DDSCB23: The Greatest II

[Wayne23]

11/26: We score the first 9. Up 9 after 10. 47-40 at halftime. Balanced scoring. Both Wear and Wolf have 3 fouls.

Up 13 with 10 to go. Big late run.

89-65. Very good D. 16, 10 for Nate, 17, 5, 3, 4 for Pryl, 10, 6, 4 for Wear.

At 4-1 Northwestern next. They’re very good outside.

We’re ranked! #13.

11/30: Close early. Up 1 after 10. They go on a run. 49-67. They’re shooting 65.7%. 14, 2, 3 for Wolt, 13 for Harp. Nate has 3 fouls. Their bench is crushing ours, -18. And the game is even inside.

Down 19 with 10 to play.

100-117. We just didn’t play D, 63.1%. 26, 9 for Harp, 14, 3, 7 for Wolt.

3-1 USC is here. Good outside.

12/3: Close early. Up 16 after 10. It’s turning into a rout. 54-20 at the break. We held them to 20.7%, shot 60.6%. 16, 7 for Nate, 12, 8 for Harp. Total dominance inside.

Up 43 with 10 left. Subs in early.

95-64. 26, 12, 4 blocks for Nate, 18, 10 for Harp. +46 in the paint.

At #8 Maryland, 7-1. They’re good inside and out and have a world class Center.

12/7: Small lead early. Up 6 after 10. 54-51 after a hard fought first half. 14 for Nate, 11 for Harp. 3 fouls for Pryl.

Staying close early. Up 7 with 10 left.

108-87. Great road win as we finished strong.

21 each for Harp and Nate, 15, 5 for Wear, who outplayed their very good C. 11 assists for Wolt.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. Big win Coach.”

“Very big win. I couldn’t be happier with the way we played, especially in crunch time.”

“Your guys usually play well late in the game. Any explanation for that?”

“Conditioning. We work hard to get the guys in shape early and then to keep them in shape throughout the season.”

“Does resting players have something to do with that.”

“Definitely. We give guys breaks throughout the game so that they’re fresh at the end. We’re lucky enough to have a very good bench this season but I do it even when the bench isn’t this good.”

“Probably shorter breaks for the starters though.”

“Good point.”

8-1, #13, NET #5. 1st in PPG, 2nd in shooting pct.

Harp and Nate continue to lead the way in scoring and Harp is our top rebounder with 9.2. Wolt gets 6.7 assists.

At 3-4 George Mason. Their guards can play.

[Wayne23]

12/10: Early lead. Up 11 after 10. 64-45. We shot 65.8%. 13, 3 for Nate, 11 each for Harp, Wolt, and Wolf. We owned the paint.

Up 24 with 10 to play.

111-92. Great O but we didn’t play much D. 23, 13 for Harp, 24, 24, 4 for Nate, 19, 0, 4 for Wolt. +54 inside.

7-1 ST Louis is here. They’ve looked good, losing only one game and that one in OT.

12/14: Back and forth early. Then we go on a run. Up 14 after 10. 61-57 at halftime. Terrible D, they shot 70.4%.

“You let them back in. You eased up and your 15 point lead went to 4. Anyone who isn’t playing hard can expect to sit, and I don’t care WHO it is!”

Still close early. Up 8 with 10 to go. Then we get hot!

111-91. 17, 10, 3 for Nate, 18, 4, 3 for little used Rob Naim, 13, 9 for Wear, 15, 2, 5 for Wolt.

Finally some time off! Next up is 6-5 Hofstra, here.

We drop from #13 to #14.

12/21: Close early. Down 4 after 10. Late run. 59-53 at the break. 12, 3 for Harp. Wear got 3 fouls in 5 minutes. Poor D, as usual.

Up 16 with 10 left.

105-91. 24, 7, 3, 5 for Harp, 19, 5 for Nate, 16, 10 for Wolf, 13, 3 for Hix. +50 in the paint.

Last pre-conf. game is at #11 Seton Hall, 11-3.

We fall to #17.

12/28: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. 56-53 after a hard fought half. 16, 5 for Wolf. Pryl has 3 fouls, as do 3 from Seton Hall. If we were hitting free throws we’d have a big lead, only 16-31. We own the paint.

It’s hard fought early. Down 2 with 10 left.

105-94. It was tied with 5 ½ to play. 11, 12, 6 blocks for Wear, 17, 4, 3 blocks for Harp, 15, 6 for Nate, 18, 7 for Wolf, 13, 3 for Hix. We definitely won this one inside.

