Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

Conference Tournament Winners
America East-3 Boston U
ACC-1 Boston College
Atlantic Sun-6 Lipscomb
Atlantic 10-1 Xavier
Big East-3 Marquette
Big Sky-1 Portland State
Big South-2 Virginia Military
Big 10-4 Michigan State
Big 12-6 Iowa State
Big West-3 Cal Davis
Colonial-2 William & Mary
CUSA-1 Houston
Horizon-4 Valparaiso
Metro-1 Loyola Maryland
MAC-1 Ball State
Summit-5 UMKC
MEAC-1 Winston-Salem State
Missouri Valley-1 Creighton
Mountain West-1 Air Force
Northeast-3 Wagner
Ohio Valley-1 Tennessee Tech
PAC 10-8 UCLA
Patriot-1 Colgate
SEC-3 Vanderbilt
Southern-2 Georgia Southern
Southland-3 Northwestern State
SWAC-5 Prairie View
Sun Belt-2 Florida Atlantic
West Coast-8 San Francisco
WAC-1 Fresno State

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament 1st Round
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stillwater, OK

Wagner Seahawks at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Mar 20, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#16 Wagner (16-15)	15	22	37
#1 Western Kentucky (33-3)	56	46	102

Wagner Seahawks
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Merritt	22	5-11	3-6	2-2	1	5	0	0	7	15
Lhota	23	0-7	0-3	0-0	1	2	1	0	4	0
Patrick	18	2-14	1-6	0-0	4	3	1	0	0	5
Spears	23	3-6	0-1	1-1	7	0	2	1	2	7
Gibbs	15	2-5	0-0	0-0	5	1	0	0	1	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Martinez	14	1-3	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	0	0	2
Kelly	8	0-1	0-1	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Beckwith	2	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Niparavicius	13	1-8	0-7	0-0	0	0	0	0	4	2
Walcott	3	0-2	0-2	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Takahashi	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Adler	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		15-59	4-26	3-3	24	11	5	1	18	37
TEAM TOTALS		15-59	4-26	3-3	24	11	5	1	18	37

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	12	5-6	0-0	0-0	1	10	5	0	0	10
Lewis	14	4-6	2-4	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	10
Li	10	4-5	3-4	0-0	0	0	4	1	2	11
Jack	9	4-5	1-1	2-2	2	1	0	0	0	11
Suotamo	11	4-5	0-0	2-2	8	1	1	0	0	10
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Shehan	8	5-8	0-0	1-1	5	0	0	0	0	11
Pawlak	10	4-5	0-0	1-2	4	1	1	0	1	9
Camper	14	3-7	1-5	0-0	2	3	2	0	0	7
Jordan	18	0-7	0-6	0-0	4	2	0	0	1	0
Capel	16	1-3	0-1	0-0	1	3	3	0	1	2
Merriex	9	4-7	1-2	1-2	12	0	1	0	0	10
Zoellner	9	3-5	0-0	5-5	4	1	1	0	0	11
TEAM TOTALS		41-69	8-23	12-14	43	23	18	1	5	102

Tovarich: Sorry to Wagner for that. I know it's lopsided anyway but we were on, other than Jordan, and they were very off other than Merritt.

Reporter: Does any of this carry over to the 2nd round with Texas A&M?

Tovarich: No. I try to avoid these kinds of games in the regular season for a reason.

Reporter: Anyone's minutes or starting spots affected by today?

Tovarich: Nope. Everyone might go 2/7 on Sunday or Jordan might score double digits. Who knows?

Reporter: What do you know about Texas A&M?

Tovarich: That they're too good to be a 9 seed based on their ratings.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

NCAA Tournament

Play-in Game
Northwestern State 56 Prairie View 42

1st Round
East
#1 Boston College 98 #16 Northwestern State 53
#9 Alabama 107 #8 Creighton 49
#5 Louisville 80 #12 UCLA 77 (OT)
#4 Southern California 79 #13 Tennessee Tech 73

#6 Florida 93 #11 Seton Hall 86
#3 Notre Dame 87 #14 Boston U 75
#7 Illinois 90 #10 Grambling 88
#2 Duke 109 #15 Georgia Southern 76

West
#1 Air Force 69 #16 Cal Davis 66
#9 St. Mary's 83 #8 San Diego State 70
#12 Texas 84 #5 Massachusetts 82
#4 Charlotte 70 #13 San Francisco 67

