JR's and 2 SO's. The whole arbitrary poor performance due to low team unity means we can probably lose anywhere to anyone.

[Tovarich]

@

Trojan Arena
Troy, AL

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Troy Trojans
Dec 28, 2013	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Western Kentucky (12-4)	48	56	104
Troy (3-13)	29	36	65

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	15	1-2	0-0	2-2	1	3	3	0	0	4
Lewis	15	3-5	0-1	0-0	1	2	2	0	0	6
Li	14	5-7	3-4	1-1	1	1	1	0	1	14
Jack	15	10-12	2-2	3-6	3	2	1	0	0	25
Shehan	14	2-2	0-0	3-5	5	2	0	2	1	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	10	4-6	0-0	2-2	6	1	0	0	0	10
Pawlak	11	5-8	0-0	4-5	4	1	3	0	1	14
Camper	8	2-3	0-1	0-0	1	0	2	0	0	4
Jordan	13	4-6	2-3	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	10
Capel	13	2-3	0-1	1-2	1	3	1	0	1	5
Blankenship	6	0-2	0-1	2-2	2	0	0	0	0	2
Zoellner	6	1-1	0-0	1-1	3	0	0	0	0	3
TEAM TOTALS		39-57	7-13	19-26	28	16	14	2	4	104

Troy Trojans
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
McCleod	20	1-11	0-6	0-0	0	6	0	0	3	2
Towe	20	1-6	1-4	0-0	0	3	0	0	1	3
McIntosh	21	10-20	6-12	0-0	2	3	0	0	3	26
Meno	18	1-2	0-1	0-0	4	1	2	2	1	2
Arline	8	0-1	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	0
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Mcbridle	10	3-5	0-2	1-1	1	0	1	0	3	7
Israel	4	3-4	1-1	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	7
Tran	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Farley	10	3-4	0-1	0-0	0	3	0	1	1	6
Roberson	13	1-4	1-2	0-0	4	0	1	0	2	3
Sood	14	4-4	0-0	1-1	5	0	0	0	0	9
Diaz	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		27-61	9-29	2-2	20	17	4	3	14	65

Tovarich: Luckily they only had one Reggie Miller on their team.

Reporter: Why bench Suotamo and start Shehan?

Tovarich: I couldn't watch any more missed layups, and then of course, his first shot, which should have been an easy dunk he managed to miss a finger roll off the front of the rim. I almost benched benched him, like put Zoellner in for the rest of the game. Luckily we had a big deal and we were able to work on some things in the second half?

Reporter: What all did you work on coach?

Tovarich: Mostly just getting some people going. Jordan's had a rough time. Suotamo's been brutal. We got to the line against the press. Luckily Jack made all his twirly layups because I am getting tired of watching those.

Reporter: You mentioned you wanted more dunks, but they never really materialized.

Tovarich: I think we had 3. I am starting to wonder if Jack knows how to dunk. It's frustrating.

Reporter: Anything bad about this game?

Tovarich: Other than the lack of dunking, no. I think this went pretty well. Hopefully Suotamo and Jordan got some confidence making some shots. No one dominated the boards, but it was a nice group effort to accumulate rebounds. No one had a terrible shooting night. Got some minutes for backups and the walkons who are a little unhappy I know because of their lack of minutes against all the power schools. The PG could have had more assists. I am a little puzzled at that still.

Reporter: Your team unity skyrocketed by starting Shehan instead of Suotamo. Do you think that made a difference?

Tovarich: It's the key to the entire universe. Why is it night and day now? Who knows? I guess we better leave it that way for now. Maybe if Suotamo gets right for a few games in a row, I'll re-visit it.