1/1/2026: 12-1, #20, NET #1. No clue why we keep dropping in the rankings. #1 in PPG, +18.4, #1 in shooting pct., 53.7%. +10.0 RBs, -3.3 TOs, a very good 10.8.

Nate averages 18.8, 6.5. Harp gets 18.7 and leads with 8.5 RBs. 4 others with 10.0 of more. Wolt gets 6.5 assists.

1st MWC game is at 9-4 San Diego ST, a team that always gives us trouble.

[Wayne23]

1/2: They take an early lead. Down only 1 after 10. Then a run! 45-34 at halftime. Balanced scoring and good D.

“We need to do more inside.”

They’re catching up early. Up 3 with 10 to go. Then they go on a run.

89-96. It was tied with less than 2 minutes left. 20, 11 for Harp. 4 others with 11 or more. 13 assists for Wolt. They beat us inside, which is rare.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. Coach, what is it about this San Diego ST team?”

“I have to think it’s some kind of mental block. They really have our number. I don’t think we’ve beaten them at their place or on a neutral court since I got here, yet we beat better teams regularly.”

“What can you do about it?”

“The only way to fix it is to beat them at their place or on a neutral court. Once we do that, the problem should fix itself.”

8-5 Fresno ST is here.

Will Wolf hurt his wrist. Not serious but he won’t play much tonight.

1/4: We trail early. Down 13 after 10. We’re flat. 44-60. Horrible D, 66.7%. And we’re only about even inside. I get pretty loud in the locker room.

We narrow the lead early. Down 8 with 10 to play.

96-92. We scored the last 6 points. Great comeback! 21, 8 for Nate, 15, 7 for Harp, 15 for Caes. Very good 2nd half inside and on D.

At 12-4, 1-1 New Mexico.

1/9: Back and forth early. Down 6 after 10. They go on a run. 52-62 at the half.

15, 3 for Nate. Awful D, they shot 70.6%.

“You gotta play D and you gotta do better inside.”

We get close early. Up 7 with 10 to play; great comeback! It’s close late.

92-94. They hit a half court “throw” at the buzzer. Tough way to lose. 21, 4 for Nate, 17, 2, 6 for Wolt, 12, 9 for Harp. Poor D and mediocre inside paly did us in.

6-9, 2-1 Nevada is here.

1/11: Early lead. Up 14 after 10. 48-21 at halftime. Terrific D. Balanced scoring.

Up 36 with 10 to go.

86-54. 18, 8 for Nate, 13, 1, 5 for Pryl. Great D and total control inside.

Little used Sima Pasi hurt his arm. Day to day.

14-3, 2-2. #16, NET #2.

At 5-9, 0-3 UNLV.

[Wayne23]

1/13: We start fast. Up 19 after 10. 52-33 at halftime. 14 for Nate, 10, 6 for Wolf. Big edge inside.

Up 22 with 10 to go.

113-75. 22, 3, 3 for Nate, 14, 13 for Harp, 18, 6 for Wear. +17 for the bench. 72 in the paint.

At 13-4, 2-2 Boise ST.

1/18: Back and forth early. Down 4 after 10. 45-39 at the half. 17, 9 for Harp, 11, 6 for Nate.

Close early. Down 3 with 10 to play. Close late.

89-91. We just couldn’t quite get there. 25, 12 for Nate, 26, 11 for Harp. 2-18 on threes didn’t help. They beat us outside and we were -10 for the bench.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. You’re struggling on the road, Coach.”

“Yes we are, and it is very frustrating.”

“Any ideas about what to do about it?”

“All we can do is keeping working hard. The staff is trying to give the players a positive, confident mind set but it doesn’t always sink in.”

8-9, 2-4 San Jose ST is here.

1/23: Close early. Up 7 after 10. Then a big run. 60-43 at halftime. Balanced scoring. +18 inside. The refs are calling everything and we have 3 starters and a sub with 3 fouls. I took a T late in the half.

Up 21 with 10 to go.

106-99 but that was as close as they got. 14, 9 for Wear, 16 for Nate. +27 for the bench,

13-6, 5-2 Utah ST is here. They can play.

1/25: Early lead. Up 6 after 10. 64-45 at the half. 16, 7 for Nate, 12, 5 for Harp. 10 assists for Wolt.

Big run and we’re up 39 with 10 to play.

122-76. 24, 8 for Nate, 20, 8 for Harp, 18, 6 for Hix, 15, 3, 5 for Pryl. Total dominance inside.

