But the final showing was not representative of who’d they recently been. Delaware was coming off an 83-80 victory over Sam Houston State, which will be the league tournament’s second seed.

They’d also won four of eight before Saturday, which followed a near home upset of regular-season champion Liberty and included an excruciating overtime home loss to Western Kentucky in which the Hens trailed only in the opening seconds of the game and the final moments of OT.

“We’ve dealt with a lot this year,” Ingelsby said. “Obviously, the injuries, adversity, clarity on our roster.

“I’m a competitive dude. So it doesn’t sit well with me. You’re not happy with how overall this season went, obviously going into the league and trying to figure it out.”

Critical offseason looms

In the end, too many players playing too many minutes was part of those struggles. Christian Bliss was first nationally, Justyn Fernandez was fifth and Macon Emory eighth in minutes per game entering Saturday

But those three, in particular, showed how good they are, which is why Delaware won as much as it did. Same with Tyler Houser, though the knee injury he sustained in that WKU game could sideline him all next year.

So Delaware has several very good players. It just needs to retain those it has, such as the aforementioned group, and get more.

That is, of course, easier said than done. But it will be up to Ingelsby, whose contract extends through the 2028-29 season, and his staff to ensure it does, when the transfer portal opens after the Final Four.

“I’m optimistic,” Ingelsby said. “I think we were damn close this year with being dealt a tough hand with all the injuries. We put a good team together but never got a sense to see that team kind of play and grow and learn through the ups and downs of the season.

“But I’m confident that the right players, the right coaching staff, the right support, which we’re getting, that we can be very good in this league.”

“I’ll thank them forever”

Houston Emory, feted in Senior Day ceremonies Saturday, is the only one of Delaware’s remaining 12 scholarship players after Nnanna Njoku’s departure who has completed his eligibility. What a modern-day oddity he is, having spent his entire career at one school.

Delaware has signed one incoming freshman, Jafet Valencia, a 6-7, 200-pound guard from Leesburg, Virginia, and Evergreen Christian School. Ingelsby said he’ll likely be the only one.

“Today was not a semblance of what this team was able to do and how they competed for Delaware men’s basketball,” Ingelsby said, “the University of Delaware, with as tough of a hand as I’ve experienced in my 20-plus years in college basketball.

“We got six scholarship guys out there, two freshmen. Those guys that were there every day, I’ll thank them forever for everything that they gave this program.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.