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Message: [QUOTE="Huskee11, post: 5220935, member: 7171"] Lots of great posts here, terrific analysis. I am a season ticket holder at both venues. I have had the opportunity - privilege is more accurate - to see every home game this season plus the Hall of Fame game and the Big East final. It absolutely feels like this should be the year. This team has come a long, long way since the beginning of the season. Most notably, the defense is totally locked in over the latter part of the season. There is a tenacity about it and when team leaders like Paige and Azzi play as hard as they do on the defensive end, it sets a standard. Chen is better defensively than we could have imagined. And Sarah is simply an incredible defender, ballhawk, rebounder, and shot blocker. Then throw in Shade and KK, demons off the bench. And of course, Aubrey - really hoping she can go at the level she was playing at the end of the regular season. She is the wild card, the difference maker. The team defense is simply remarkable. They are all on the same page. Great communication and focus. This is the last rodeo for Paige and the urgency is there. The thing that struck me about the South Carolina game is that we did not shoot it all that well in the first half, and we were still up big. I think Azzi was 2-10 at that point. I was at the Final Fours in 2018 and 2019, and experienced first hand the heartbreak of losing those semifinal matchups against some team from the midwest. I saw the 2020 season come to an end after a convincing AAC Tournament championship win. 2021-2024 seems like a blur, all running together, like one thing after another. Too many injuries, too many minutes over the course of the year, not enough players, too many bad breaks. We have depth, are reasonably healthy, and have not had to log insane minutes. There also does not appear to be a prohibitive favorite this year. However, we do need the ball to go through the hoop. Making hoops also sets up the defensive pressure. We are reliant on outside shooting. As long as we don't go frigid cold from the floor, I like our chances. A lot. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach