Under The Radar Postseason News, Notes and NIT/CBI Games – Tuesday, March 13th

Posted on March 13, 2018 by John Stalica

For last night’s Hoops HD Report where we preview the NCAA Tournament and unveil the AC8 field – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s NCAA Tournament Interviews:
SFA Head Coach Kyle Keller – CLICK HERE
Florida State SF Phil Cofer – CLICK HERE
KPI Creator Kevin Pauga – CLICK HERE
Lipscomb SG Garrison Mathews – CLICK HERE
Lipscomb Head Coach Casey Alexander – CLICK HERE
Charleston Assistant Coach JD Powell – CLICK HERE
Wright State SG Grant Benzinger – CLICK HERE
South Dakota State SG David Jenkins Jr. – CLICK HERE
UNC-Greensboro Head Coach Wes Miller – CLICK HERE
Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie – CLICK HERE
Murray State PF Terrell Miller Jr. – CLICK HERE
Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett – CLICK HERE

-The Team of the People had a historic night last night – despite a late run from top-seeded and 3rd ranked Western Oregon that saw a 10-point lead cut down to 2, Cal Baptist was able to seal the game with free throws and won their first (and only) West regional 80-76 in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Kalidou Diouf was named Most Outstanding Player for the regional. In the meantime, Cal Baptist will find out their next opponent in the Elite Eight later tonight – the other 7 regional finals will be played tonight and the teams will be reseeded for the Elite Eight that will begin next Tuesday.

-There were also a number of coaching vacancies that were filled yesterday – Lorenzo Romar will be the next head coach at Pepperdine, although he will remain as an assistant at Arizona as long as the Wildcats remain in the NCAA Tournament. Rodney Terry will move on from Fresno State and take the UTEP job full-time after Tim Floyd resigned earlier in the year. Last, and certainly not least, Mark Gottfried will return to the coaching ranks by accepting the head coaching position at Cal State-Northridge.

-There were also 4 CIT games that were played last night – all of which were “Classics” televised on CBS Sports Network. Central Michigan was the only road team that won – they beat Fort Wayne in the Hugh Durham Classic. One game went overtime – Drake beat Abilene Christian in the Lou Henson Classic. In the later games, Liberty beat North Carolina A&T in the Jim Phelan Classic and San Diego beat Hartford in the Riley Wallace Classic. Their opponents will be determined after the remaining 4 first-round games are complete.

NIT

(7) NORTHERN KENTUCKY AT (2) LOUISVILLE (7:00 PM, ESPN). While the Norse were upset early in the Horizon tournament, they appear to be the far more enthusiastic team in this matchup where they make the short drive down I-71 to face off against in-state foe Louisville in the first round.

(8) WAGNER AT (1) BAYLOR (7:00 PM, ESPN2). Wagner qualified for the NIT by virtue of their regular-season championship in the Northeast Conference, but they appear to be overmatched by a Baylor team that is ranked #2 overall in the NIT. Question is – will Baylor mail it in, or will they make a run at their 2nd NIT title under Scott Drew?

(5) BOSTON COLLEGE AT (4) WESTERN KENTUCKY (8:00 PM, ESPN3/WatchESPN). Boston College had a decent showing in the ACC Tournament where they beat Georgia Tech and NC State, whereas Western Kentucky came up just short against Marshall in the C-USA Championship despite a furious run late in that game.

(6) VERMONT AT (3) MIDDLE TENNESSEE (8:00 PM, ESPNU). Both the Catamounts and Blue Raiders were fixtures in our UTR Top 10 all year, but both teams ended up outside the NCAA Tournament after late-season stumbles. This might be the best matchup of the day.

(7) FLORIDA GULF COAST AT (2) OKLAHOMA STATE (9:00 PM, ESPN2). Oklahoma State may have been the biggest NCAA snub according to our Hoops HD Committee, but they can’t brood over their exclusion against a Gulf Coast team that looked hot at times (but unfortunately cold at the wrong time) during the A-Sun Tournament.

(8) HAMPTON AT (1) NOTRE DAME (9:00 PM, ESPN). The Irish were the first team left out of the NCAA Tournament and are thus the top overall seed in the NIT. They will be hosting a Hampton team that will more likely than not be playing their last game as a member of the MEAC (as they are joining the Big South in 2018-19).

