Written by Ron Pitts for Urban Media Today
The day will start out Thursday with a 12:15 pm EST Tip Off with #8 Ohio State Buckeyes going up against #9 TCU Horn Frogs. The Buckeyes represent the BIG 10 conference with a 21-12 record coached by Jake Diebler who is in his second year as HC for Ohio State. The Buckeyes are entering the NCAA Tournament led by Senior scoring leader #2 Bruce Thorton, he averages 20.2 points per game. Coach Diebler was asked based on the standard he set when he was hired and now that they are in the tournament what does that mean for the program? “This was a checkpoint for us to get this program back to this point. I think we’ve now got to build upon this. This season’s not over yet. We haven’t arrived. We’re not finished by any means with this season. Our focus, since we saw our name get called on Sunday has been getting prepared to play our best basketball tomorrow”.
The Horn Frogs representing the Big 12 conference finished the season with a 21-12 record. They are coached by Jamie Dixon who has 23 years of head coaching experience. TCU is coming into the tournament led by their leading scorer Sophomore Forward #15 David Punch. Coach Dixon was asked about his roster, and he attributed the team success to his entire team and not just his leaders “we have RJ Jones, we have Ashton Simmons, we have Jace Posey.” “they’ve been a big part of our improvement because our practice has been so good, so efficient, so competitive”.
#1 overall seed Duke Blue Devils take on #16 Siena Saints.
The Blue Devils will represent the ACC with a 32-2 record led by head coach Jon Scheyer in his fourth year leading the program. Duke is led by freshman forward #12 Cameron Boozer who leads Duke in scoring, rebounds, and assists 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Cameron was asked about what it will take to avoid an upset from a 16th seed team since it has happened in the past, and he responded by talking about the teams focus; “First, it doesn’t matter who our opponent is, we’re going to stay locked in, stay focused. A lot of teams would overlook this game and go on to the next game. We haven’t done that all year. Whoever we’re playing, we don’t talk about the next team or whatever happens after this game, we’re always focused on the matchup”.
The #16 seed Siena Saints represent the MAAC. They finished the season with a 23-11 record led by head coach Gerry McNamara in his second season leading the Saints. Siena making their 7th appearance in the big dance. This year they will be led by SO guard #4 Gavin Doaty. Doaty leads the team in points and rebounds 17.9 points and 7 rebounds per game. Doaty was asked what gives him the confidence that they can knock off the number team in the nation, and he said “the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff. They do a phenomenal job, through the scout, the preparation through film. We work really hard and get a lot of shots. Seeing these guys to my right and left here, I have full confidence in these guys”.
Matchup three will feature #6 North Carolina Tar Heels and #11 VCU Rams
The Tar Heels are representing the ACC Conference and finished the regular season with a 24-8 record and ended the season with a heartbreak loss to Clemson. Carolina will be led by head coach Hubert Davis, a former Tar Heel player in his 5th season leading the program. The Tar Heels are going into the tournament without their star Freshmen Forward Caleb Wilson, who is out with a broken thumb. Coach Davis will have to rely on a team effort led by their second leading scorer and rebounder Junior C #13 Henri Veesaar. He averages 16.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. When asked about losing in the ACC tournament after being down 18 points, and coming back down to the last few seconds, what is a takeaway you can use as motivation to help you in this tournament? Veesaar said, “I think it just showed the resilience of the group, just being able to fight back. Even when we were down 18, nobody gave up. Like how Seth said, we just have to find the juice to bring it for 40 minutes and just play with the same energy and confidence, not just when your back is against the wall, but the whole game, have the same confidence”.
The VCU Rams represent the A-10 conference and finished with a 27-7 record led by first year head coach Phil Martelli Jr. The Rams will take the court with this season scoring and assist leader Sophomore guard #6 Terrence Hill Jr. He averages 14.4 points and 2.8 assists per game. When asked what VCU brings to the table to compete against the UNC brand Hill Jr. said “I think it’s just our togetherness. The toughness we play with, we’re a selfless team, we do it for each other. Every time we step on the court, no matter who’s coming in, we’re just excited for each other when we get out there. Coach Martelli Jr. said his team gets their confidence from “one, being really good players, and they’re really good people. Two, it’s how hard they work. They put a lot of work in”
The final match up for the evening will be #3 Illinois Fighting Illini vs. #14 Penn Quakers.
The Fighting Illini will be led into the tournament by Coach Brad Underwood who is in his 13th coaching season and 9th at Illinois. They represent the BIG 10 with a 24-8 record on the season. On the court they will have their leading freshmen scorer and assist leader #23 Keaton Wagler, he averages 17.9 points and 4.4 steals per game. Keaton was asked about being a consensus second team All-American, and his jersey possibly going up to be hung, and replied “It means the world to me. Growing up, you always dream of these things, like having your jersey hung up in rafters. It’s really awesome to have it done as a freshman too. It’s a big shout-out to my teammates and coaches for letting me go out there, trust me to play my game and have fun”. Coach Underwood said that the takeaway he wants everyone to know about this team “First of all, I’m going to start with who they are. This is as fun a group as I’ve been around. Great, great personalities. It’s a shame people don’t get to know the name on the back. They know a number maybe. But great, great character, extremely competitive, extremely tight knit both on and off, maybe more so than any team I’ve ever had. They do everything together. That’s been a joy”.
The Penn Quakers represent the Ivy League and finished with an 18-11 record. They are led by head coach Fran McCaffery in his 43rd year and 1 year at Penn. The Quakers will take the court possibly without their scoring leaders #23 Ethan Roberts (ruled out due to concussion) and #12 TJ Power (uncertain availability due to illness) who are both forwards averaging 16 points per game. Coach Fran said “it’s next man up. You have to have somebody else that’s ready. #5 Cam Thrower (Sr), you could not have asked him to do any better than he did in Ethan’s absence. Hopefully somebody else will step up in TJ’s place if he can’t go.
Now let the Madness of March Begin!!!
