Let me first say that I am still in a warm and fuzzy place over how well this team has performed over the past 8 days. In 25 years of broadcasting games and another 5 years as the in-house announcer before that and years and years of being a student and then season ticket holder, I cannot remember a better four game run...ever.

That includes the Balanis, Parkhill and Woollum eras. The sheer dominance of this team, over the past week, is nothing short of remarkable. I truly hope the players realize just how good they can be when the play this unselfishly. The NCAA will have to deal with the Forgotten Five getting a WHOLE LOT smaller if this style of play continues. WHAT a turnaround!


Ponder the sheer craziness of these stats over the last 4 Games:

Average Points per Game: 95.0
Average Points allowed: 72.5
Average margin of victory: 22.5


Average Field Goal Pct per game: 60.0%
Average 3pt Shooting Pct per game: 48.9%
Average Foul Shooting per game: 69.7%


Actual Shooting pct over 4 games: 60.2% (142 of 236)
Actual 3 pt pct over 4 games: 50.5% (46 of 91)
Actual Free Throw pct over 4 games: 72.4% (50 of 69)


Number of Halfs shooting over 50%: 7 of 8
Number of Halfs shooting over 60%: 5 of 8
(If someone had taken and made 1 more shot in the First Half of the Delaware game, it would have been a clean sweep, 8 of 8, shooting 50%. -11 of 23-)


Rebounds per Game: 36.0 (144 boards total)
Opponents RB per game: 29.5 (118 boards)

Blocks per Game: 8.8 (35 blocks)

Average Assist to Made Baskets: 70.3% of all baskets with an assist
Actual Assists to Baskets Total: 70% of all baskets (99 of 142)



Average points by leading scorer: 27.3 ppg (Dixon - 28, 32, 21; Prewitt 28)
Average points by next scorer: 20.3 ppg (Whitman 16, Dixon 27, Prewitt 24, Malinowski 14)




These numbers simply boggle the mind. I only did a quick sweep through past records, but I can't find any other 4 game stretch (especially against D-1 opponents) that compares. (Actually, after you go back to a certain point it is hard to find 4 game winning streaks...period)

The closest 4 game string I could find belongs to the Jimmy Moran/Charlie Woollum 1997-1998 squad that averaged 80.5 ppg over four wins in January of 1998. The next closest was the Keith Cieplicki/Bruce Parkhill group that averaged 77.8 ppg in 1983 and the 1962-63 Tribe (with, I believe, a backup guard named Charlie Woollum, also scored 77.8 ppg over a four game stretch (part of a five game winning streak).


So, this current squad not only topped the record for average points over 4 games, they blew the thing to complete and utter smithereens!
I guess the Come to Jesus meeting last Monday was the key. As a long suffering Tribe fan, I want this to continue.


Go Tribe!!