The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Colgate Raiders to take on Tennessee
HAMILTON, N.Y. >> It’s time to go dancing.
The 2019 Patriot League champion Colgate men’s basketball team has earned the No. 15 seed and will take on No. 2 seed Tennessee in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
Opening tip is set for 2:45 p.m. Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, and Allie LaForce have the call on CBS. Two days later, the winner will face the winner of the No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 10 Iowa game.
Colgate (24-10, 13-5 PL) is making its third overall NCAA Tournament appearance and first since going back-to-back years in 1995 and 1996. The Raiders were the No. 16 seed in their previous two trips.
The Raiders have won 11 in a row, tied for the sixth-longest win streak in the nation. With two-time Patriot League Coach of the Year Matt Langel at the helm, Colgate set school records this season for most wins (24) and league victories (13).
Colgate enters the NCAA Tournament as one of the top shooting teams in the land. The Raiders rank 15th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (38.8), 26th in field goal percentage (48.0), and 16th in total assists (531).
Patriot League Player of the Year Rapolas Ivanauskas leads three Raiders in double figures averaging 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. The junior has posted 10 double-doubles this year with 27 games in double digits and 11 games of 20 or more points.
“Our non-conference schedule was pretty difficult and we played a lot of those teams tough. We are a different team now than we were two or three months ago,” Ivanauskas said of the looming matchup with the Volunteers. “As every game has gone by, we have gotten better and better. I am excited to see how much better we have gotten when we go up against a top 10 school in Tennessee.”
Sophomore Jordan Burns averages 15.8 points per game after pouring in a career high and setting a league championship record with 35 points in the title win over Bucknell. Burns ranks 28th in the nation averaging 5.8 assists per game.
“Some people called us the underdog going into the championship game when we were the No. 1 seed and at home against Bucknell,” Burns said. “It is what it is. We are going to prepare the same way. Coaches are going to make sure we have a good game plan and we have to make shots. That is what it comes down to and we know that.”
Colgate during its 11game winning streak is averaging 81.3 points per game with a +11.5 scoring margin. The Raiders are shooting 51.5 percent from the f loor and averaging 11.0 3-pointers per game over that stretch.
Tennessee is 29-5 overall and ranked eighth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Volunteers finished 15-3 in SEC play and lost to Auburn in the SEC Tournament Championship 84- 64 on Sunday.
The Volunteers are led by SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams, who av- erages 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Admiral Schofield was named Al l- SEC First Team and averages 16.2 points per contest. Five Volunteers average double figures.
“I have been watching Tennessee over the last few days in the SEC Tournament on national television,” Nagel said. “Tennessee is a very talented team, a team that has grown up together and is as good as anybody in the country.”
Colgate is 2- 0 all-time against Tennessee with its latest victory coming in 1960- 61, 76-73. Both matchups were at neutral sites. The Raiders are 3- 4 overall against SEC opponents.
“We have grown a lot since being 5-5 in league play. This group has stuck together through adversity all year,” Nagel said. “They have the confidence and belief in one another that most teams playing in the NCAA Tournament have. Obviously to win in the tournament you have to sustain that through some difficulty and adversity on a game-by-game basis.”