[Tovarich]

Non-Conference Tournament Winners:
2K Sports College Hoops Classic: Arkansas
Hangar Classic: Harvard
Cyclone Classic: Baylor
CBE Classic: Arizona State
Pre-Season NIT: Western Kentucky
"Palm Tree Shootout" aka Puerto Rico Tip-off: South Carolina
"Polar Bear Tipoff Classic: aka Top of the World Classic: Air Force
100 Club Classic: Florida Gulf Coast
Paradise Jam: Virginia Tech
"Hawaiian Invitational" aka Maui Invitational: Minnesota
Great Alaska Shootout: Nebraska
"Orange County Shootout aka Wooden Legacy: Mississippi State
"Deodorant Classic" aka Old Spice Classic: Villanova
Deep Dish Challenge A: Charlotte
Deep Dish Challenge B: Hofstra
Liberty Bell Classic A: Rider
Liberty Bell Classic B: Pittsburgh
South Padre Island Tournament A: Wisconsin
South Padre Island Tournament B: Tennessee Tech
"Blackjack Shootout A" aka Las Vegas Invitational: North Carolina Wilmington
"Blackjack Shootout B" aka Las Vegas Invitational: Boston U
Legends Classic: Texas
"Big Tree Tournament" aka Montana State Bobcat Classic: Montana State
Drake Iowa Realty Tournament: Northern Iowa
Hawkeye Challenge: Wisconsin
Drake Regency Classic: Northern Iowa
"Hawaiian Island Classic" aka Rainbow Classic: West Virginia
Gossner Foods Holiday Classic: Florida Atlantic
"Daylight Bowl Tournament" aka Sun Bowl Classic: UNLV
Jackpot Challenge A: Florida
Jackpot Challenge B: Cal State Bakersfield
"Casual Apparel" aka Aeropostale Holiday Festival: Florida Atlantic
Cable Car Classic: Niagara
"Gulf Coast Challenge" aka Flint Hills Tournament: Massachusetts
Golden Bear Classic: UCLA
Shamrock Office Solutions Classic: Louisiana Monroe
Cougar Classic: Bethune-Cookman
"Railroad Classic" aka Dr. Pepper Classic: Samford
UCF Holiday Classic: Central Florida

[Tovarich]

NCAA Hoops Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Dec 29, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	RECORD
1	1	Pittsburgh	12-0
2	2	UCLA	11-0
3	3	Syracuse	8-0
4	4	California	11-1
5	5	Connecticut	11-1
6	6	Texas	11-1
7	7	Southern California	11-1
8	10	St, John's	11-0
9	11	Virginia	11-1
10	13	Stanford	12-1
11	8	Illinois	11-1
12	16	Louisville	8-3
13	18	Miami Florida	10-0
14	15	Alabama	11-1
15	17	Vanderbilt	10-0
16	14	Providence	10-1
17	9	Georgia Tech	9-3
18	19	Michigan State	11-2
19	22	Villanova	10-1
20	23	Texas A&M	9-1
21	20	Duke	6-1
22	12	West Virginia	9-2
23	21	Florida State	11-2
24	NR	Oregon	10-1
25	25	Florida	11-2

[Tovarich]

@

E.A. Diddle Arena
Bowling Green, KY

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Jan 1, 2014	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Louisiana-Monroe (9-5)	32	42	74
Western Kentucky (13-4)	40	44	84

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Gatson	21	5-7	0-1	0-0	0	4	0	0	3	10
Copeland	21	4-6	2-3	0-0	1	1	0	0	2	10
Dieng	21	7-14	4-7	4-5	2	4	1	0	3	22
Franklin	20	3-6	1-1	6-8	13	2	0	2	4	13
Sonn	22	1-4	0-0	0-0	7	4	0	1	1	2
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Dennis	9	1-3	0-1	0-0	2	0	3	0	1	2
Draper	10	3-4	1-4	0-0	1	3	0	1	1	7
Lewis	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Goral	7	3-3	2-2	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	8
Lamb	4	0-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Kelley	-- DID NOT PLAY --
McCully	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		27-51	10-19	10-13	27	20	4	4	17	74
TEAM TOTALS		27-51	10-19	10-13	27	20	4	4	17	74

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	18	4-7	1-2	4-4	1	0	3	0	0	13
Lewis	18	2-8	0-2	0-0	0	2	3	0	0	4
Li	18	6-11	2-6	0-0	2	0	2	0	1	14
Jack	18	2-7	0-3	0-0	4	1	1	0	0	4
Shehan	18	7-10	0-0	4-6	7	3	2	0	0	18
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	9	7-7	0-0	2-2	4	0	1	1	1	16
Pawlak	10	1-5	0-1	0-0	3	2	1	0	1	2
Camper	9	2-4	0-1	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	4
Jordan	10	3-4	1-2	0-0	2	2	0	0	0	7
Capel	10	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	1	2
Blankenship	1	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zoellner	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		35-67	4-18	10-12	23	10	15	1	4	84

Tovarich: OK win, little disappointed in the defense all around, but especially the last 5 minutes. I think Monroe made about 8 shots in a row at one point there at the end to get the lead down from 21.

