repeat performances

Does success breed confidence or does familiarity breed contempt?  In the past, Wahoo's predominantly Class C1 schedule had presented them with unfamiliar foes in the Class B tournaments.  Of the twenty teams Wahoo had faced in district tournaments the previous seven years, only four had been on Wahoo's regular season schedule (Ashland 1989, 1990, 1991 and Elkhorn Mt. Michael 1992).  Wahoo's 1995 tournament opponents (Valley, Wahoo Neumann) had already played Wahoo.  Perhaps this would be an advantage for Wahoo, as they already knew their opponents.  Also, they had defeated both rather soundly, a 73 – 53 win over Neumann, and Valley 109 – 65.  That experience might make the Warriors confident enough to balance any district tournament jitters.  And it might produce an intimidation factor over its opponents.  But it could also make them complacent.    While the 1995 Warriors had shown an ability to rise to the challenge of "big games," they had also shown a tendency for slow starts and lackluster performances against inferior opponents. 

It would seem that a team with an undefeated record, a 44 game win streak, and an average margin of victory of 28 points, would have momentum on its side going into district tournament play.  But it didn't quite feel that way for the 1995 Warriors.  The Warriors had struggled a bit in their final two regular season games, and although the young team now had considerable experience, many of the players were new to tournament play.  Losing any of their other games would have been a big disappointment, but now a loss would end their season.  For Wahoo teams by 1995, a trip to the state tournament was more of an expectation than a goal.  The 1995 Warriors had met the challenge the entire season, it remained to be seen if they could stand up to the pressure of a district tournament.