Western Illinois Sweet 16 stream in 30 minutes for 2023 NCAA tournament!
What’s happening? No. 10 seed Western Illinois is facing No. 6 seed Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA tournament in our ‘College Hoops 2K8’ sim. We’re going to watch the simulated game and live stream it on Twitch tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Where can I watch? My Twitch channel
Do I need to sign up for anything? No. You only have to create a free Twitch account if you want to comment in the live chat feature, which is always really fun and highly recommended.
IF WE WIN: We face the winner of No. 1 seed Kansas vs. No. 5 seed UAB in the Elite Eight tonight. We will sim and watch the Elite Eight game shortly after the buzzer in the Sweet 16 should we defeat the Buckeyes.
So no one is controlling the teams? That’s correct. I only do the recruiting and set the coaching strategies for Western Illinois. We are watching a simulated game.
I’ll be doing a pre-game press conference as soon as you get this email, so come hang out with me on Twitch.
Get caught up on this season: Read the start of Year 16 + Read about our wins over Louisville and Dayton to start the NCAA tournament.
Here’s a look at our roster entering the Sweet 16:
Here’s a look at Ohio State’s roster:
And here’s how the two teams matchup:
The Western Illinois Leathernecks are making back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances for the first time in program history. Honestly, I didn’t think we’d be here.
When our two best players — small forward Austen Kleinzweig and shooting guard Borislav Grimes — each declared for the NBA draft as juniors after the loss to Texas in the Sweet 16 last year, I figured we were in for a rebuilding year. We were set to have four new starters, with only our star center Roberto ‘Jorts’ Djordjevic returning to the lineup.
Instead, this team has proven me wrong at every turn. We shocked No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium to begin the season. We dropped a conference game to Southern Utah a month later, our first loss in the Summit League since Year 10, but rebounded to earn a No. 10 seed to the big dance. I thought we got a tough draw against a talented Louisville team in round one, but we were able to hang on for the win. After beating the Cards, we upset No. 2 seed Dayton.
Now all I can think about is hanging banner No. 3.
The biggest question heading into the Ohio State game: where does Jort rank among the program’s all-time greats? The 7’1 center broke every school scoring record during his senior season, tying for the NCAA lead by averaging 25.9 points per game while also becoming the first Leatherneck under Coach Rick to score 2,000 points in his career.
Jorts was excellent in the second half against Louisville and dominant throughout the night vs. Dayton. Is he the best center in program history? Is he the best player in program history? Like I said on the last stream, legends are made in March. If Jorts can deliver again tonight and lead us to the Final Four, there should be no doubt he’s one of the very best to ever put on the Western Illinois uniform.
Stat of the day
This comes from reader James:
Do you realize, coach, that your 23 NCAA tournament victories - by age 40, no less - are already 12th on the active coaching list?! And the clip at which you've won; I mean man... despite being chronically under-seeded, you've gone 23-9 in the NCAA tournament. That's a .719 winning percentage; that's better than Izzo, better than Self, better than Jay Wright. Just wanted to keep before your eyes that you're in the middle of putting together a singularly great coaching resume at a place no one would have ever expected. Good luck tomorrow, Coach; smash the Buckeyes. Go Necks!
The bracket contest will also continue tonight. I posted the leaderboard at the bottom of the last post. Thanks so much Sean Vinsel from Hoops Insight for making it possible.
If we lose tonight, we’ll sim the tournament and reveal the winners of the bracket contest. If we win both games, the Final Four stream will be tentatively scheduled for Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET
I’m on Twitch now, so come hang out.
ALSO IT’S MY BIRTHDAY SO YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE.
Go ‘Necks.