#6 Pittsburgh 87 #11 Washington State 54
#3 Xavier 82 #14 Virginia Military 77
#10 Arkansas 91 #7 Iowa State 78
#2 Georgia Tech 81 #15 Colgate 49

South
#1 Western Kentucky 102 #16 Wagner 37
#9 Texas A&M 82 #8 California 70
#5 Florida State 67 #12 Ball State 53
#4 North Carolina State 101 #13 Columbia 62

#6 Loyola Maryland 72 #11 St. Louis 66
#3 Michigan State 85 #14 Valparaiso 44
#7 DePaul 66 #10 La Salle 54
#2 West Virginia 111 #15 Portland State 69

Midwest
#1 Houston 95 #16 UMKC 43
#9 Arizona 102 #8 Florida Atlantic 73
#12 Virginia Tech 78 #5 Oklahoma State 64
#4 Syracuse 72 #13 William & Mary 56

#11 Richmond 83 #6 Fresno State 60
#3 Vanderbilt 101 #14 Winston-Salem State 67
#7 Nebraska 65 #10 Oklahoma 55
#2 Marquette 80 #15 Lipscomb 67

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
Gallagher-Iba Arena
Stillwater, OK

Texas A&M Aggies at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Mar 20, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#9 Texas A&M (25-11)	43	20	63
#1 Western Kentucky (34-3)	49	23	72

Texas A&M Aggies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Holmes	22	3-5	2-3	0-2	0	6	0	0	5	8
Duggins	25	4-6	3-4	2-2	1	2	1	0	3	13
McKinney	17	3-5	2-4	1-2	4	1	1	0	1	9
Hunter	21	4-6	1-1	0-0	9	2	1	1	2	9
Conklin	12	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	3	0	0	0	0
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
McElroy	13	2-6	0-2	4-4	5	0	0	0	2	8
Santos	5	3-4	2-2	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	8
Shimokawa	2	0-2	0-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Millar	6	1-1	0-0	2-2	1	1	0	0	1	4
Mohammed	13	1-3	1-1	1-2	3	0	0	0	0	4
Marsh	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Gordon	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		21-39	11-18	10-14	26	16	3	1	15	63
TEAM TOTALS		21-39	11-18	10-14	26	16	3	1	15	63

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	23	1-2	1-1	0-0	1	1	1	0	1	3
Lewis	23	1-6	1-6	0-0	1	1	3	0	0	3
Li	23	6-12	4-9	0-0	1	3	3	1	0	16
Jack	23	5-8	0-1	1-2	4	2	1	0	1	11
Shehan	11	4-8	0-0	6-6	3	2	0	0	1	14
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	17	5-12	0-1	6-6	9	3	2	0	0	16
Pawlak	5	1-1	0-0	1-2	2	1	1	1	0	3
Camper	5	1-3	1-3	0-0	0	0	2	1	0	3
Jordan	5	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Capel	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS		25-55	8-23	14-16	21	13	13	3	3	72

Tovarich: I know there aren't really any easy games after the 16 seed, but can a 9 seed just play like a 9 seed for once? That would be nice. 11/18 on 3's just had me rolling my eyes all game. The rebounding got a little closer at the end there. They were dominating that for most of the game. We went 1/10 on 3's in the second half after shooting them well in the first half. I should've recognized that earlier. We dribbled the cover off the ball in the second half. I know that's not interesting for anyone to watch, but it seemed like the way to go. They made 21 field goals and scored 63, so I just could only watch so much of that. Luckily we shot well in the paint in the second half, unlike the first. Crazy how that just magically flips sometimes randomly in the second half totally beyond our control.

Reporter: Why the switch to Shehan starting at center?

Tovarich: Better team unity.

Reporter: Re-match with North Carolina State. Will the first matchup have any bearing on this one?

Tovarich: I doubt it. I can barely remember that game. I know it was close and we squeaked it out at the end. We'll take a look but in my experience nothing ever carries over.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
East
#9 Alabama 83 #1 Boston College 80
#5 Louisville 92 #4 Southern California 58
#3 Notre Dame 82 #6 Florida 81
#2 Duke 70 #7 Illinois 39

West
#1 Air Force 77 #9 St. Mary's 72
#12 Texas 97 #4 Charlotte 93
#6 Pittsburgh 76 #3 Xavier 61
#2 Georgia Tech 83 #10 Arkansas 71