Reporter: How big was it for Suotamo to have such a good scoring night?

Tovarich: I guess I'll cancel the point shaving investigation.

Reporter: Does the rebounding suffer from Shehan being in instead of Suotamo?

Tovarich: The PF spot is the bigger weakness in rebounding for us for sure. We routinely allow opposing PF's to get 10+ rebounds. I don't know that's the center. Suotamo is definitely supposed to be better at it, but the numbers don't exactly bear that out. All in all, the rebounding was its usual level of disappointing.

Reporter: Neither of your PG's accumulated an assist.

Tovarich: Isn't that incredible? Every time they passed to someone, they missed? It's hard to think that's a coincidence, it really is. They pressed a little at the end, so I know there's often no assists there if we drive it in but only 10 for an entire game? Something's very wrong. We had some good transition passing after some turnovers, but that's a bizarre occurance definitely.

Reporter: Some of your guards dunked on breakaways. Why won't your big men?

Tovarich: Great question still. I'd love to know the answer. Jack utterly refuses to dunk the ball even on a breakaway. Both PF's couldn't hit a layup as usual, and when they refuse to dunk, that equals 3/12 combined from them.

[Tovarich]

@

Cajundome
Lafayette, LA

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
Jan 4, 2014	1ST	2ND	SCORE
Western Kentucky (14-4)	51	52	103
Louisiana-Lafayette (6-6)	26	31	57

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	14	2-2	0-0	2-2	2	7	3	0	1	6
Lewis	14	3-4	1-2	2-2	2	3	1	0	1	9
Li	14	7-12	4-9	0-0	1	1	2	0	0	18
Jack	12	6-9	0-0	0-0	5	0	3	0	0	12
Shehan	14	5-11	0-0	3-3	5	2	3	0	2	13
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	8	3-4	0-0	1-2	5	1	0	0	0	7
Pawlak	10	3-5	0-0	1-1	7	2	2	0	0	7
Camper	14	3-10	1-6	0-0	2	1	1	0	1	7
Jordan	14	3-4	2-3	0-0	1	1	1	0	0	8
Capel	14	2-4	0-1	0-0	1	1	6	0	0	4
Blankenship	6	2-3	0-0	0-1	3	2	0	0	1	4
Zoellner	6	4-6	0-0	0-1	2	1	0	0	0	8
TEAM TOTALS		43-74	8-21	9-12	36	22	22	0	6	103

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Cox	22	4-9	2-5	0-0	2	3	1	0	2	10
Cleaves	21	4-10	1-4	0-0	1	2	1	0	5	9
Robinson	23	5-11	0-2	0-0	11	5	0	1	9	10
Barber	23	2-11	0-2	2-2	7	3	1	0	3	6
Kole	20	2-6	0-0	3-3	7	1	1	0	1	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Hoskin	14	2-4	0-1	0-0	3	2	1	0	1	4
Shields	14	4-8	1-3	0-0	0	1	0	0	2	9
Sherrod	3	1-2	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	1	0	2
McDade	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Perry	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Blackwell	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Emmert	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		24-61	4-17	5-5	33	18	5	2	23	57

Tovarich: That's supposed to be the second best team in the conference on paper, so that's a shockingly easy win. They're only 6-6 though, so they must not be living up to it. They were shockingly poor handling the ball. We pressed a little in the first half, but stopped that pretty quick when we were way ahead, but they continued to turn it over. They were spread out a lot and making very long passes constantly. Not wise. And apparently they lack depth because you'd think you may as well get the bench in and try something new down 40+

Reporter: You still seemed unhappy with the PF's.

