PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Drexel University men’s basketball team earned a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Dragons will open play against the top seed in the Midwest, Illinois, on Friday.
“Every prognostication and prediction had us in the 15 area, some 14. So it was a surprise,” said head coach Zach Spiker. “But listen, if you’re a 14, 15 and 16, you’re gonna have to play a near-perfect game anyway.”
Drexel will bring a 12-7 record and four-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament. Dragons forward James Butler is ready to play.
“Extremely excited. I mean, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. We drew Illinois. It’s going to be a tough matchup, but this is what March is made for,” he said. “A lot of crazy moments happen in March, and we’re looking to be a part of that.”
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Butler is second on the team in scoring, at about 13 points a game. Guard Cam Wynter paces Drexel at just under 17 points a night.
The Dragons will match up with an Illinois team that won the Big Ten and sits at 23-6 on the season.
“The expectation for our guys is to play well,” continued Spiker, “and if we’re gonna put ourselves in position to have success and win this game, our best players have to be at their best, and the rest of our players have to be at their best.”
The head coach hopes their opponents see the best version of what the Dragons can do.
“If you look at our numbers coming out of the conference tournament, we’re pretty efficient,” he said. “Our three-point shooting numbers skyrocketed nationally. I think we’re at the top 40 three-point shooting team right now, one of the better free-throw shooting teams in the country. I think we’re top 25 two-point percent. So the ability to do that, I hope that that shows
that we put our guys in positions to make the right reads.”
Drexel is in the tournament for the first time since 1996.
“I’ve said this a lot over our time,” added Spiker, “but certainly it probably could not ring more true right now, and it’s a great day to be a Dragon.”