Midwest
#1 Western Kentucky 72 #9 Texas A&M 63
#4 North Carolina State 81 #5 Florida State 80
#3 Michigan State 90 #6 Loyola Maryland 57
#7 DePaul 103 #2 West Virginia 86

South
#9 Arizona 51 #1 Houston 49
#12 Virginia Tech 64 #4 Syracuse 59
#11 Richmond 69 #3 Vanderbilt 57
#7 Nebraska 68 #2 Marquette 61

NIT 1st Round
Arizona State 85 Texas San Antonio 55
Clemson 76 Brigham Young 74
Mississippi State 68 Coastal Carolina 48
Loyola Marymount 80 Florida Gulf Coast 67

Baylor 83 Southern Utah 52
Youngstown State 71 Maryland 67
Ohio State 86 Colorado State 81
Auburn 89 Maine 59

Fairfield 65 Utah Valley State 61
South Florida 80 Tennessee 74
Rhode Island 62 Canisius 60
Gonzaga 89 Central Connecticut 73

Oregon 98 NC Greensboro 54
Pepperdine 89 Stanford 81
UNLV 84 Michigan 59
Indiana 96 Cal Santa Barbara 68

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, TX

North Carolina State Wolfpack at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Mar 27, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#4 North Carolina State (25-12)	44	20	64
#1 Western Kentucky (35-3)	47	22	69

North Carolina State Wolfpack
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Sanders	25	2-5	1-2	1-2	0	7	1	0	8	6
Hatten	18	4-6	4-5	0-0	1	0	0	0	2	12
Sidibe	24	7-9	4-5	0-0	4	1	0	0	2	18
Bosley, B	25	4-5	0-0	2-3	11	2	2	1	2	10
Bosley, E	21	5-9	0-2	1-2	8	3	0	0	3	11
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Nuualiita	10	0-1	0-0	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Ahvenniemi	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Barnes	8	2-2	0-0	0-0	0	4	0	0	1	4
Cain	7	1-1	1-1	0-0	1	0	0	0	1	3
Houston	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Laurie	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		25-38	10-15	4-7	27	18	3	1	19	64
TEAM TOTALS		25-38	10-15	4-7	27	18	3	1	19	64

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	24	2-3	0-0	1-2	1	6	3	0	0	5
Lewis	18	1-3	0-2	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	2
Li	21	11-22	8-17	1-1	0	0	3	0	1	31
Jack	21	1-5	0-1	0-0	5	3	4	0	0	2
Shehan	13	3-5	0-0	0-0	1	4	0	1	1	6
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	15	6-9	0-0	1-2	7	0	2	0	1	13
Pawlak	7	1-4	0-0	0-0	2	2	2	0	0	2
CAmper	10	2-3	2-3	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	6
Jordan	7	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	2
Capel	4	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Merriex	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		28-57	10-23	3-5	17	20	16	1	4	69

Tovarich: I take back what I said about the first matchup not having anything to do with the second. That was damn near identical. We had to hold the ball and limit their shots because they were shooting the lights out. First game they were 26/38. We improved to hold them to 25/38 this time. They were 9/16 on 3's the first game, 10/15 this time, so we got a little worse there. They were 9/9 at the line, we held them to just 5 free throws, so that was better. We forced 18 turnovers the first time, we improved slightly to 19, although that 19th one came with about 1 second to go. We shot 28/60 the first time, we took 3 fewer shots but still made 28, so our percentage was a tad better. 9/22 from 3, this time 10/23 so we took one more and made it. Hooray. We were 9/10 at the line, this time just 4/7, so the refs just weren't calling as many fouls for either of us. Carbon copy of the first matchup almost, but that works for us.

Reporter: The team seems to play better with Suotamo in. Is the better team unity from Shehan really worth it?

Tovarich: Probably not, we may switch that back for Michigan State. We'll let the next game unfold a little first and try to recognize quickly who's on and who's off. It's too random and unpredictable.

Reporter: You looked defeated early in the first half, did you feel that way?

