It?s not the postseason Norfolk State was hoping for...

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Norfolk State headed to CollegeInsider.com tournament, will face Liberty



It?s not the postseason Norfolk State was hoping for, but the Spartans are playing nonetheless.

For the fourth consecutive season, NSU will compete in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the school announced Sunday. The Spartans will visit Liberty today in a first-round game.

NSU (17-16) fell 67-59 to North Carolina Central in Saturday?s MEAC tournament championship game. N.C. Central, also the league?s regular-season champion, earned the MEAC?s automatic NCAA tournament bid by virtue of its victory in the conference tournament.

The Spartans will become the only Division I HBCU program with a current six-year run of postseason appearances.

Today?s game will tip off at Liberty?s Vines Center in Lynchburg at 7 p.m. It will be broadcast on Facebook Live.

Liberty (19-13) went 14-4 in the Big South before bowing out in the conference tournament to lower-seeded Radford on March 2.

A 10-member selection committee consisting of current Division I athletic directors selects the 32-team field for the ninth annual CIT. The field was announced Sunday, with the first round beginning with the NSU-Liberty match-up and the rest of the first round beginning Tuesday and Wednesday. For pairings, see Scoreboard on Page 10.

The CIT semifinals and championship game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network for the fifth consecutive year.

 

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Flames hope to enjoy postseason success against Spartans in CIT


No player on the current Liberty men?s basketball roster has experienced the feeling of winning a postseason game.

Flames coach Ritchie McKay wants to change that after going one-and-done for the second straight season in the Big South Conference tournament. He was more than happy to accept a bid into a tournament that he had enjoyed previous success in during his first stint with the program in hopes of establishing a winning mentality with this young roster.

Liberty opens up the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at 7 p.m. today against Norfolk State at the Vines Center. The Flames (19-13) have not played since falling to Radford in the Big South quarterfinals on March 2, while the Spartans (17-16) lost to North Carolina Central in the MEAC championship game Saturday night.

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?Since we?ve been here, we haven?t had a postseason win,? McKay said before a recent practice, ?so it?d be nice to see if we can?t get over the hump, if you will, and play with a little bit of pressure of if you lose and you?re eliminated.?

McKay and the Flames played in the 2009 CIT and won their first-round game at home against Rider. However, LU fell to James Madison in the following round.

That experience is what McKay wants this team to experience.

?We have one of the youngest teams in the country, so I think it?s great to have more practice and to have more opportunities to play where you?re in a lose and you?re out situation. I think that?s really healthy,? McKay said. ?More importantly, it?s a reward to be invited to postseason and I feel like it honors our guys to have an opportunity to continue to play and we?re very appreciative and excited for the chance.?

The Flames will lose only two seniors to graduation -- John Dawson and Ray Chen -- and are expected to return every other player on the roster in addition to the three high schoolers who signed with the program earlier this season.

However, this group still needs to learn what it takes to win in one-and-done situations. Since McKay?s return to Lynchburg, the Flames are 0-2 in the Big South tournament with a lopsided loss to UNC Asheville last season and a last-minute setback to Radford this season.

?We kind of let off on a bad foot against Radford,? sophomore guard Lovell Cabbil said, ?so it?s exciting to get another chance to go out and compete and try to get a victory and keep on getting more victories.?


The Spartans are playing in a postseason tournament for the sixth consecutive season. NSU has won 13 of its last 16 games and is averaging 70 points per game.

?The benefit of this opportunity is a chance to compete against someone that?s going to be good,? McKay said, ?because there?s only so many teams that get invited to postseason and a chance maybe to see if we can?t do a better job than the last time out when we were in a one-and-done situation against Radford in the Big South tournament.?

Jonathan Wade leads the team in scoring (19.3) and rebounding (6.8) averages, and Zaynah Robinson leads the team in assists (4.4) and is second in scoring (13.3).

NSU?s length and size will present challenges for the Flames, who typically play four-guard lineups.

?That?s the beauty of the [pack-line defense],? redshirt-junior guard/forward Ryan Kemrite said. ?It?s not really what they do, we have to be better at what we do than they are at what they do. If we can do that successfully in the pack and we can execute the principles that we practice every day, it really shouldn?t matter what the other team runs.?