(8) SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA AT (1) SAINT MARY’S (10:00 PM, ESPNU). The Gaels are seeded #3 overall among the #1 seeds in the NIT, but they arguably will be facing off against the most dangerous #8 seed in this field.

(6) RIDER AT (3) OREGON (10:00 PM, ESPN3/WatchESPN). This is another potential upset special in this tournament. However, Oregon did improve as the season went on (while Rider had an early exit in the MAAC Tournament).

(8) UNC-ASHEVILLE AT (1) USC (11:00 PM, ESPN2). USC was the most vocal of the First Four teams out of the NCAA field, but now have to get back to business against an Asheville team that lost in the Big South semifinals on their home court against Liberty.

CBI

EASTERN WASHINGTON AT UTAH VALLEY (9:oo PM, CLICK HERE for Live Stream). Eastern Washington lost a tough game in the Big Sky championship, but did lead Montana for a good portion of that game. They’ll have a taller task when they go on the road to Utah Valley – the Wolverines had also beaten New Mexico State at home earlier in the season.

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The Hoops HD Report: NCAA Tournament Edition

Posted on March 12, 2018 by David Griggs

We begin tonight by discussing what we think the committee got right, what we think they got wrong, what we think they were very close to getting disastrously wrong.  We then look at the bracket itself and preview all the First Round games, and collectively fill out the bracket as we go.  In closing, we reveal this year’s Hoops HD AC8 field!!

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio file of our show….

 

NCAA TOURNAMENT: TUESDAY, MARCH 13TH (FIRST FOUR)

-#16 LIU BROOKLYN VS #16 RADFORD (East Region).  Both teams play in rather weak, albeit very exciting, conferences.  Neither team was a first place finisher.  Radford did have the better season and has won seven straight coming into this game, and probably has the higher amount of momentum built up between the two teams.  The winner moves on to face Villanova in the Round of 64.

-#11 SAINT BONAVENTURE VS #11 UCLA (Midwest Region).  Both teams won a lot of games, but had limited wins against other tournament caliber teams.  That’s why they’re in the First Four.  I think UCLA, with wins over Kentucky and USC, clearly put together the better resume, but none of that matters today.  The winner will face Florida in the Round of 64.

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Stephen F. Austin coach Kyle Keller

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Jon Teitel

On Saturday Stephen F. Austin beat SE Louisiana in the Southland tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Lumberjacks made the CIT before losing to Idaho in 2017, but bounced back this year to claim the school’s 4th NCAA tourney bid in the past 5 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Coach Keller about his vast NCAA tourney experience as an assistant and what it will feel like to face his longtime friend Chris Beard on Thursday night in his hometown of Dallas.

You had a 1-PT loss at Missouri back in December: how close did you come to beating the Tigers, and what did your team learn from playing a fellow NCAA tourney team? They have a great team: I think Coach Cuonzo Martin’s will can impact his entire roster. No disrespect to former coach Kim Anderson but I think they needed a change and a fresh coat of paint.

All you had to do last week to return to the NCAA tourney for the 4th time in the last 5 years was beat the Southland POY (Central Arkansas PG Jordan Howard)/COY (Nicholls State head coach Richie Riley)/DPOY (SE Louisiana PG Marlain Veal) on 3 consecutive nights: how were you able to knock off all of these award winners? We have great kids who are selfless and care about winning more than anything else.

In the title game on Saturday JR PF TJ Holyfield scored a team-high 13 PTS in your 4-PT win over the Lions en route to being named 2018 conference tourney MVP: how was he able to play his best when it mattered the most, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? We are on Spring Break so our students were not here but basketball is very important to our school. We had almost 4000 fans at the title game. It was a crazy scene after the game with a floor full of our fans: I could not find my wife and ended up missing the trophy presentation because I was taking photos with some people. We talked about this moment at the beginning of the year: it is time for this group of kids to create their own legacy. We have lived off of the previous players/coaches for long enough: we are so grateful for the culture that former coaches Brad Underwood/Danny Kaspar started.

The Lumberjacks have now won 27+ games for the 5th time in the past 6 years: is it too soon to start thinking of your program as a “dynasty”? Each team is different and the expectations are really high. At our school if you do not play in the NCAA tourney it is almost like a disappointment, which makes me glad because I want it to be that way. At the same time, if you have new players and cannot stay healthy, you can win “only” 20 games and still have a great year because you consider that to be overachieving.