Tovarich: Yes, I benched Jack after he stopped 3 feet from the hoop and tried some stupid hook shot instead of continuing to drive it in and slam it. I think he must have had some traumatic experience as a child touching a basketball rim. I'll have to try and figure out what it is. So I even let Blankenship have some practice against the press and it didn't seem to matter who it was, they disappointed in that aspect. Hard to nitpick, but of course all coaches can.

Reporter: All 12 players scored and got a rebound and 11 had an assist. How beneficial is all that depth?

Tovarich: It's only going to get better. We have no seniors, so next season, we should have the greatest team unity in the history of ever and hopefully we'll play like it.

[Tovarich]

Sun Belt Conference Standings - Updated: Jan 8, 2014
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	GB
Western Kentucky	14-4	.777	4-0	-
Arkansas State	8-4	.666	3-0	.5
Florida Atlantic	9-6	.600	3-0	.5
Middle Tennessee	7-6	.538	3-1	1
Louisiana Lafayette	6-6	.500	2-1	1.5
Troy	5-13	.277	2-2	2
Louisiana Monroe	9-6	.600	1-2	2.5
Florida International	6-6	.500	1-2	2.5
New Orleans	3-10	.230	1-2	2.5
South Alabama	5-10	.333	1-3	3
Denver	4-12	.250	1-3	3
Arkansas-Little Rock	4-7	.363	0-3	3.5
North Texas	5-9	.357	0-3	3.5

[Tovarich]

@

Pharmed Arena
Miami, FL

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Florida International Golden Panthers
Jan 8, 2014	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#24 Western Kentucky (14-5)	40	24	64
Florida International (7-6)	40	43	83

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	20	0-3	0-1	0-0	2	3	1	0	0	0
Lewis	19	4-14	3-10	0-0	1	2	2	0	1	11
Li	20	5-17	3-9	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	13
Jack	20	3-4	1-2	0-0	3	2	4	0	0	7
Suotamo	17	7-9	0-0	0-2	5	3	1	0	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shehan	11	4-4	0-0	1-2	2	2	0	0	0	9
Pawlak	8	1-4	0-1	0-2	3	0	1	0	0	2
Camper	9	0-2	0-2	0-0	0	4	1	0	0	0
Jordan	8	1-4	0-1	0-0	2	1	1	0	1	2
Capel	8	2-2	1-1	1-1	0	1	1	0	1	6
Blankenship	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		27-63	8-27	2-7	20	18	12	0	4	64

Florida International Golden Panthers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rose	25	9-10	2-4	2-2	4	5	1	0	8	16
Pearson	23	5-12	0-1	0-0	1	3	2	1	0	10
Tucker	23	10-15	4-8	0-0	4	6	0	0	2	24
McCollum	23	7-9	0-0	0-0	11	2	0	1	1	14
Schultz	19	4-4	0-0	2-4	13	1	0	2	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Santiago	12	0-2	0-0	0-0	5	1	0	0	0	0
Gerlach	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0
Chadwick	8	2-3	0-1	2-2	0	0	0	0	1	6
Olsen	5	1-2	1-2	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	3
Lindeman	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Attaway	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Valencia	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		35-57	7-16	6-8	38	21	3	4	12	83

Tovarich: Don't know how we managed to be tied at halftime. I don't feel like we ever had a chance in that one. Rebounding was a joke as usual. We tower over those two centers, but it made no difference. 2/7 from the line was hilarious. At one point we were 4/18 in the second half, I didn't bother with the final numbers. They barely missed.

Reporter: You grabbed 7 offensive rebounds and missed all 7 putbacks from point blank range. Why do you think that is?

Tovarich: Must have been fate that we were not going to score on that possession.

Reporter: Do you think Suotamo starting caused it?

Tovarich: Both big guys scored well, just couldn't get a rebound somehow, magically. But no, it shouldn't have.

Reporter: But your team unity was lower.

Tovarich: Still higher than theirs.

Reporter: Do you think it was because you were ranked for the first time in a while?

Tovarich: Good chance.

Reporter: Why do you think they tried to hard to score at the end?

Tovarich: They got themselves in Denver territory now. Just to rub it in, they got two offensive rebounds in the last 10 seconds and scored the putback as time expired. There was no stopping it on that drive until they scored. They come to us in March though. We'll remember.