Playoff loss ends Mac’s Final Eight bid

By: Jaycee Cruz

The playoff road is never easy. The season comes down to one game and nothing is guaranteed. Unfortunately, the McMaster men’s basketball team experienced an abrupt end to their season following an 85-70 loss last weekend to No. 5-seed Windsor.

The game was close in the first half and a battle in the second half, but Windsor eventually blew the game open in the fourth quarter. Mac suffered too many blows from different angles in such a short period of time, which made it difficult for them to make up lost ground.

“I think it was a combination of factors. We got destroyed on the glass and I think rebounding matters the most in basketball. Transition defense was another area where we got hurt the most,” said head coach Amos Connolly.

“We got hurt in every way imaginable. Bad fouls, Adam Presutti getting hurt, Aaron Redpath struggling from the field and having to play a lot of point guard for us and Windsor’s ability to take Joe Rocca out of the mix in the second half.”

Add all those things to the fact that Windsor seemed to have an easier time scoring baskets and you don’t have a good combination.

“They seemed to score quite easily, whereas we had to battle to get baskets. You walk out of that game and you feel like you got beat up,” said Connolly. “I think that emotionally there may have been a little bit of ‘playing afraid to lose’ on our side. I think there was a little more pressure on our guys and I don’t think they responded very well to that.”

Windsor walked into Burridge last Saturday wanting to silence the maroon faithful by stealing a victory on the road. Mac, on the other hand, had the pressure of defending home court and beating a tough team in order to advance.

“It was a must-win game for us and the target was on our back. I think Windsor came into that game with a mental advantage just because they felt like they had to prove someone wrong whereas our guys were hoping to get through that game and make some noise at nationals,” Connolly said.

On an afternoon where things needed to go well for Mac, things went the opposite way and resulted in a loss.

Despite a sudden end to what was still an impressive campaign, Marauder basketball has taken steps forward, even though the casual observer may be tempted to think otherwise.

“Since we didn’t get to nationals it would be viewed as a step backwards but I think this program took a step forward in terms of the level we competed at the entire year,” Connolly said.

“The trip to nationals was easier last year. The funny thing is that we made nationals last year but we were never ranked higher than No. 8 in the country. We were ranked No. 4 most of this year. I think we have a higher basic standard of play right now.”

Over the past two years, Mac basketball has been ranked in the top five nationally. They lost four games this year. Three of those four losses came to teams ranked higher. Their next step is to find out how to beat those top three teams so that they can crack into that tier.

“A concern I have is that the losses this year were on average by 15 to 17 points so something is missing. That’s what we spend the offseason trying to figure out,” said Connolly.

“How do we take that next step? We’ve taken that top-ten step; top-seven step, top-five step and now we need to figure out how to take that top-three step.”

With the team taking a small break right now, coaches are already digging deep for how to improve and what needs to change.

In addition, Mac has to deal with the reality of losing Taylor Black and potentially also Adam Presutti. Several things are already on the to-do list for this offseason. Fostering leadership within the team, working on rebounding with an undersized team and improving on defense are upon the forefront of the coaching staff’s mind.

The saying that “championships are won in the offseason” is true and that’s why Mac basketball is already getting back to work.

“There are all kinds of schools all over the place that don’t get to nationals and I understand that, but that’s not what we’re doing here,” Connolly said.

“That’s not the legacy that was created. There’s a different expectation here.”