SR SG Ty Charles has plenty of NCAA tourney experience under his belt (14 PTS/4-8 3PM in a 7-PT loss to Utah in 2015 and 4 STL in a 1-PT loss to Notre Dame in 2016): how crucial is it to be able to rely on veterans at this time of the year? Absolutely! I can talk to the players about how I was an assistant coach in 7-8 Sweet 16s, but there is nothing more impactful then Ty talking about beating West Virginia and then going down to the wire against Notre Dame in 2016. He is 8 months recovered from shoulder surgery and is finally starting to look like his old self.

Your relationship with Texas Tech coach Chris Beard dates back a couple of decades and you were also an assistant to Chris’s current assistant Sean Sutton when you were both at Oklahoma State: what will it be like to face a coaching staff who you know so well? It will be awkward for sure. I was blessed to go to the Final 4 at my alma mater with Coach Sutton. I consider Sean to be not just a friend but a dear friend: he has impacted my life so much and I would not be here without him. Chris and I go back 25 years: he helped me get my start in this business when he was just getting started at North Texas. We have a lot of ties: we realized that we were scheduled to play each other a couple of years ago, talked about it, and came to the conclusion that we did not want to play the game because we were friends. I texted/called him last night and we talked about the fact that we would be playing against each other this week.

Texas Tech lost to the Jayhawks a few weeks ago: will you be asking your old boss at Kansas (Bill Self) for any tips?! I know Coach Self has been really busy but we talked 2 Sundays ago after he lost to Oklahoma State. He was not really excited after losing Udoka Azubuike to injury for the Big 12 tourney but it still did not stop him from winning the title.  He has his own issues with Penn so while I do not want to bother him, he has taught me a lot and I would be remiss if I did not take 5 minutes this week to get his advice.

You are returning to your hometown of Dallas to play the Red Raiders: will you have a lot of family/friends in attendance? I have told everyone that I have ZERO tickets: it is a logistical nightmare! We just do not get enough so I have my operations guy sitting with my credit card right now trying to buy as many tickets as he can. My phone has blown up with ticket requests: any money I make this summer is going to pay for tickets.

What do you think of getting a #14 seed, and what will it take to pull off the upset? I am not a Catholic or Muslim but it will take a lot of prayer. I had a dream several months ago that we were going to play in Dallas and win 2 games.  It was just like Hoosiers: there was a line along I-20 from Dallas to Nacogdoches with people on the side of the road congratulating us.

You have been a coach for more than 25 years and have been on both sides of success as an assistant in March (you were an assistant at Kansas when Ali Farokhmanesh made a game-winning 3 to beat you in 2010 and you were an assistant at Texas A&M when you overcome a 12-PT deficit with 44 seconds left in regulation in a 2-OT win over Northern Iowa in 2016): is there anyone in the nation more prepared for their 1st NCAA tourney as a head coach? I have seen it all. That is the great thing about this sport: there are unbelievable highs/lows. I feel that if you continue to try to win each possession then something good will happen. You have to stay in the now, learn from the past, and do not focus on the future. I have been really blessed to work for coaches like Bill Self/Eddie Sutton/Billy Kennedy and be around their success. Whatever our challenges on Thursday, and there will be a ton of them, I think we will compete and try to find a way to win.

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CIT and Team of the People’s Preview – Monday, March 12th

Posted on March 12, 2018 by John Stalica

While everyone in the nation prepares in earnest for the NCAA Tournament, there are still going to be other games being played today – 4 of which will be in the CIT First Round and 4 regional finals in the NCAA Division II Tournament (including our Team of the People Cal Baptist!). This year, the CIT will be a 16-team field that includes 4 “Classic” televised games on CBS Sports Network.

-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT FORT WAYNE (Hugh Durham Classic, 12 PM CBSSN). The postseason tips off with the Chippewas and Mastodons. Central Michigan lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC to Buffalo, and Fort Wayne came off of a tough loss to North Dakota State in the Summit tournament.

-ABILENE CHRISTIAN AT DRAKE (Lou Henson Classic, 2 PM CBSSN). We have a rare oddity in that a team that didn’t even qualify for the Southland Tournament (Abilene Christian) was still invited to a postseason tournament. Their opponent will be a Drake team that started hot in the Missouri Valley this year before fading off in the second half of conference play.

