SHSU hosts UNCW as CIT Post-Season Play Opens
3/17/2015 12:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Sporting one of the best won-loss records in the field for the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the Sam Houston men's basketball team knows it can't take its first round opponent lightly.
UNC-Wilmington is returning to NCAA Division I post-season play for the first time since 2006 when the Seahawks visit Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for a CIT first-round game with the Bearkats.
Sam Houston, runner-up in the 2015 Southland Conference regular season and a finalist at the Southland Tournament in Katy last Saturday, brings a 25-8 record into Wednesday's game.
The first 100 SHSU students who come the Gates 27-28 when the doors open will receive free admission to the Wednesday's contest thanks to head coach Jason Hooten. Tickets for the game priced at $10 for reserved seats and general admission and $5 for SHSU students are available now online at www.gobearkats.com
UNCW has seen a surprising turnaround season in 2015 as they rolled up a 18-13 record. The game Wednesday marks the seventh postseason appearance for the Seahawks following NCAA berths in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006, and National Invitation Tournament bids in 1998 and 2001.
"The CIT is a very good tournament and I'm excited for the whole team, and especially the seniors for receiving this opportunity," said first-year UNCW Head Coach Kevin Keatts, the 2015 CAA Coach-of-the-Year. "These guys have certainly had a great year and earned the right to play in the postseason.
"Sam Houston State played a very challenging schedule and reached the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament. It's going to be a great game."
UNCW is making its first appearance and Sam Houston its second in the CIT, a 32-team event that made its debut in 2009.
The Seahawks were picked to finish ninth in the 10-team Colonial Athletic Association in 2014-15, but staged an impressive run to the regular season title before bowing out in the semifinals of the league's tournament to eventual champion Northeastern in Baltimore.
The squad is led by senior guards Addison Spruill and Freddie Jackson who average 14.3 and 13.2 points per game, respectively.
“Anyone you face in post-season play is going to be tough,” SHSU head coach Jason Hooton said. “We're excited to still be playing basketball. With the season we put together, our players deserve the opportunity to continue playing. I know everybody on UNCW's team feels the same way. We're going to have to keep playing with the same intensity we've had down the stretch to be successful.”
The second round of the CIT will be played March 20-21, followed by the quarterfinals on March 24-25. The March 31 semifinals and April 2 championship game will be televised CBS Sports Network.
Following first round play, new match-ups will be announced for the second round.
The Seahawks are meeting the Bearkats for the first time. UNCW does have one basketball connection with Sam Houston – former Seahawk head coach Robert McPherson (1987-90) served as head coach of the Bearkats from 1982-86, compiling a 102-47 record, before moving to the North Carolina coast for four seasons.
Last season the Kats hosted a pair of games in the CIT, including a victory over Alabama State in the first round. The Bearkats lost in the second round to San Diego.
The Bearkats finished the regular season with 25 wins, tied for the school record since becoming a Division I basketball program.
CIT FIRST ROUND MATCH-UPS / RESULTS:
March 16
NJIT (19-11) 84, New Hampshire (19-13) 77
March 17
Eastern Illinois (17-14) @ Oakland (16-16) 6:00
James Madison (19-13) @ USC Upstate (23-11) 6:00
Bowling Green (20-11) @ Saint Francis (16-15) 6:00
Norfolk State (20-13) @ Eastern Kentucky (19-11) 6:00
UL-Lafayette (20-13) @ Incarnate Word (18-10) 7:00
March 18
UMES (18-14) @ High Point (22-9) 6:00
Dartmouth (14-14) @ Canisius (16-14) 6:00
Corpus Christi (19-13) @ Florida Gulf Coast (22-10) 6:00
Cleveland State (24-8) @ Western Michigan (20-13) 6:00
Kent State (21-11) @ Middle Tennessee (19-16) 6:00
IPFW (16-14) @ Evansville (19-12) 6:05
UNC Wilmington (18-13) @ Sam Houston State (25-7) 6:30
Northern Arizona (19-14) @ Grand Canyon (17-14) 7:00
Sacramento State (20-11) @ Portland (17-15) 9:00
March 19
UT Martin (18-12) @ Northwestern State (19-12) 6:30
