»RELATED: FDU scores first NCAA Tournament win
Here are five things to know about Wednesday’s games:
1. Back to Dayton
Both North Carolina Central and Arizona State are making return appearances to Dayton and trying to avoid back-to-back losses in the First Four.
NCCU actually is playing in its third straight First Four but is still looking for the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory. The Eagles lost to UC Davis in 2017 and Texas Southern last year. They also made the NCAA Tournament in 2014 as a No. 14 seed but lost to Iowa State in the first round.
“I just told my wife, I said that the great thing is that we’re here; we’re in this tournament,” said NCCU coach LeVelle Moton, who has been the Eagles coach since 2009. “It’s something we asked to be in. The bad thing is there’s no bad teams. You have to play your A game. Your C game is not going to get — you don’t get away with that. If you’re a No. 1 seed you can probably play a game and advance. But for us we have to be clicking on all cylinders.”
»RELATED: Wright State falls to Clemson in NIT
Arizona State lost to Syracuse in Dayton last year and is looking for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2009. The Sun Devils are making back-to-back tournament appearances for the first time since the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons.
2. The Hurley connection
ASU coach Bobby Hurley spent much of his practice day press conference Tuesday answering questions about what the St. John’s program meant to him growing up in the New York City area.
Hurley, the son of legendary St. Anthony’s High School (Jersey City, N.J.) coach Bob Hurley Sr., said he grew up watching St. John’s games at Madison Square Garden.
“That’s when I kind of fell in love with basketball,” Hurley said. “I was a college basketball fan, a Big East fan. And I remember those matchups with (current St. John’s coach) Chris Mullin and Walter Berry and Mark Jackson, and they would be going against Pearl Washington.
“And I was a point guard and I would see those guys go at each other, or Georgetown and St. John’s and all these great matchups. And I remember all the Final Fours, all those Big East teams going, and Villanova beating Georgetown. And just so many great memories of watching the Big East and watching St. John’s and Chris Mullin.”
Hurley had a chance to play against Mullin and the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team,” which was something he felt helped him going into the NBA Draft in 1993.
3. Last team in
St. John’s was the last of the 68 teams to get into the tournament, but Mullin said that has no bearing on what his players can do this postseason. The Johnnies are ready to make some noise during March Madness.
“The fact of the matter is it does not matter, so it’s kind of quite factual and so it’s a true new beginning,” Mullin said. “No. 1, No. 16, 12, there’s no advantage. You gotta go out and play good basketball. You play good basketball, you move on; if you don’t, your season’s over.
“Different experiences — I was part of the team that was the last team in the NBA playoffs on the last day of the season. And we upset the No. 1 team with the most wins in the NBA. So it truly does not matter. You don’t have to make that up. That’s not something you have to tell stories about; that’s the fact.”
4. Martin returning
Arizona State sophomore point guard Remy Martin injured his groin in the Sun Devils’ Pac-12 tournament loss to Oregon but is expected to play Wednesday. He averages 13.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, so ASU needs him to be healthy to make a run but also can’t afford not to play him in the First Four.
“He’s had a few days and he’s got after it in treatment,” Hurley said. “And we had our meat-and-potato’s practice this morning, and he was moving great and he was in every drill. So we anticipate he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
5. Hot shots
North Dakota State, which is making its fourth NCAA tournament appearance, set a school record for 3-pointers made in a season this year, making 315 through 33 games to surpass the previous record of 294 set in 2017-18.
NCCU coach LeVelle Moton said his Eagles will have to defend the 3-point line well to be successful against the Bison. They also will have to try to limit NDSU’s free throw attempts. The Bison rank ninth nationally with a 77.4 percent success rate at the line, which also is on pace to set a school record at nearly a full percentage point better than the current benchmark set in 1984-85.
Jaren Samuelson, a junior guard averaging 7.2 points per game, is shooting 46.4 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line. Vinnie Shahid (12.8 points) and Tyson Ward (12.3 points) lead the Bison scorers.
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
North Carolina Centra vs. North Dakota State, 6:40 p.m., truTV
St. John’s vs. Arizona State, 9:10 p.m., truTV
About the Author