For the first time since 2014, American University will hear its name called on Selection Sunday. The Eagles defeated Navy 74-52 in the Patriot League Tournament Championship at Bender Arena on Wednesday in a game they lead from the start after scoring the night’s first 9 points.
“We just wanted to pretty much overwhelm them,” coach Duane Simpkins said. “The theme of the game today was play with discipline. Play together, play disciplined and play with toughness.”
AU held the Midshipmen to 35% shooting and 5-20 from 3-point range while also holding their own on the glass (-2 rebounding differential as opposed to -12 and -10 during the regular season).
Tournament MVP Matt Rogers scored 19 of his 25 in the second half.
“One of the things he does really well is score the basketball,” Simpkins said. “When he hits a couple of threes and really stretches the court, now the court gets bigger. Guys get driving lanes, and especially when you’re playing at home you get some of those 3-balls to drop, you get some momentum and it gets loud. Now you’ve got something cooking.”
For Rogers and fellow fifth-year senior Colin Smalls, their final game at Bender Arena was a special way to wrap up their journey through the years.
“We’ve been here since 2020, the COVID year, when we had no fans in the stands,” Smalls said. “So for Bender to pack out … it’s an amazing feeling. A sold-out gym, to be able to perform in front of our friends and family, AU community. It’s an amazing feeling.”
American (22-12) makes the tournament for the fourth time in program history, earning a No. 14 seed once and a No. 15 seed twice. This March, both ESPN and CBS Sports project the Eagles as a No. 16 seed playing in Dayton’s First Four on Tuesday.
If they win that game, a Thursday showdown with No. 1 seed Duke awaits. But that’s next week’s anxiety. For at least one day the Eagles, coach Simpkins and his staff can exhale.
Other games
Richmond (10-22) came up short against Davidson in the Atlantic 10 first round, 69-65. Neither team took more than a 7-point lead, but the Spiders made just 2-9 shots over the final seven minutes of regulation. Coach Chris Mooney’s team wasn’t massively outplayed: the Spiders outrebounded the Wildcats and shot better from 3-point range while turning the ball over just 11 times.
Unfortunately in a season of “not quite,” UR never recovered from losing guard DeLonnie Hunt in early January to a foot fracture. While he was able to play in Wednesday’s loss, the senior guard went scoreless over 13 minutes. But don’t bury the Spiders by any means. The last time the Spiders lost 20 or more games in a season, Mooney had them winning 24 the next winter.
Virginia (15-17) also went one-and-done, slipping in Charlotte to Georgia Tech 66-60 in the second round of the ACC Tournament. Isaac McNeely scored 27 points, but his teammates combined to shoot 12-41 and 2-14 from 3-point range. U.Va. was also outrebounded by 18, no surprise for those who have followed the team this winter.
It’s also not a complete surprise the school announced it wouldn’t be retaining interim coach Ron Sanchez. The search for the next Cavaliers coach commences.
Georgetown (17-15) completed the trifecta by slipping to DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament. The Hoyas fell behind 29-14, and although they rallied to take a 7-point lead in the second half, the pendulum swung the Blue Demons’ way in the end. One could say that the season was, in effect, over when they lost freshman Thomas Sorber to a foot injury.
Georgetown wrapped up the season with five losses in six games while the rim protector and rebounding was definitely missed at MSG: DePaul shot 51% and won the battle of the boards by two. Micah Peavy nets 26 points in defeat after delivering a solid season. And after seeing definitive progress from year one to year two under Coach Ed Cooley, one wonders what is next.
Other bids awarded
Southland: McNeese (27-6) repeated as tournament champ with a 63-54 win over Lamar, holding the Cardinals to 31% shooting and 5-23 from 3-point range. That’s two trips to the NCAA Tournament in two years under Coach Will Wade. One wonders if and when the former LSU coach will get another bite at the power conference school apple. The Cowboys were a No. 12 seed last year and are projected to be a No. 12 again this March.
Big Sky: Montana (25-9) outscored Northern Colorado 91-83 in a game that lived up to its billing as an offensive extravaganza: the Grizzlies shot 65% and made 7-11 threes while the Bears hit 59% of their shots. Montana advances to their first NCAA Tournament since 2019, when they were a No. 15 seed. ESPN’s Bracketology has them a No. 14. The Grizzlies last won a tournament game in 2006 as a No. 12 seed.
Bid break
After handing out 14 automatic bids over the last five days, we get nothing for the next two nights as conference quadruple-headers (second rounds and quarterfinals) take center stage. But don’t worry, we’ll get 12 bids awarded Saturday and five more Sunday.
Tonight’s games
Atlantic 10 second round, George Washington (20-11) vs. Fordham (12-20), 5 p.m., USA
The Revolutionaries knew they were going to face the Rams, but didn’t know which one until yesterday’s mild stunner. Fordham may have ended the regular season with eight straight losses, but the league’s last place team jumped out to a 38-16 first half lead against Rhode Island en route to an 88-71 victory. It was their first win since Feb. 5 against … Rhode Island.
GW took the lone regular season meeting 81-58 eight days ago, outrebounding the Rams 43-27. One reason coach Chris Caputo’s team posted its first 20-win season since 2017 has been an improved defense: GW allowed the fourth fewest points per game in the A-10 and ranked third at defending the three.
One reason Fordham finished last this winter was a defense that allowed the most points per game and was an unlucky 13th at defending the 3-pointer, along with rebounding and turnover margin. The Revolutionaries haven’t played since their 23-point win over the Rams March 5. Will it be a case of more rest or more rust?
MEAC quarterfinals, Howard (12-19) vs. Morgan State (13-17), 6 p.m., ESPN+
The Bison entered this season with high hopes as two-time defending champs and added a heck of a player in freshman Blake Harper. While the D.C. native has delivered on his promise by being named the conference’s Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year, the team has struggled down the stretch.
Four straight losses drops coach Kenneth Blakeney’s team into a fourth-place tie with the Bears, the last team they defeated. That 87-81 HU win saw Harper score 21 points while Morgan State’s Will Thomas tallied 31 in defeat (he scored 24 in the Bears’ January loss to the Bison).
Cause for confidence: Howard leads the conference in 3-point shooting and Morgan State ranks last in the MEAC at stopping the 3-pointer.
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