The University of Evansville men's basketball players took a break from hoops Saturday to visit Disneyland, home of Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan and other life-size stars from the entertainment conglomerate.
It was a brief getaway from UE's preparations for UC Irvine (5-1), which features a player so large he may seem like another fictional character.
Mamadou Ndiaye, the Anteaters' 7-foot-6, 300-pound junior, is tied with Central Florida freshman Tacko Fall as the tallest player in college basketball. Ndiaye is far from a novelty act; he averages 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
Ndiaye's size will pose a unique challenge for the Aces (4-1), who play the Anteaters at 1:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Honda Center.
"You really can't emulate that, especially with one day (of preparation)," UE coach Marty Simmons said. "We'll just talk about it and show it and probably have to have an understanding that you probably can't get to the rim. You're going to have to pull up in what we call the gray area ? that 12 to 15-foot range ? and if he does come up away from the basket then we've got to make the proper read and make the extra pass."
Evansville senior Adam Wing said it will be important to take Ndiaye away from the basket when UE is on offense.
"It's going to be hard to score over him so we're going to try to get him to move laterally," he said. "I don't know how well he can move laterally so we'll try to get him moving around."
UC Irvine made its first NCAA tournament appearance last season and is considered a favorite to win the Big West Conference. Luke Nelson, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, leads the Anteaters at 14 points per game, 6-10 senior Mike Best averages 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds and guard Alex Young chips in 9.5 points per contest.
"They're super aggressive in transition, so we're going to have to get back in transition and get our defense set," Wing said. "Sometimes it's been our Achilles' heel is not getting back. Coach was saying in our walk-through that this might be the fastest team we've played so far this season."
UE bounced back from an opening-round loss to Providence with a 69-57 win over Santa Clara on Friday. Aces center Egidijus Mockevicius grabbed a tournament-record and career-high 21 rebounds, while guard D.J. Balentine collected 23 points and eight assists.
Now the Aces will try to pick up their second victory in three days and leave California with a quality win.
"Odds are that Irvine, as good as they are, has a terrific chance to get back to the NCAA tournament, so it's a big game for us," Simmons said. "I think our guys will be excited to play but it's a difficult challenge."
Evansville junior Christian Benzon missed the first two games of the Wooden Legacy with concussion symptoms. He didn't practice Saturday. Simmons said it was unlikely the reserve guard would play Sunday.
It was a brief getaway from UE's preparations for UC Irvine (5-1), which features a player so large he may seem like another fictional character.
Mamadou Ndiaye, the Anteaters' 7-foot-6, 300-pound junior, is tied with Central Florida freshman Tacko Fall as the tallest player in college basketball. Ndiaye is far from a novelty act; he averages 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.
Ndiaye's size will pose a unique challenge for the Aces (4-1), who play the Anteaters at 1:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Honda Center.
"You really can't emulate that, especially with one day (of preparation)," UE coach Marty Simmons said. "We'll just talk about it and show it and probably have to have an understanding that you probably can't get to the rim. You're going to have to pull up in what we call the gray area ? that 12 to 15-foot range ? and if he does come up away from the basket then we've got to make the proper read and make the extra pass."
Evansville senior Adam Wing said it will be important to take Ndiaye away from the basket when UE is on offense.
"It's going to be hard to score over him so we're going to try to get him to move laterally," he said. "I don't know how well he can move laterally so we'll try to get him moving around."
UC Irvine made its first NCAA tournament appearance last season and is considered a favorite to win the Big West Conference. Luke Nelson, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, leads the Anteaters at 14 points per game, 6-10 senior Mike Best averages 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds and guard Alex Young chips in 9.5 points per contest.
"They're super aggressive in transition, so we're going to have to get back in transition and get our defense set," Wing said. "Sometimes it's been our Achilles' heel is not getting back. Coach was saying in our walk-through that this might be the fastest team we've played so far this season."
UE bounced back from an opening-round loss to Providence with a 69-57 win over Santa Clara on Friday. Aces center Egidijus Mockevicius grabbed a tournament-record and career-high 21 rebounds, while guard D.J. Balentine collected 23 points and eight assists.
Now the Aces will try to pick up their second victory in three days and leave California with a quality win.
"Odds are that Irvine, as good as they are, has a terrific chance to get back to the NCAA tournament, so it's a big game for us," Simmons said. "I think our guys will be excited to play but it's a difficult challenge."
Evansville junior Christian Benzon missed the first two games of the Wooden Legacy with concussion symptoms. He didn't practice Saturday. Simmons said it was unlikely the reserve guard would play Sunday.