Tovarich: Hard not to down 14-4 right off the bat, 2 fouls on us, 3 blocks by then, 2 other missed in the paint and they were 3/3 on 3's. Then it was apparent our only defense was denying shots and being hyper aggressive going for steals and we forced enough and hit enough 3's ourselves to stay in it and ran the clock in the second half, and just barely hung on.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
#5 Louisville 93 #9 Alabama 86
#2 Duke 89 #3 Notre Dame 87

#12 Texas 88 #1 Air Force 71
#2 Georgia Tech 61 #6 Pittsburgh 60

#1 Western Kentucky 69 #4 North Carolina State 64
#3 Michigan State 96 #7 DePaul 82

#12 Virginia Tech 67 #9 Arizona 60
#7 Nebraska 88 #11 Richmond 77

NIT 2nd Round
Arizona State 62 Clemson 55
Mississippi State 73 Loyola Marymount 70

Baylor 71 Youngstown State 66
Ohio State 95 Auburn 73

South Florida 74 Fairfield 70
Rhode Island 80 Gonzaga 76

Oregon 73 Pepperdine 59
UNLV 81 Indiana 76

[studbucket]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

Texas doing their best to get a rematch with WKU. Virginia Tech also a spunky 12 seed.

Wild that you're the only #1 seed left.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament Elite 8
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, TX

Michigan State Spartans at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Mar 29, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#3 Michigan State (27-10)	29	29	58
#1 Western Kentucky (36-3)	46	21	70

Michigan State Spartans
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Rowland	25	4-8	2-5	0-0	1	8	2	0	6	10
Newton	26	5-7	2-4	0-0	1	1	1	1	2	12
Butt	26	6-9	1-3	2-2	2	2	0	2	4	15
Frey	22	4-6	1-2	0-0	3	2	0	1	3	9
Briggs	5	1-1	0-0	0-0	4	0	0	1	0	2
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Miles	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	2	0
Willis	13	1-1	0-0	0-0	2	1	0	1	1	2
Draughan	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Richard	10	2-2	1-1	0-0	2	0	0	0	2	5
Garza	5	1-2	1-1	0-0	0	0	1	1	0	3
Humphries	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Loucks	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		24-36	8-16	2-2	15	15	4	8	20	58
TEAM TOTALS		24-36	8-16	2-2	15	15	4	8	20	58

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	26	1-4	1-4	6-6	0	3	8	0	2	9
Lewis	25	0-5	0-4	0-0	1	2	2	0	0	0
Li	25	5-13	3-11	0-0	2	1	2	0	2	13
Jack	23	4-8	0-1	2-2	3	2	3	2	0	10
Shehan	15	7-11	0-0	4-4	6	0	1	0	0	18
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	13	3-5	0-0	7-9	4	1	1	0	0	13
Pawlak	5	1-2	0-0	2-2	1	0	0	0	0	4
Camper	3	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Jordan	3	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Capel	2	0-1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Merriex	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		21-51	4-22	21-23	17	9	20	2	4	70

Tovarich: My favorite way to win. Allow 67% shooting, 50% from 3, force 20 turnovers and hang on to win at the end after leading big.

Reporter: When they got the lead down to 3 or 4 a few times, did you regret all the time wasting?

Tovarich: No. You figure a 17 point lead just takes a few baskets here and there to keep it up. It worked the way it's supposed to work. Sure, they made it interesting at the end, but I knew the way they turned the ball over like crazy in the first half that they'd make a run in the second. You just try to drag it out if you can and see if you run the clock out on them, which we did.

Reporter: Do you like your chances against a 12 seed in the Final Four?

Tovarich: That doesn't matter at this point in the tournament. They're obviously playing well. Can't have a bad game and survive against anyone after the 1st round.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

NCAA Tournament Elite 8
#5 Louisville 86 #2 Duke 80

#12 Texas 77 #2 Georgia Tech 76

#1 Western Kentucky 67 #3 Michigan State 58

#12 Virginia Tech 81 #7 Nebraska 73

NIT Quarterfinals
Arizona State 80 Mississippi State 78

Ohio State 83 Baylor 77

Rhode Island 81 South Florida 77

UNLV 89 Oregon 83 (OT)

NIT Semifinals
Arizona State 72 Ohio State 69
UNLV 73 Rhode Island 71

NIT Championship
UNLV 88 Arizona State 74

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament Final Four
SEFCU Arena
Albany, NY

Virginia Tech Hokies at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Apr 4, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#12 Virginia Tech (20-13)	26	34	60
#1 Western Kentucky (37-3)	57	18	75

