Cal State Bakersfield has had nearly a week since it beat Texas-Arlington on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
That?s nearly a week to travel, return home, rest, savor the victory, get excited for a trip to New York and then travel again.
But today, the time for all that is finished. CSUB plays Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. in the first NIT semifinal, and for the Roadrunners, being in New York ? sweet as it is ? isn?t enough.
?We?re not finished,? CSUB coach Rod Barnes said. ?We?ve got more games to play ? We wanted to get to New York. Now we want to win it.?
Make no mistake: The Roadrunners (25-9) are the outsider at Madison Square Garden, the famous midtown Manhattan arena that will host the semifinals and Thursday?s 5 p.m. championship game.
Their opponent tonight, Georgia Tech (20-15), has played one of the country?s best schedules and is used to playing in big arenas against well-known opponents.
The teams in the late semifinal tonight, Texas Christian and Central Florida, have head coaches who are very much in their element. TCU?s Jamie Dixon, the former coach at Pitt, has 26 wins at Madison Square Garden, and UCF?s Johnny Dawkins has won two NIT titles.
They all belong to big conferences and have big arenas.
Barnes, meanwhile, for all of his accomplishments, has never coached in the Garden. And CSUB doesn?t play too many televised games.
?As I look at their programs this year, I started to say, ?What is Bakersfield doing here??? Barnes said at Monday?s NIT press conference. ?Obviously ... it says something about our kids.?
CSUB has played its best basketball in the past two weeks. After losing the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship to New Mexico State, the Roadrunners won three consecutive road games against quality opponents, beating Cal, Colorado State and UT Arlington.
But that unlikely run will border on Disney movie material if CSUB can complete the run with two wins in New York.
?To win it, you?ve got to play good basketball,? Barnes said ?Hopefully we get there and play the way we?ve been playing.?
Tonight?s game will be a battle between two elite defensive teams. CSUB is ranked 16th in the country in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and Georgia Tech is sixth. The Roadrunners are third in 2-point field goal defense, and the Yellow Jackets are 13th. GT gets a block on 15.7 percent of possessions (No. 3) and CSUB forces a turnover on 23.2 percent (No. 9).
?To be able to play against coach Barnes, and his team plays maybe plays the hardest of any team in the country, we?re honored,? Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. ?They?re terrific and an elite defensive team.?
The Yellow Jackets were just 17-15 entering the NIT but have ripped off home wins against Indiana and Belmont and a road win against Ole Miss (Barnes? alma mater). They also own victories against Final Four participant North Carolina and two other top 25 teams, Florida State and Notre Dame.
But CSUB isn?t blinking.
?Honestly, it don?t matter who we play,? senior guard Jaylin Airington said. ?We know it?s March. It gets down to the nitty and the gritty, and all we want to do is play. We don?t want it to end yet.?
If CSUB continues to shoot the ball as well as it has, that could turn the tables in a defensive struggle. The Roadrunners have made 59 of 74 shots from 3-point range during the NIT, including 26 of 40 in the first halves of those three games. This for a team that has shot just 34 percent from deep for the season.
?We wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament; we feel like we deserved to be there,? junior Shon Briggs said. ?But we?re showing teams that we?re still a tough team. The NIT is a great tournament, so it?s really good for the program.?
It?s unassailable that the NIT has already been a huge victory for CSUB?s program, and a victory or two in New York would only be the marshmallow cream on top of a Black & White from Dewar?s.
But it?s also true that CSUB doesn?t want this wild ride to end until there are no more teams to play.
?I think our guys have shown and proven that they have the right kind of focus you need in these situations,? Barnes said. ?... Obviously, it?s exciting to advance and do these types of things, but you?re only as good as your last game.?
That?s nearly a week to travel, return home, rest, savor the victory, get excited for a trip to New York and then travel again.
But today, the time for all that is finished. CSUB plays Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. in the first NIT semifinal, and for the Roadrunners, being in New York ? sweet as it is ? isn?t enough.
?We?re not finished,? CSUB coach Rod Barnes said. ?We?ve got more games to play ? We wanted to get to New York. Now we want to win it.?
Make no mistake: The Roadrunners (25-9) are the outsider at Madison Square Garden, the famous midtown Manhattan arena that will host the semifinals and Thursday?s 5 p.m. championship game.
Their opponent tonight, Georgia Tech (20-15), has played one of the country?s best schedules and is used to playing in big arenas against well-known opponents.
The teams in the late semifinal tonight, Texas Christian and Central Florida, have head coaches who are very much in their element. TCU?s Jamie Dixon, the former coach at Pitt, has 26 wins at Madison Square Garden, and UCF?s Johnny Dawkins has won two NIT titles.
They all belong to big conferences and have big arenas.
Barnes, meanwhile, for all of his accomplishments, has never coached in the Garden. And CSUB doesn?t play too many televised games.
?As I look at their programs this year, I started to say, ?What is Bakersfield doing here??? Barnes said at Monday?s NIT press conference. ?Obviously ... it says something about our kids.?
CSUB has played its best basketball in the past two weeks. After losing the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship to New Mexico State, the Roadrunners won three consecutive road games against quality opponents, beating Cal, Colorado State and UT Arlington.
But that unlikely run will border on Disney movie material if CSUB can complete the run with two wins in New York.
?To win it, you?ve got to play good basketball,? Barnes said ?Hopefully we get there and play the way we?ve been playing.?
Tonight?s game will be a battle between two elite defensive teams. CSUB is ranked 16th in the country in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and Georgia Tech is sixth. The Roadrunners are third in 2-point field goal defense, and the Yellow Jackets are 13th. GT gets a block on 15.7 percent of possessions (No. 3) and CSUB forces a turnover on 23.2 percent (No. 9).
?To be able to play against coach Barnes, and his team plays maybe plays the hardest of any team in the country, we?re honored,? Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. ?They?re terrific and an elite defensive team.?
The Yellow Jackets were just 17-15 entering the NIT but have ripped off home wins against Indiana and Belmont and a road win against Ole Miss (Barnes? alma mater). They also own victories against Final Four participant North Carolina and two other top 25 teams, Florida State and Notre Dame.
But CSUB isn?t blinking.
?Honestly, it don?t matter who we play,? senior guard Jaylin Airington said. ?We know it?s March. It gets down to the nitty and the gritty, and all we want to do is play. We don?t want it to end yet.?
If CSUB continues to shoot the ball as well as it has, that could turn the tables in a defensive struggle. The Roadrunners have made 59 of 74 shots from 3-point range during the NIT, including 26 of 40 in the first halves of those three games. This for a team that has shot just 34 percent from deep for the season.
?We wanted to go to the NCAA Tournament; we feel like we deserved to be there,? junior Shon Briggs said. ?But we?re showing teams that we?re still a tough team. The NIT is a great tournament, so it?s really good for the program.?
It?s unassailable that the NIT has already been a huge victory for CSUB?s program, and a victory or two in New York would only be the marshmallow cream on top of a Black & White from Dewar?s.
But it?s also true that CSUB doesn?t want this wild ride to end until there are no more teams to play.
?I think our guys have shown and proven that they have the right kind of focus you need in these situations,? Barnes said. ?... Obviously, it?s exciting to advance and do these types of things, but you?re only as good as your last game.?
