Under the Radar Game of the Day: Northwestern State at Centenary, 7:00 PM
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On February 24, 2011, the Centenary Gents defeated Western Illinois 73-60 at home in Shreveport for their first and only win of the 2010-11 season. Two nights later, they lost at home to IUPUI by a score of 78-57. That was the last game that the Gents played at the Division I level, as the following season they began their transition down to Division III. Centenary finished in 9th place in the Summit League that season, failing to qualify for the conference tournament and easily claiming the title of the worst team in Division I. In honor of their final season, the HOOPS HD crew’s Mock NCAA Tournament Committee voted Centenary onto our “Under Consideration” board for an at-large bid and left them on it for the entire selection process (but they did not get voted into our tournament field for some odd reason). The following year, we created the “Centenary Award”, given to the worst team each season and rewarding that school with a place on our mock tournament “Under Consideration” board. Towson, Southern Utah and Grambling (twice) have taken the award over the past four years. Tonight, we are not only honoring the Centenary Award though. Tonight, we are also honoring the team that created it. Tonight, for the first time since February 2011, the Gents (7-3 this season) will play host to a Division I opponent as they welcome in the Northwestern State Demons.
Northwestern State is among the group of teams with a chance to claim the Centenary Award this year as they enter play tonight with a record of 2-7, both wins having come over non-D1 competition. Further, the Demons lost a home game on November 16 to LSU-Alexandria. A second non-D1 loss tonight, especially against the team that we named the award after, will place them under serious consideration. The good news for Northwestern State is that Southland Conference play begins on Saturday, and their slate is basically wiped clean as they try to play for a spot in the SLC Tournament and seeding within it. The Demons biggest problem this season has been their Tempo. They have been one of the fastest moving teams in the country the past ten years, finishing in or near the Top 10 in that category all but once. Entering pay tonight, their tempo is ranked 57th, incredibly slow for Mike McConathy’s squad. Zeek Woodley has led the way for the Demons so far this season but will need to get more help from his teammates if they want to turn their season around.