Jacksonville State Gamecocks: 20-14, 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference
Head Coach: Ray Harper (1st season)
Players to watch: Malcolm Drumwright (12.6 PPG, 3.8 APG); Erik Durham (11.1 PPG, 48.4 3PT%); Norbertas Giga (10.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG)
Season Recap: Merely making the NCAA tournament makes this a banner year for Jacksonville State, which pulled off two straight upsets to win the Ohio Valley Conference for the first time ever. The Gamecocks faced Maryland—likely their only opponent this season that will also make the NCAA tournament—in nonconference play and got crushed in College Park, Md., 92-66.
Although Jacksonville State’s roster mainly consists of underclassmen, it is led by a quartet of juniors and seniors—Greg Tucker, Norbertas Giga, Erik Durham and Malcolm Drumwright—that average more than 10 points per game. Giga and fellow frontcourt mate Christian Cunningham anchor the paint, as both average more than eight rebounds apiece as well. But the Gamecocks struggle with turnovers, averaging 13.6 giveaways per contest.
How they make a run: Jacksonville State locks down defensively and cans a slew of timely shots to pull off an improbable upset of No. 2 seed Louisville.
How they falter: The talent gap between the Ohio Valley champions and its opponents shows early in the game as the Gamecocks fall into a slump they cannot fight out of and are quickly eliminated.
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