USF set to meet North Texas in best-of-3 CBI Finals

[IE]

No matter the tournament, late-March basketball tests a player?s resolve.

?Your body gets tired, your mind gets fatigued, but just keep pushing through it,? USF head coach Kyle Smith said. ?That?s what you do.?

Smith?s Dons have managed to win three CBI games ? all at home and none by more than five points ? to reach the best-of-three Finals. USF hosts North Texas on Monday night. Wednesday?s Game 2 and, if necessary, Friday?s Game 3, will be at the UNT Coliseum, better known as the Super Pit.

Two years ago, Smith ended his six-season tenure as Columbia?s head coach with a CIT title. He?s under no illusions that the CBI and CIT compare with the NCAA Tournament or even the NIT, but believes success in the lower-tier events can become a springboard to the more prestigious tournaments.

Loyola (Chicago) won the CBI in 2015. Nevada did so in ?16. Those schools have thrived in this year?s NCAA Tournament.


?It?s pretty evident, teams that perform well in the CBI and CIT have made that jump,? Smith said.


That?s not necessarily the case. For example, Santa Clara won the CBI in 2013, but hasn?t reached postseason play since then.

USF made it to the CBI Finals by beating Campbell 65-62 on Thursday night. Junior guard Frankie Ferrari led the Dons with 18 points and six assists.


Ferrari?s career was fairly nondescript until the calendar turned from 2017 to 2018. The Burlingame High alum then lifted his game so dramatically that he was named first-team All-WCC.

Smith, who spent nine seasons as an assistant to Randy Bennett at St. Mary?s, likened Ferrari?s career arc to that of former St. Mary?s guard Mickey McConnell. McConnell didn?t make much of an impression in his first two seasons, became an All-WCC first-teamer as a junior and was the WCC Player of the Year as a senior.

Referring to McConnell and Ferrari, Smith said, ?If you have a good attitude and a good work ethic and you?ve bought in, it usually works out for you.?

Ferrari and his USF teammates will have to deal with the Mean Green?s Roosevelt Smart, a 6-foot-3 guard who averages 19.7 points per game. Smith says point guard Ryan Woolridge makes North Texas go; he averages 13 points and 5.9 assists per game.

North Texas has scored at least 90 points in each of its three CBI games. It went 8-10 in 14-team Conference USA, finishing tied for seventh.

 

[IE]

UNT taking advantage of second chance heading into CBI finals against San Francisco


North Texas coach Grant McCasland talked about winning titles shortly after he took over the Mean Green's program a few short months ago.

McCasland had a vision back then of how his players might someday end up cutting down nets following a championship game.

Needless to say, UNT's path to the opening game in Monday's College Basketball Invitational final series against San Francisco wasn't how McCasland envisioned getting to the verge of that opportunity. The Mean Green were battered and bruised during the regular season from an injury standpoint and hit the skids late in the year, losing seven out of eight in his debut campaign.

And yet, here the Mean Green are, two wins away from that net-cutting dream. UNT will face San Francisco at 9 p.m. in the opening game of the three-game CBI final series. The series then will shift to the Super Pit for a 7:30 p.m. game Wednesday with a final game to follow at 6 p.m. Friday, if necessary.

"We have gotten to the point where we can see there is a possibility of winning a title," McCasland said. "It's not how we thought it would happen, but it's a great opportunity. Now we have a chance to go win it and then prepare for more."

UNT hasn't looked this prepared to reach its championship goal all season. The Mean Green were hit hard with injuries early in the year, losing freshman guard Umoja Gibson for the year with a broken leg after two games and fellow guard Jorden Duffy for extended stretches with a variety of injuries.

UNT also had to meld a series of new players into a team with a completely new coaching staff. There were plenty of growing pains along the way, but it all seems to be coming together at the right time for the Mean Green.

UNT has scored at least 90 points and hit 12 shots from 3-point range in each of its CBI games.

"A lot of it is timing," McCasland said. "Duffy has gotten healthy and there is a new excitement that goes along with getting a second chance in a tournament. You have to take advantage of that."

That is just what UNT has done while ripping off three straight wins against South Dakota, Mercer and Jacksonville State in impressive fashion. The Mean Green have won all three of their CBI games by double figures.

"We are definitely showing what we are capable of," UNT guard Roosevelt Smart said. "We just have to keep playing hard and do what we do."


Smart has been a huge part of the Mean Green's success and is averaging 19.7 points per game. Point guard Ryan Woolridge is adding 13.0 points per game, while Duffy has caught fire and scored 69 points in three CBI games.

Duffy and Michael Miller were promoted to the starting lineup for the CBI after coming off the bench in the regular season, a switch that has energized the Mean Green.

The question now is if UNT can capitalize on a grand opportunity to add a title to what has already been a special season. The Mean Green finished just 8-22 a year ago under Tony Benford, who was fired at the end of the season.

San Francisco has won nine of its last 12 games and also has a lot on the line. The storied program with two NCAA championships in its history is making its first postseason title game appearance since 1956, when the Dons captured their second-straight NCAA title.

Junior guard Frankie Ferrari is averaging 11.2 points to lead San Francisco, which has four players averaging double figures. The Dons beat Campbell 65-62 to advance to the CBI finals.

McCasland said San Francisco plays an up-tempo style, but also uses concepts associated with a Princeton-style offense, including motion, cuts to the basket and plenty of 3-point shots. San Francisco averages 8.3 makes per game from behind the arc.

UNT's players will head into its CBI opener feeling good about the way they are playing as they look to cap their season with a championship.

"We carry in a lot of confidence," UNT guard DJ Draper said following the Mean Green's win against Jacksonville State. "The staff has worked to get us ready for every game. We are communicating and playing well."