Cinderella's Broken Slipper
And so it ends. The UWM Panther's road to the Final Four came to a stop in Chicago on Thursday at the Rosemont. The Panther's fell to the #1 ranked Illinois Fightin' Illini. They put up a valiant effort, but in the end the Illini the guard trio of Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head proved to be too much.
The Panther's put up a hell of a fight. They really did. UWM's Joah Tucker (who returns next year) put up a career best 32 points. This time around though, Ed McCants couldn't connect from 3 point land. Regardless, Bruce Pearl and this squad of Panthers will be long remembered. Hopefully, it's the beginning of good things to come.
UWM overcame quite a surprising amount. They were the lowest seed to make the Sweet 16 at #12. In front of them lied an incredibly difficult road to make the Final Four. They knocked off the #5 Alabama Crimson Tide and #4 Boston College Eagles in the Chicago Regional. It didn't get any easier with #1 Illinois in the next round. Had the Illini fallen to UWM, the Panthers would have faced #3 seeded Arizona, who dispatched #2 seeded Oklahoma St. That would have been one helluva trip. The path was not kind at all, but the did enough damage along the way put the school on the college basektball map.
Every year mabye 10 teams in the tournament have a legitimate shot at actually winning the title. After the first weekend 48 teams get eliminated from the tournament. The Panthers survived. Most small schools only of dream of making the Sweet 16. The UWM Panthers have done it in their 2nd NCAA tournament appearance. They are three time Horizon Leauge Champions- winning the conference back-to-back and winning the Horizon League tournament 2 of the past three years. They are building a foundation for the future that will only get better, if they can retain Coach Bruce Pearl. They ignited the hearts of fans and captured a city's interest for a few weeks. It hasn't struck midnight yet for Cinderella.
The Panther's put up a hell of a fight. They really did. UWM's Joah Tucker (who returns next year) put up a career best 32 points. This time around though, Ed McCants couldn't connect from 3 point land. Regardless, Bruce Pearl and this squad of Panthers will be long remembered. Hopefully, it's the beginning of good things to come.
UWM overcame quite a surprising amount. They were the lowest seed to make the Sweet 16 at #12. In front of them lied an incredibly difficult road to make the Final Four. They knocked off the #5 Alabama Crimson Tide and #4 Boston College Eagles in the Chicago Regional. It didn't get any easier with #1 Illinois in the next round. Had the Illini fallen to UWM, the Panthers would have faced #3 seeded Arizona, who dispatched #2 seeded Oklahoma St. That would have been one helluva trip. The path was not kind at all, but the did enough damage along the way put the school on the college basektball map.
Every year mabye 10 teams in the tournament have a legitimate shot at actually winning the title. After the first weekend 48 teams get eliminated from the tournament. The Panthers survived. Most small schools only of dream of making the Sweet 16. The UWM Panthers have done it in their 2nd NCAA tournament appearance. They are three time Horizon Leauge Champions- winning the conference back-to-back and winning the Horizon League tournament 2 of the past three years. They are building a foundation for the future that will only get better, if they can retain Coach Bruce Pearl. They ignited the hearts of fans and captured a city's interest for a few weeks. It hasn't struck midnight yet for Cinderella.
posted by frznbullet at
12:50 AM
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