Virginia Tech Hokies
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Leach	21	7-9	4-4	0-0	1	2	0	0	3	18
Winter	22	5-9	1-5	0-0	2	2	1	0	4	11
Diallo	20	6-11	2-4	0-0	6	3	1	2	3	14
Bonfim, V	26	0-3	0-1	0-0	5	4	0	2	3	0
Gooding	16	1-5	0-0	2-3	6	0	0	0	0	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Whitehead	7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Sood	7	1-4	1-3	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	3
Bonfim, B	6	2-5	0-3	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	4
Nance	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Janiszewski	11	3-3	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	0	0	6
Osborne	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Dawn	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		25-49	8-20	2-3	24	15	3	4	15	60
TEAM TOTALS		25-49	8-20	2-3	24	15	3	4	15	60

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	21	3-8	2-3	2-2	1	6	1	0	0	10
Lewis	21	4-9	3-6	0-0	2	1	1	0	0	11
Li	21	3-12	2-11	0-0	4	2	2	0	1	8
Jack	19	7-12	0-2	8-8	6	2	7	0	1	22
Shehan	15	2-3	0-0	0-0	3	1	0	0	1	4
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	11	0-0	0-0	3-4	2	0	2	0	0	3
Pawlak	6	0-1	0-0	2-2	1	0	1	0	0	2
Camper	7	3-6	3-6	0-0	1	0	0	0	0	9
Jordan	7	1-2	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Capel	7	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	4	0	0	0	2
Merriex	3	0-2	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Zoellner	3	0-1	0-0	1-2	1	0	0	0	0	1
TEAM TOTALS		24-54	11-30	16-18	23	16	14	0	3	75

Tovarich: Some real de ja vu there huh? Build big lead early with a ton of turnovers, get some starts in foul trouble. Dribble the ball off the cover and hang on.

Reporter: Coach Greenberg thinks the refs were very bias, what do you think?

Tovarich: I'm sure Izzo felt the same. That was 17-2 FT's before the intentional fouls. This was 18-3. I've been on both ends of it.

Reporter: Were you not tempted to keep letting Jack drive it in against the press in the second half?

Tovarich: I think he scored a whole 2 points in the second half? Something bizarre happened at halftime, not sure how. Jack expertly picked apart the press in the first half and drew all sorts of fouls. But somehow after halftime, he'd be sprinting down the floor and all of a sudden, someone would run by him and cut him off. Like, everyone defending him magically got a lot faster at halftime? Very strange.

Reporter: Will you employ the same philosophy of running the clock in the second half of the championship game?

Tovarich: We'll see how it's going. 31 up at half today is unovercomeable. That's a word, right? Maybe? Probably not. 19 against Michigan State disappeared pretty slowly. But Virginia Tech was playing zone almost exclusively, so I was happy to pass to someone wide open to shoot a 3. We were below average on those for sure, but that's fine with that lead.

Reporter: Are you rooting for Texas or Louisville?

Tovarich: I thought we had Texas and we end up needing 7 turnovers in double overtime to pull it out, so I'm not sure I'm up for that. Pitino's amazing though and the Ville would be very difficult too. If we were to end u losing two championships though to Texas, that would eat at me for a long time.

Reporter: Can this school regularly compete for championships like this?

Tovarich: This roster, this year, I think is likely as good a roster as a school this size can conceivably put together. 94 OVR rating is up there with everyone but a few, Duke was higher and I think Georgia Tech and that was it. A handful are equal. Last year's team took some fortunate upsets like getting UCLA out of our way. With 7 seniors, it would likely take a few years to possibly build this roster back up to this quality. But whatever I thought about recruiting, I learned this year, that the interest is not a consistent thing. We've been getting better in the recruiting battles as the season's gone on, but it was rough sledding to start and the interest from elite recruits is hit and miss, but still mostly miss.

Reporter: Do you think nerves will play a part of the championship for either team or does your experience from last year make that easier?

Tovarich: I think the fact that we're playing in a 3,800 seat arena makes that easier. Someone explain that one to me.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

NCAA Tournament Final Four
#5 Louisville 79 #12 Texas 65

#1 Western Kentucky 75 #12 Virginia Tech 60

[studbucket]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

I wanted the Texas rematch! Hope Louisville is a good game.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

I wanted the Texas rematch! Hope Louisville is a good game.

I have no idea what I wanted lol. Despite being a 12 seed with 12 losses, they're still like 94OVR with ridiculous talent.

[Tovarich]

Re: Coach Tovarich 2.0 CH2K8 Career Legacy

vs.

NCAA Tournament Championship
SEFCU Arena
Albany, NY

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at Louisville Cardinals
Apr 6, 2015	1ST	2ND	SCORE
#1 Western Kentucky (38-3)	46	40	86
#5 Louisville (28-11)	51	29	80

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Galbreath	27	0-1	0-1	2-2	2	10	4	0	1	2
Lewis	26	7-12	7-11	0-0	1	4	2	0	0	21
Li	26	3-8	1-4	0-0	0	1	2	0	0	7
Jack	23	5-8	1-2	4-5	2	2	4	0	2	15
Shehan	17	11-20	0-0	3-4	7	4	1	0	1	25
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Suotamo	11	2-3	0-0	3-4	5	0	1	0	0	7
Pawlak	5	2-4	0-2	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	4
Camper	2	2-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	1	0	0	5
Jordan	2	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Capel	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Merriex	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Zoellner	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		32-60	10-22	12-15	17	22	16	0	4	86

Louisville Cardinals
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Whithers	23	6-13	1-5	2-2	2	9	0	0	5	15
Munns	24	6-11	3-5	0-0	2	5	1	0	2	15
Watson	25	5-9	2-3	0-0	6	4	2	0	5	6
Kann	22	4-4	1-1	2-2	6	2	0	0	1	11
Crawford	10	3-4	0-1	1-1	4	1	0	0	0	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PTS
Lamkin	7	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	1	2
Blizzard	5	2-3	0-1	0-0	1	2	0	0	1	4
Cain	2	1-1	0-0	0-0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Van Weerdhuizen	10	3-3	0-0	0-0	3	0	1	0	0	6
Pulley	11	3-3	0-0	0-0	4	0	0	1	1	6
Buchanan	-- DID NOT PLAY --
Defares	-- DID NOT PLAY --
TEAM TOTALS		34-53	7-16	5-5	30	24	4	1	16	80

Tovarich: Wow, I don't know what to say. This team's incredible. It would have been easy to lose hope early the way they started. They figured it out. They're just awesome. Except at rebounding. God help us learn how to get a rebound. But, we know we're awful at that, and we do other things to make up for it. Add another 'except' for field goal defense. We are definitively the worst in the nation at that. But we allow 60% shooting to everyone. We can overcome that too. We know what we are and what we aren't.

Reporter: What were you thinking when Louisville made 15 of their first 16 shots?

Tovarich: It was hard not to just clap for them. OK, not really. I rolled my eyes out the back of my head about 10 times. I was thinking that we did a damn good job only being down 36-23 right there. We weathered that as well as could reasonably be expected.

Reporter: Despite both their true centers in foul trouble, you still got outrebounded. Did you think that would doom you?

Tovarich: Yeah, third game in a row at least we were able to get multiple fouls on their big man, and I know it was Shehan, who is definitely the lesser of the two at rebounding, but he was doing such a good job scoring and getting to the line, I had to leave him in. He really cooled off in the second half. The rebounding totals are pretty embarrassing in a vacuum, but then when you consider there were sizable chunks of game with no center for them, it's even worse.

Reporter: When did you know you'd won?

Tovarich: The 3 by Lewis that bounced up in the air and fell in to put us up 6 with just about 1:10 to go. I knew with a bounce like that, the basketball gods had shined upon us. Suotamo was able to get a steal on the other end and they didn't foul yet, and they never had a chance then.

Reporter: Shehan was given player of the game, do you agree with that?

Tovarich: I'd give it to Lewis. Shehan did amazing work getting all the fouls and scoring in the first half. But all those 3's by Lewis, that's what kept us in it. Galbreath had 10 assists, easily the school's career leader in assists. There's no wrong answer there.

Reporter: Mid-majors don't often win national championships. Gonzaga finally broke through a few years ago to break a long streak since UNLV won. Is it significant in that respect?

Tovarich: It can be done anywhere. This team has incredible experience. It's something like 368 career starts amongst our starters. Even the bench has another 100+. It all has to come together in that respect with a bunch of seniors together who are all quality recruits who develop over their career. It's just these 6 games that decide it. We're not quite the most talented team, but we're top 5. The better teams like Duke, and Boston College and Georgia Tech didn't survive and we did. Once we got to the Elite 8, we were pretty much the favorites. It no longer matters at that point if you're a mid-major or a power school or someone like Eastern Shore if you can get the talent there. The right coach, the right players and the right situation can produce a champion from any conference almost. It took us 6 years, and I inherited a great foundation left by the last coach that really made it easy to hit the ground running. Eventually someone else will do it too. We may not have all the advantages of the big schools, so it is significant in that regard, but it can be done and it should give hope to all the other mids.