Buffs Host Spartans In Second-Round NIT Game Monday
March 24, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes don't want their last home game of the season to be their season finale.
The Buffs will hit the CU Events Center floor one last time Monday night, when they play host to Norfolk State in a 7 p.m. second-round NIT game (ESPN2).
A win would send the Buffs to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday for a third-round game against the Longhorns. A loss would send the Buffs home for spring break.
Colorado's players aren't ready for a vacation.
"These are my brothers and I love playing with them," CU sophomore point guard McKinley Wright IV said late last week. "I want to play with them as long as I can. Obviously it's going to come to an end when everybody graduates, so you try to cherish every moment and be thankful to be on the court with them."
The 22-12 Buffs, the No. 4 seed in their bracket quadrant, advanced via a 78-73 home win over Dayton last Tuesday. The 22-13 Spartans, a No. 8 seed, earned a trip to Boulder with an 80-79 overtime win at Alabama on Wednesday.
"The fact that we're a Power Five school or a Pac-12 school means nothing to Norfolk State," Boyle said. "Those kids relish that opportunity and thrive on it — as they should. College basketball is about competing. Norfolk State competes."
Indeed, the Spartans entered the NIT with a little chip on their shoulder. After winning the MEAC regular season title with a 14-2 conference mark, they fell to North Carolina Central in the MEAC tournament title game to lose the conference's automatic NCAA bid.
"I've coached at programs like that," said Boyle, who was an assistant at Jacksonville State and the head coach at Northern Colorado. "I know what it's like being on the other side of that. It's a lot easier getting your guys geared up for these games. You don't have to say a whole lot because guys like the challenge. They maybe feel like they've got something to prove. Our guys have to meet that and match that. That's going to be a challenge that we have."
After watching Norfolk knock off the Crimson Tide, the Buffs have insisted all week they won't be taking the Spartans lightly — and for good reason.
The Spartans have the nation's most accurate 3-point shooter this season in guard Derrik Jamerson. The 6-5 senior has hit 92 of his 179 attempts from beyond the arc this year (51.4 percent), including a 7-for-13 effort in a 25-point performance against Alabama.
Coach Rob Jones' team also rebounds well, despite not having a starter taller than 6-foot-8. The Spartans had 49 rebounds against Alabama, including 21 on the offensive glass, which they converted into 22 points.
"I don't think they're maybe as tall and athletic as some of the teams we've played, but certainly as physical and tough as the teams we've played — and that's really what rebounding is," Boyle said. "It's physicality, it's toughness, it's boxing out, it's going to get balls with two hands, going to get balls out of your areas, long rebounds. That's going to be a challenge for us."
After three straight solid defensive efforts in the Pac-12 tournament, the Buffs took a step back in last week's win against Dayton, allowing the Flyers to shoot 54 percent from the floor (after holding three opponents in the conference tournament to 40 percent or less).
"The thing I want our guys to understand, is we kind of snuck through with Dayton with a sub-par defensive performance because we were pretty good offensively," Boyle said. "We're going to have to guard the 3-point line and we're going to have to be in the gap and shrink the floor. Norfolk State does a great job on the offensive glass. Once the shot goes up, we'd better be getting bodies on people ready to compete."
The Buffs should be healthy for the game. Sophomore forward Tyler Bey had a scare against Dayton when he left the floor with a lower leg injury, but he returned later in the game and showed no ill effects in practice.
The key in the NIT, Wright said, isn't a secret. Every team involved would rather be playing in the NCAA Tournament — but with a chance to keep playing and a trip to Madison Square Garden within each team's grasp, there is plenty at stake.
"Who wants it more?" Wright said. "Players bodies get tired, some people want to be done. It's about going out and competing and who wants it more."
BRACKET UPDATE: Texas advanced to the third round Sunday by holding off Xavier, 78-76, in overtime. The Longhorns got 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Kerwin Roach II, and will now have two days to prepare for Wednesday's third-round game.
If Colorado wins Monday night, the Buffs will turn around and leave for Austin on Tuesday.
THE SERIES: The two programs have met just once, with Colorado taking a 67-56 decision in Boulder in 1997. CU is 12-0 all-time against MEAC opponents, with the last meeting a 95-53 win over Hampton in 2015.
BROADCAST: The game will be televised by ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Caron Butler. KOA radio will carry the broadcast with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
