It’s March, which for me is easily the best month of the year in sports. And it’s because of college basketball, my favorite sport. Even though the Final Four is in April, that’s kind of anti-climactic, unless my team is playing then. It’s March, where there’s so much drama, and every game (more so than at any other time) means everything. Teams don’t get to lose often in March. One loss can end your season. For a lot of teams, it’s win or go home.
Which leads us to our Hawaii basketball team. It’s been a season to remember, with a lot of ups and downs. But starting next week, it’s win or go home for our team in green and white. Let’s look back at last week, though.
UH got a win vs Cal State Fullerton – a much needed win, and an impressive win. Every player contributed in this victory. Going into Saturday night, senior night vs UC Riverside, I assumed Hawaii would win , and force a four-way tie for second place. I was confident that they wouldn’t lose on senior night like they did last year. The defense did their job, but the offense didn’t do their part. The three starting guards combined to go 6-32. Drew Buggs didn’t have an assist for the first time this season. I was shocked that UH had only made two three-pointers in the game and shot 5-24 overall in the second half. I felt bad, more so for our two seniors, Eddie Stansberry and Zigmars Raimo. Both gave their all every game this season. I felt bad knowing I wouldn’t get to watch them play here ever again. They both realized it as well, and were pretty emotional.
The main way to get over that is to keep winning. I know some of you might disagree with me, but I still feel that this team can get back to their winning ways. It would be great if they can get one or two wins this week on the road, playing UC Davis and CSUN, two teams they have beaten at home in January. Hopefully, they can get a little confidence and momentum for the Big West Tournament, which starts on March 12th in Anaheim. As of now, UH could finish anywhere between second and seventh place, which is amazing with only two games left. They could end up playing any of six teams in the first round of the tournament. It’s impossible to say which team that might be.
As I wrote earlier, March is special for college basketball players and fans. It also can be pretty depressing if your team ends their season earlier than expected. We’ve experienced that the last three years, with UH losing in the first round those years, all by one point. I really hope this year is different, please let it be different. These players deserve to taste victory in March. And I might be greedy here, but I want them to taste victory multiple times starting next week. Are you with me on this?
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