Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The A-10 Tournament is taking place in Washington, DC, this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel keeps it going with a recap of the quarterfinal quadruple-header on Friday.
I was thrilled to devour the healthiest pregame meal I have had all month: chicken/fish/salad/cheddar mashed potatoes/veggies/chocolate chip cookie!
Let’s tip it off:
GAME #1: Davidson vs. Fordham
After a couple of days of limited attendance there was a lot of red in the stands so hopefully we will continue to see a good turnout the rest of this weekend.
Ukrainian big man Rostyslav Novitskyi made his 1st career start and kept the Rams within striking distance in the 1st half with 13 of his team’s 1st 24 PTS. Sadly, his teammates shot 0-12 from the 3-PT line during the 20 minutes and trailed 40-24 at halftime.
The Wildcats kept shooting well all game long and had a balanced scoring effort with 7 different guys who each scored 8-15 PTS as they won it 74-56.
In the postgame press conference I asked Davidson G Foster Loyer how his team could win handily despite conference POY Luka Brajkovic only having 6 PTS/1 REB. He said that it is because his team has a lot of weapons: anyone can step up by understanding their role and then succeeding in that role. He also said they need to keep Luka out of foul trouble.
I wondered if Davidson coach Bob McKillop (who just earned career conference tourney win #43) felt that winning postseason games got easier or harder over time. He admitted that while it is a fun experience for the fans it is an anxiety-filled experience for the coaches, as your entire season can come down to 1 possession. Even today he claimed to have anxiety when driving to the arena and preparing in the locker room.
GAME #2: St. Bonaventure vs. St. Louis
The Bonnies had a very good turnout from both students/alumni:
St. Louis big man Francis Okoro scored 14 PTS/5-5 FG in the 1st half to help his team build a 26-22 lead at halftime. His teammate Gibson Jimerson ended up making 6-9 shots from behind the arc (the entire Bonnies team combined to make 5-20), but Reilly the Bona Wolf continued to have faith in his team:
Unlike Game #1 this 1 went down to the wire: Jimerson made a baseline jumper with 17 seconds left to give his team a 57-56 lead, then St. Bonaventure SR Kyle Lofton was fouled with 1.8 seconds left. He has shot better than 80% from the line during each of the past 4 years…so of course he stunned everyone in the arena by missing a pair of freebies in a 1-PT upset by the Billikens.
In the postgame press conference I asked St. Louis PG Yuri Collins about how it felt to see Lofton step to the line with a chance to win it. He said that instead of worrying about whether he would make the 2 shots he was just focused on doing whatever they had to do to finish the game off.
GAME #3: Dayton vs. UMass
If you had any questions about the intensity of the Dayton band, Exhibit A is their bandleader’s light-up jacket!
Even (Dayton FR Kobe) Elvis has entered the building!
Flyers FR big man DaRon Holmes II had a big 1st half with 16 PTS/6-8 FG but UMass kept it clean with only 2 turnovers en route to building a 36-34 halftime lead. UMass G TJ Weeks limped off with a leg injury with 15 minutes left and headed directly for the locker room, but Noah Fernandes had another huge game in his absence with 26 PTS for the Minutemen. I expected Holmes to run out of gas but he had the game of his life and set a career-high with 28 PTS as Dayton hung on for dear life to win 75-72.
In the postgame press conference I asked Flyers F Toumani Camara about the progression of Holmes over the past several months. He said that it is because his teammate works so hard and trusts the process, which is why he had a great game.
I tried to see if Dayton coach Anthony Grant had any concerns about his star freshman playing too many minutes toward the end of the season (he has averaged 37 minutes/game during the past 4 games), but he shot down my theory and said that Holmes is good and will not get burned out.
GAME #4: VCU vs. Richmond
I made it through the 1st 20 minutes of the Battle of Richmond before heading out, even though it was the best-attended game all week:
Spiders SR Jacob Gilyard is already the greatest stealer in NCAA history (460 and counting), but when he can also dominate on offense (32 PTS/7-12 3PM/7-7- FT while playing all 40 minutes) he becomes 1 of the best players in this conference. Richmond beat their in-city rival 75-64 to stay alive as the lowest seed remaining in this tourney.
That is a wrap for tonight, check back tomorrow for a Saturday semifinal doubleheader!