-NORTH CAROLINA A&T AT LIBERTY (Jim Phelan Classic, 6 PM CBSSN). This will be Liberty’s first game since a heartbreaking loss to Radford at the buzzer in the Big South championship. NC A&T was one of five teams that tied for the MEAC regular season title, but are coming off of an early exit in the MEAC Tournament themselves.

-HARTFORD AT SAN DIEGO (Riley Wallace Classic, 10 PM CBSSN). Hartford had a pretty good season in the America East – they ended up finishing in 3rd place and lost to eventual champion UMBC in the America East semifinals. San Diego is in a more tumultous situation where they are currently looking for a permanent head coach, but nonetheless will play at least one postseason game in which they were otherwise improved compared to recent years.

-CAL BAPTIST AT WESTERN OREGON (NCAA Division II Tournament, 10 PM). This game will be for a spot in the Elite 8 for the Division II Tournament; follow the Team of the People and CLICK HERE to watch the live stream courtesy of Western Oregon. The Wolves come into this game ranked #3 in the D-II polls and earned the right to host the West regional by virtue of their #1 ranking in the West region.

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Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Florida State SR SF Phil Cofer

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Jon Teitel

Florida State lost to Louisville in the ACC tourney last Wednesday but still had a resume that was strong enough to earn an at-large bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Seminoles beat FGCU in the 1st round of last year’s NCAA tourney before losing to Xavier in the 2nd round, and they made it back this year to claim the school’s 6th NCAA tourney bid in the past 9 years (where they could potentially face the Musketeers again in a 1-vs.-9 2nd round match-up next weekend!). Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Phil Cofer about being undefeated in OT this year and facing #8 seed Missouri in Nashville this Friday night.

You originally signed with Tennessee but were released from your letter of intent after a coaching change in Knoxville: what made you choose the Seminoles? After the Vols’ head coach left I just opened up my recruitment. Coach Hamilton was the 1st person to call me, I took a visit to Tallahassee, and liked it. Coach is like a father-figure to me.

What makes Coach Hamilton such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? Coach Ham talks about basketball but also a lot about life after you put down the basketball. He has helped me as a person to build my character.

In the 2017 NCAA tourney you had 2 REB in a loss to Xavier: what did you learn from that game that you think will help you this March? We came out with good energy but have to be locked in on defense. Xavier was also very physical.

After starting only 2 games as a junior you started all 31 games as a senior: what is the biggest difference between coming off the bench vs. being a starter? I am playing more minutes now so I try to bring the energy no matter how many minutes I play. Fatigue definitely comes into it but you just have to push through.

In your ACC opener in December you scored a career-high 28 PTS/11-16 FG in a 7-PT loss at Duke: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”, and how close did you come to beating the Blue Devils? My teammates had confidence in me after I got hot and just kept getting me the ball. We came pretty close to winning: it was a hard-fought game and we need to be playing like that in March.

You played 3 OT games in ACC play this year and won all 3 of them (over fellow NCAA tourney teams Syracuse/Miami/Clemson): what is the secret to beating good teams in OT? You have to play to the last minute no matter what. You have to keep fighting on every possession: that is what makes teams great.

The ACC led the nation with 9 teams who made the NCAA tourney: how hard was it to go 9-9 in a league full of so many talented teams? It is very difficult because they all come to fight and always bring their “A” game.

Your father Michael made the 1998 Pro Bowl with the Detroit Lions, your mother Reba played basketball at Tennessee, your brother Michael Jr. played college basketball, and your uncle Joe played football at Tennessee: who is the best athlete in the family? I would say my dad because he played the most physical game (football)…but I might have him beat now!

What do you think about getting a #9 seed, and will you have a lot of family/friends at the game in Nashville? I plan to have a lot of people there since my dad is from Tennessee, but I will be locked into the game more than I am focused on the fans.

What do you know about Missouri, and how do you prepare to face a team with a player of Michael Porter Jr.’s caliber who has only played 25 minutes all year long due to injury? Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin was actually the head coach at Tenneesee who originally recruited me so I know him a little bit. We will take the entire team seriously and treat all of the players as if they were LeBron James.

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2018 Bracket Revealed

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Chad

HERE IT IS!!! The 2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket!!!!

Posted in News and Notes | Comments Off on 2018 Bracket Revealed