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Message: [QUOTE="DrZzzz, post: 3466906, member: 9675"] Hmmm. At the start of the season I firmly believed we'd make the tourney. I wasn't expecting Gilbert to regress, I figured he'd show a little to a bit of improvement. I figured Carlton would improve a bit as well. And I certainly didn't expect season ending injuries to 2 starters. Polley hurt because he had 11 boards before he went out, and I don't think he'd ever had more than 5 boards his whole CAREER. Akok hurt because the only 2 basketball players I know of that played good ball after an Achilles tear are Sabonis and Dominique. It hurt to see such a great kid suffer an injury like that. Akok is much younger than they were and surgical techniques are much better in 2020, so I am hoping he will have a great pro career regardless of injury. Having said that, I am optimistic about our tourney chances. The AAC has been ranked anywhere from the 6th to 8th best conference the last 7 years, and has had 2-4 teams sent to the tourney in that span (not counting this year). If this is a 4 team year, we should be in, especially if we don't blow it this weekend. If we win a game or two in the conference tourney, I like our odds. We could very well be out even if we win 2 more games (let's say only 2 AAC teams get in). But the NCAA likes drama and underdogs. And we are dogs, and underdogs. "Former 4X NCAA champs return to the tourney for the first time since 2016 despite losing 2 starters to season ending injuries" has a nice ring to it. We have one of the most exciting freshman in UConn history on our team, and Vital doesn't want to go out like that. We are playing our best ball of the year. These kids play harder than any UConn team I've seen. That's my opinion. I wouldn't be surprised if we win our conference tourney, even though we have little size or depth. We are hot right now. If the AAC gets 3 or more teams in the tourney, we DESERVE to be one of them. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach