Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. Check out his ballots here.
Happy Leap Day! The end of February means your school is trying to make “the leap,” which for some means putting the finishing touches on their postseason resume. But for many in and around the Beltway, it means trying to salvage a season of disappointment by sending the seniors, graduate transfers, sixth-year players and Grant Goldens of the world out on a win on Senior Day.
Even with players being able to hopscotch through Division I, thanks to the portal, Senior Day remains a valued tradition.
Not every tradition is valued, however. This winter, court storming has come under fire with fans rushing the floor during upsets of opponents with at least two collisions: Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was upended last month by a fan and Saturday, fans at Wake Forest bumped into Duke’s Kyle Filipowski.
Both players were shaken up, and although each played in their next game, one doesn’t want there to be a “first” player who’s lost for a game — or worse, the season — due to an unruly onrush of fans.
Full disclosure: I have stormed the court and field in my past. Once in high school when the football team ended a 31-game losing streak and once when the boys basketball team upset the defending state champions in double-overtime (Tim O’Connell’s reverse layup the difference that night).
I tried to rush the court when Syracuse beat Georgetown in overtime to win the Big East regular season championship in 1990, but was kept off the floor by security at the Carrier Dome.
So, I get it.
Student fans like to be a part of something special, even tangentially. But you can’t have people rushing on to the floor with their phones, not looking where they’re going and running into players whose potential future earnings depend on staying away from freak injuries.
And here’s the deal: court storming can be “organized chaos” when done right. I witnessed one a week ago at George Mason when the Patriots posted their first-ever win over a ranked foe on the Eagle Bank Arena floor, and nobody got hurt in the process. I also saw one with a lot more students rushing the floor last winter when Maryland upset No. 3 Purdue.
“It’s a part of college athletics, it’s something that makes it special,” Maryland Athletic Director Damon Evans told me this week. “But at the same time, if we can’t find a way to police it accordingly, we can’t be putting people in harm’s way.”
What was the John Wooden phrase, “failing to plan is planning to fail?” Evans’ staff has been proactive with a blueprint on how to manage crowd-control.
“We go over it with all of our operational staff at the beginning of the year. But when we have teams in here that we think there could be a possible court storming, we’ll send that policy out, review it with everybody prior to the game,” Evans said. “Make sure that — whether it’s our Terp Hosts, people from CSC, police, our game day personnel — they each have a set responsibility.”
Maryland’s Xfinity Center is also set up for an easier exit for the visiting team. Imagine the court as a compass: students (a large percentage of the court-rushers) sit on the west, southwest and south sides of the court, while the visiting bench is on the southeast side and those players and coaches leave through the northeast corner.
“We’ve got our players coming here and here, we’ve got our kids going there and coming from here, so we can get the visiting team out quickly because we’ve got a good setup,” Evans said. “It’s still something that needs to be discussed because, not only do we not want players or coaches to get injured, but we don’t want fans to get injured as well.”
Suggestions on tweaks range from a 30-second “safety clock” to a rope or cord held around the court to the home school forfeiting if students set foot on the court before the final buzzer.
“You’ve gotta have something set in place to get the coaches and players off the court,” Evans said. “I think we all just need to put our heads together and say, ‘what is the right protocol that will work best across the country for all programs?’.”
Starting Five
Up Top: Houston is my new No. 1 this week after wins over ranked Iowa State and Baylor. The Cougars have joined UConn and Purdue in a group by themselves at this point, with each zeroing in on No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament and the final No. 1 of the regular season likely determined by who doesn’t stumble in their conference tourney.
Meanwhile, the schools that are currently ranked 4-11 are all 21-6. Prepare to split hairs over the next few weeks. My biggest variances: I rated No. 12 Creighton 21st this week, had No. 14 Alabama 23rd, voted No. 25 South Florida 19th, and No. 18 South Carolina was 13th on my ballot.
Difficult omissions: Texas Tech, New Mexico, Nebraska and Appalachian State.
Small school shoutout: McNeese State.
Going Inside: Howard (13-15, 7-4 MEAC) might not post a third straight winning record (they haven’t pulled that trifecta since 1988), but the Bison have found their stride on a home stretch with four wins in five games, including a pair last weekend over Morgan State and Coppin State at Burr Gymnasium.
The victory over the Eagles was particularly special as, even though it’s not the last home game, it did serve as Senior Night.
“You know, that comes fast,” Coach Kenneth Blakeney said. “For some of these guys being grad transfers, the year has come fast. And with this group, there’s going to be memories and relationships and friendships that are going to stick with these guys for a lifetime.”
Right now, Howard’s in a three-way tie for second place with North Carolina Central and South Carolina State (HU split with both schools this winter), with games against Maryland-Eastern Shore and Delaware State on tap this weekend before wrapping up the season against first-place Norfolk State next Thursday. The Bison beat the Spartans last March to lock up the regular season and tournament titles.
Perimeter Play: Virginia (21-8, 12-6 ACC) ended a two-game slide and a three-game stretch where the Cavaliers failed to score at least 50 points by beating Boston College 72-68 Wednesday. Reece Beekman led the Cavaliers with 18 points and 8 assists. The do-it-all senior (he leads the team in scoring, assists and steals while ranking second in rebounding) is this team’s best player, but by no means is he doing it alone: Isaac McKneely also scores in double figures while Ryan Dunn is more than capable of the occasional Jack Salt/Jay Huff imitation.
U.Va.’s playing for a vaunted double bye (like “dreaded first round,” the VDB is a term patented by yours truly), and while they visit No. 10 Duke on Saturday, the Blue Devils are by no means invincible at home this season. Duke lost to Pitt on Jan. 20 at Cameron Indoor and the Blue Devils have lost two in the series with U.Va. in Durham since 2018.
Who’s Open: Richmond (21-7, 13-2 Atlantic 10) and VCU (19-9, 11-4) resume their rivalry Saturday at 6 p.m. with plenty at stake. The first-place Spiders are in the driver’s seat for their first regular season title since they won the CAA in 2001, while the fourth-place Rams could clinch the vaunted double bye in the A-10 Tournament (they lose tiebreakers with UMass and St. Bonaventure, who are chasing them for the No. 4 seed).
VCU took last month’s meeting at the Siegel Center by 11, holding Richmond to 3-18 from three-point range while out rebounding the Spiders by 15. This potential trilogy (with an A-10 Semifinal showdown providing the final chapter) only gets tastier with the second bite.
Last Shot: It’s one busy weekend inside the beltway with multiple Senior Days taking place: we start Saturday afternoon at Bender Arena as American (16-14, 10-7 Patriot League) faces Navy (11-17, 7-10) with second place within AU’s grasp.
Seeds are doubly important in the Patriot League Tournament, which is played on home courts. The Midshipmen have a shot at home court for the first round and they’ve also won three straight. What was originally a 4 p.m. tipoff is now a 2 p.m. start, and that allows one to get over to Capital One Arena for a 7:30 p.m. start between Georgetown (9-19, 2-15 Big East) and Xavier (14-14, 7-10).
While the Hoyas’ haven’t been able to beat anyone in league play other than DePaul this winter, the Musketeers have lost four of five (with the victory coming against the Blue Demons). And Coach Ed Cooley’s team came within a point of topping Xavier on the road last month.
Sunday at 2 p.m. Maryland (15-14, 7-11 Big Ten) plays its home finale against Indiana (15-13, 7-10) in a battle to stay out of the Big Ten’s dreaded first round. The Terps are one of four schools in the current conference format that has yet to play on the first day (Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue are the others), and while they’re not going to hang a banner for it, avoiding Wednesday in Minneapolis would be a small victory for this team and program.
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