Men’s Finish
It seems to me that we lost our Round of 32 game long before we even got there by not taking care of business against teams like Minnesota, Nebraska, and Rutgers. The embarrassing home loss to Michigan didn’t help either. While there were no guaranteed wins, I would have much rather faced teams like Kentucky, Iowa State, Wisconsin, or Texas Tech. Tennessee was competing for a No. 1 seed all season, and our young Bruins just weren’t ready to match up against their experienced upperclassmen. We must remember the Bruins were led by a bunch of sophomores for much of the year.
Cronin
I find myself liking Cronin much more in the offseason than during the season. That said, a lot of great coaches were eliminated this weekend—guys like Pitino and Scott Drew. Cronin is a good coach with flaws, and while I’ll continue to support him for now, there are definitely areas where I’d like to see improvement.
The Team Moving Forward
As I mentioned, the core of this team is made up of underclassmen. Dailey, Bilodeau, Mara, and Perry should all continue to develop. I’m eager to see how the redshirt players return next season. Clark was solid down the stretch, and I expect him to come back even stronger.
After defending DA all season, I just don’t have it in me to keep doing it. His turnovers were the biggest disappointment, and I don’t see him getting much stronger with the ball. To take the next step as a team, I think we have two major needs:
A strong offensive wing—someone around 6’7” who can create his own shot. If he were to be a plus defender that would be ideal. Any portal guys fit that need?
A stronger post defender—maybe some of our current players can improve in that area over the summer. I’d love to see Mara add 15 pounds of muscle. If that were to happen, I would worry less about this concern.
Speaking of Mara, I don’t think it’s a done deal that he returns. His postgame comments seemed noncommittal, and honestly, I wouldn’t blame him. I don’t think he was always used effectively, and I’m not convinced Cronin is committed to starting him. That’s frustrating because I think 90% of NCAA teams would love to have him as their starting center.
Women’s Game
Gabby had a tough game, but I have no doubt she’ll be ready for Mississippi. Having said that, she's always a great defender. I loved seeing Betts crash the offensive boards—that’s exactly what I was hoping for earlier this season when I said she needed to be a dominant force on offense, even when teams deny her the entry pass. When you’re facing triple teams, scoring is always going to be a challenge, but she can still take her game to the next level by becoming an even bigger presence on the glass.
Go Lady Bruins!