The Citadel basketball team prepared for the Southern Conference tournament this week by ... playing volleyball?
"Gotta keep them loose," assistant coach J.D. Powell said as the Bulldogs traded sets and spikes during a spirited 20-minute volleyball match before basketball practice Wednesday at McAlister Field House.
The Citadel enters today's first-round game against Western Carolina, set for 2 p.m. in Asheville, N.C., with little to lose. As predicted in preseason polls, the Bulldogs (6-23) finished the regular season in last place in the SoCon South Division (3-15).
But coach Chuck Driesell's team also has drawn the hottest team in the league in Western Carolina (14-17, 8-10), which takes a SoCon-best four-game win streak into the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the North Division.
The Catamounts' 70-53 win Feb. 16 over The Citadel marked a turning point for both squads. For Western, it snapped a three-game skid and sparked the current win streak. For the Bulldogs, getting embarrassed on the boards -- WCU outrebounded The Citadel, 55-27, and grabbed 28 offensive rebounds -- lit a fire under Driesell, if not the whole team.
The Bulldogs bounced back to win their next two, their only back-to-back victories of the season.
"In all my years of coaching, as an assistant and head coach, I've never had a team get 28 offensive rebounds against us," Driesell said. "We had gotten away from being a tough rebounding team, and after that game we really emphasized that aspect of the game."
The Citadel also seemed to find a slower style that might help them cope better with the Catamounts this time. In wins over Chattanooga and Appalachian State and a 55-47 loss to College of Charleston, the Bulldogs averaged 40 shots and 52 possessions per game, well below season averages of 54 shots and 65.8 possessions.
"We tried to eliminate putting guys in positions where they just weren't ready to execute," said Driesell, who has been relying on freshman guards Marshall Harris, Lawrence Miller and Ashton Moore. "We've really focused in on execution and deciding when to shoot and when not to shoot. It's helped us keep other teams below their scoring averages and brought our shooting percentage up, and that's how you win games."
It's also boosted The Citadel's confidence.
"I think we've found a style where we know we can play both ways," said sophomore guard DeVontae Wright. "We know if we want to slow it down, that's worked for us and we can get some stops. The way we've played the last few games, that gives us a shot of confidence."
WCU's Harouna Mutombo scored 24 points with seven rebounds in the team's first meeting, and guard Keaton Cole was 5 of 13 from 3-point range.
The winner of today's game gets two-time defending champ Wofford in Saturday's quarterfinals. The Bulldogs have made it that far in three of the last six years.
"Gotta keep them loose," assistant coach J.D. Powell said as the Bulldogs traded sets and spikes during a spirited 20-minute volleyball match before basketball practice Wednesday at McAlister Field House.
The Citadel enters today's first-round game against Western Carolina, set for 2 p.m. in Asheville, N.C., with little to lose. As predicted in preseason polls, the Bulldogs (6-23) finished the regular season in last place in the SoCon South Division (3-15).
But coach Chuck Driesell's team also has drawn the hottest team in the league in Western Carolina (14-17, 8-10), which takes a SoCon-best four-game win streak into the tournament as the No. 3 seed from the North Division.
The Catamounts' 70-53 win Feb. 16 over The Citadel marked a turning point for both squads. For Western, it snapped a three-game skid and sparked the current win streak. For the Bulldogs, getting embarrassed on the boards -- WCU outrebounded The Citadel, 55-27, and grabbed 28 offensive rebounds -- lit a fire under Driesell, if not the whole team.
The Bulldogs bounced back to win their next two, their only back-to-back victories of the season.
"In all my years of coaching, as an assistant and head coach, I've never had a team get 28 offensive rebounds against us," Driesell said. "We had gotten away from being a tough rebounding team, and after that game we really emphasized that aspect of the game."
The Citadel also seemed to find a slower style that might help them cope better with the Catamounts this time. In wins over Chattanooga and Appalachian State and a 55-47 loss to College of Charleston, the Bulldogs averaged 40 shots and 52 possessions per game, well below season averages of 54 shots and 65.8 possessions.
"We tried to eliminate putting guys in positions where they just weren't ready to execute," said Driesell, who has been relying on freshman guards Marshall Harris, Lawrence Miller and Ashton Moore. "We've really focused in on execution and deciding when to shoot and when not to shoot. It's helped us keep other teams below their scoring averages and brought our shooting percentage up, and that's how you win games."
It's also boosted The Citadel's confidence.
"I think we've found a style where we know we can play both ways," said sophomore guard DeVontae Wright. "We know if we want to slow it down, that's worked for us and we can get some stops. The way we've played the last few games, that gives us a shot of confidence."
WCU's Harouna Mutombo scored 24 points with seven rebounds in the team's first meeting, and guard Keaton Cole was 5 of 13 from 3-point range.
The winner of today's game gets two-time defending champ Wofford in Saturday's quarterfinals. The Bulldogs have made it that far in three of the last six years.
