University of Maine
New Hampshire
Inside the Black Bears - 'Two Wins'
1/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Our last week off from class for Winter Break featured an interesting schedule. After taking the day off on Sunday, we had two days to get ready to play at UMass-Lowell on Wednesday - at 11 AM. It was an idea Pat Duquette and I talked about last year when we played down at Lowell, in a snowstorm that kept a lot of fans away. We talked about trying to play during the day. A lot of schools in our league are having "Education Days" where they try and invite some local elementary schools to the game. The 11 AM tip allows the kids to get back to school to catch the buses or get picked-up, so their schedule isn't altered much.
On Friday we were hosting our own Education Day by hosting Albany at 12 noon, trying again to get some schools in the crowd. So we faced a week with consecutive early starts, something you don't do that often. It really wasn't a big deal to us, and didn't have much effect on the way we prepared. We had played last Saturday at 1:00 at UMBC, so we were used to having breakfast as our pre-game meal. We just continued with practices in the morning during the week so our guys would stay used to getting up and being ready to go.
Lowell was an important game for us, because it was the first game in a while where our defense dictated the way the game was played. Our pressure really controlled the game, forcing 13 first half turnovers and never allowing Lowell to get comfortable running their offense. In a league full of teams that really focus on executing their offense, we want our pressure to be disruptive and different. It was definitely disruptive on Wednesday.
I also liked the mental toughness that showed on Wednesday. We had control of the game most of the way, but Lowell battled back and cut our lead to one in the second half. I liked the composure we showed when they cut the lead, and the fact that we were able to get it back up to 20 and put the game away says a lot about our mental toughness. Hopefully it's a sign that we are maturing as a program and expecting to have success.
We only had one day of preparation for the best team in the league, Albany, who came to town for a noon tip on Friday. There's no question the Lowell win gave us more confidence, and we prepared well on Thursday at practice. We also got a boost having Issac Vann back at practice for the first time in 7 weeks. He looked fine in practice, but I really wasn't sure he should play. After so much time off, I felt like he needed a couple of more days to get his legs under him and get his timing back. But I met with my assistants the morning of the game, and they were all pretty sure Issac would be fine and needed to get some minutes. Man am I glad I listened to them.
Albany has been the class of the league in recent years, having gone 24-1 in their last 25 games and winning 3 straight league championships. Will Brown has done a terrific job building a championship program and they are in close games all of the time and always find a way to win. To be able to pull off a win, especially in a close game where we had to make plays down the stretch, was big for us. Even when we made mistakes down the stretch - defensive breakdowns, turnovers and poor decisions - we kept our composure and found a way to make plays. I was really impressed with the way we got to the rim against what is usually the best defensive team in the league. Our offense continues to hum with confidence and our guys are enjoying playing together. The win capped off a fun 2-0 week and we are feeling good having won 4 of our last 6 games.
We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, especially on the defensive end. We have to learn how to handle success - we talked about enjoying the way it feels to win, but understanding we have to get better. But hopefully a win like that boosts our confidence and shows us what we are capable of as a team. We are still trying to get to the point where we expect to win, and we are confronting the losing habits we are comfortable with.
It was a good win for us, and I really thought our crowd helped us. The energy and knowledge in the crowd is clear and it really helps us. As we start to fill the building, the Cross Center can really become a nightmare for opposing teams.
We really appreciate the support. Hopefully we'll see you Monday for UNH.