17-4, 5-3, #19. Tied for 4th place, 2 back of 1st. NET #4.

#1 in PPG and shooting pct.

5-16, 0-10 UNLV is here.

[Wayne23]

2/1: Fast start. Up by 11 after 10. 44-24 at halftime. 13, 5 for Harp.

Increasing the lead early. Up by 27 with 10 to go.

88-58. 21, 8 for Harp, 18, 9, 4 for Wolf, 12, 1, 9 for Wolt. Big edge inside.

#18 San Diego ST14-10, 7-4, is here.

2/3: Fast start. Up 10 after 10. 42-26 at the half. Pryl has 19 and 3.

Up 18 with 10 to play.

87-64. 28, 4 for Pryl, 15, 11 for Harp.

At 16-8, 8-3 Fresno ST. We won by only 4 at home.

2/8: Early lead. Up 7 after 10. 43-34 at the break.

Big run to start the 2nd. Up by 21 with 10 left.

97-67. 20, 11 for Nate, 14, 8 for Harp, 13, 8 for Wear. +17 for the bench.

20-4, 8-3, 1 back of New Mexico, and alone in 2nd place. #15, NET #4.

Still #1 in PPG and Shooting pct.

1st place #20 New Mexico, 21-5, 10-2, is here. They won by 2 at their place.

[Wayne23]

2/13: Quick start. Up 10 after 10. 43-32 at halftime. 13 each for Harp and Nate, 11 for Wolt.

Up 18 with 10 to go.

93-68. 21, 4, 5, 3 for Harp, 21, 9 for Nate, 18, 1, 6 for Wolt. 62 in the paint.

At 10-15, 6-7 Nevada. We won by 32 at our place.

2/15: Good start. Up 9 after 10. Then we kind of go flat. 49-37 at halftime.

Still flat early but holding our lead. Up 11 with 10 to go.

85-74. 14 for Harp, 12 each for Wear, Pryl, and Wolt. 10, 8 for Wolf.

I’m starting to think it’s time to move to a better school. We’ll see what happens in the Spring.

8-17, 4-10 Colorado ST is here. Their PF has a broken elbow.

2/17: Big early lead. 51-34 at the half. 19 for Wolt.

Holding the lead early. Up 20 with 10 to play.

82-59. 31, 1, 4 for Wolt, 17, 1, 6, 4 for Pryl. Our guards led the way tonight.

At 17-9, 9-5 Utah ST. We crushed them by 46 at home.

2/20: Close early. Up by 3 after 10. 38-34 at the break. 11, 8 for Harp.

We start the 2nd with a run. Up 14 with 10 left.

89-70. 18, 15 for Harp, 14, 3, 8 for Wolt, 13, 3, 8 for Pryl. +25 RBs.

24-4, 12-3, tied for 1st with New Mexico. #10, NET #6.

Still 1st in PPG and shooting pct.

#21 Boise ST, 22-8, 11-6, is here. They won by 2 at their place.

[Wayne23]

2/22: We jump out to a big lead early. Up 12 after 10. 58-40 at halftime. 17, 4 for Nate, 11 for Pryl.

We start the 2nd flat and they narrow the gap. Up by 9 with 10 to go.

89-82, but that was as close as they got. 25, 8 for Nate, 20, 1, 4 for Pryl, 13, 10 for Wolf.

Still tied for 1st with 2 to play, both on the road.

At 10-17, 4-12 San Jose ST next. We won by only 7 at home.

2/27: Quick start. Up 11 after 10. 58-44 at the half. 17, 4 for Harp, 10, 1, 7 for Wolt.

They go on an early run. Up 7 with 10 to play.

101-96. Hope we don’t play these guys in the post season, they give us fits! 22, 6, 3 for Harp, 18, 3, 10 for Wolt, 17, 7, 1, 3 for Nate. +38 in the paint.

Regular season finale is at 13-15, 5-12 Air Force.

3/1: We start slow and fall behind. Down 8 after 10. 46-55 at halftime. We need to play D, 63%.

We start with a big run. Up 9 with 10 to go.

95-77. 49-22 in the 2nd half. 17, 10, 1, 3 for Harp. 6 others with 10 or more. +48 down low.

We end the regular season at 27-4, 15-3, tied for 1st in the MWC, but the #1 seed in the conf. tourney. #7, NET #4.

#1 in PPG, +17.7. +9.9 RBs, -3.9 TOs. #1 in shooting pct. With 52.4%.

Nate leads in scoring with 17.0, 6.6 RBs. Harp leads in RBs with 8.4, scores 16.9. 7 assists for Wolt.

[Wayne23]

3/7: We play #8 seed Air Force, 14-16, 5-13, in the quarter finals. We just played them and won by 18.

“Billie Bob Cramer, WNOL, Speaking of Sports. Coach Cash, #7 in the country, #4 NET. Any chance you can get a #1 seed?”

“Good question. If we win the MWC tourney we’ll probably get a #1 or a #2.”

“Can you win the tourney?”

“Can we? Sure. Will we? That remains to be seen. Right now all we’re thinking about is tomorrow’s game with Air Force.”

3/8: Close early. Up 3 after 10. 42-38 at halftime. 18, 5 for Harp.

Fast start to the 2nd half. Up 13 with 10 to go.

105-83. 28, 8, 4, 3 for Harp, 18, 6, 5, 4 for Pryl. Big edge inside.

“Jay Kaye, WNOU. Coach Cash, it took awhile tonight.”

“Same thing happened las time we played them. We got there but it took some time. Hopefully we’ll start stronger tomorrow.”

#4 seed Boise ST, 23-9, 11-7, in the semis. We split a pair of close games with them. We need to stop their outside game.

3/9: Back and forth early. Down 2 after 10. 44-44 at the half. Harp has 14 and 5.

Fast start to the 2nd half. Up 22 with 10 to play.

102-74. 26, 7 for Harp, 17, 3 for Pryl, 16, 4 for Nate. We owned the paint.

“Joe Hoop, SBC. Great win Coach Cash. But another slow start. Does that worry you?”

“Well it does, Joe. We’re playing a really good team in the title game and we’ll need to start fast. We don’t want to fall behind.”

“Marq Harp is red hot so far.”

“Yes he is. They may double him but if they do we’re usually good at finding the open man.”

#2 seed, #13 ranked New Mexico, 28-6, 15-3, in the title game. They won by 2 at their place and we won by 25 later at our place. They can play!

3/10: Slow start. Down 8 after 10. Then we come back. 46-37 at halftime. Balanced scoring. Nate has 3 fouls.

Holding our lead early. Up 13 with 10 to go. We get the lead to 20.

95-80 and the title. 22, 5 for tourney MOP Marq Harp. 13 assists for Wolt. 4 others with 11 or more. We controlled the paint.

Now to see how good a seed we get.

[Wayne23]

3/12: #2 East. We play #15 seed Bowling Green ST, 20-12. They’re good at the Point and in the middle.

3/16: We score the first 11. Up 19 after 10. 57-26 at the half. 11, 9 for Harp.

They cut into our lead a little early. Up 22 with 10 to play.

86-64. 18, 16 for Harp, 13, 9 for Nate, 12, 0, 9 for Wolt, 14, 5, 5, 3 for Caes.

#7 seed, #24 ranked Belmont, 24-10, in the 2nd round. They’re very good outside.

3/18: We score the first 10. Up 20 after 10. 65-46 at the break. 15, 7 for Wolf, 11, 3 for Harp. Big edge inside.

Up 30 with 10 left; it’s a rout.

112-88. 25, 11, 4 blocks for Wolf, 23, 14 for Harp. +48 for the bench.

Heading for the Sweet Sixteen vs. #6 seed, #15 ranked Kentucky, 24-12. We need to play good D and play the game in the paint.

[Wayne23]

3/23: Back and forth early. Up 4 after 10. Then a run! 59-46 at halftime. 16, 6 for Harp, 12, 3 for Nate. Huge edge inside where we’re playing the game, as we wanted to.

Lead goes to 20 early. Up 27 with 10 to go.

111-85. 34, 10 for Harp, 31, 9 for Nate. 92 in the paint!

“Dan Dee, ENPS. Coach Cash, your guys are on fire.”

“We’re playing well, especially inside.”

“How far can you go in the tournament?”

“We take it one game at a time, as you know. If we stay hot who knows how far we can go!”

It’s #4 seed, #12 ranked Illinois, 27-8, in the Elite Eight. They’re 4-1 vs. ranked teams. We’ll need to play really well.

3/25: We fall behind early. Down 3 after 10. It’s a battle! 41-51 at the half. 3 fouls for Harp. Their SG is killing us with 26 so far.

We catch up early. Up 1 with 10 to play. Late run!

93-88 and we’re going to our first Final Four! 14, 6 for Nate, 13, 6, 3 for Wear, 14, 3 for Harp. Great 2nd half D on their SG who got only 4 in the 2nd!