PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Drexel University men's basketball team is putting the finishing touches on preparations for the program's first NCAA Tournament game since 1996.
On Friday, the Dragons, the 16th seed in the Midwest region, will face the top seed in the region, Illinois, in Indianapolis.
Drexel head coach Zach Spiker knows his team has basically no margin for error if it wants to upset the 23-6 Fighting Illini.
"We're going to have to play a near perfect game," Spiker told KYW Newsradio. "We know that."
Illinois features 6-foot-5 junior guard Ayo Dosunmu, a fantastic all-around talent who is the only player in the NCAA over the last 11 seasons to average at least 20 points (20.6), six rebounds (6.3) and five assists a game (5.3).
Another key player for the Fighting Illini is 7-foot sophomore center Kofi Cockburn, who pours in 17.6 points a contest while pulling down nearly ten rebounds a game.
Spiker drilled down on some of the big keys for his squad in this one.
"We have to take tremendous care of the basketball and then make sure that we get quality shots," he said. "Then we've got to find a way to hit the glass on our end."
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Drexel will also look to stay hot from behind the arc. In the three-game run to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament title, the Dragons shot an amazing 57% from three.
The Dragons are led on offense by junior guard Cam Wynter and his 16.8 points per game. Graduate student forward James Butler puts up 12.9 points per game and pulls down a team-best 9.2 rebounds a contest.
Spiker wants and expects his players to leave it all out on the floor, much like they did in winning the CAA Tournament.
"Let’s have no regrets, let's have absolutely no regrets," he said. "Win or lose."
And after several days of preparing, the Dragons are ready to play some basketball.
"This is the NCAA Tournament," Spiker said. "They are a really good team. So are we. And we need to play as hard as we can and see what happens."
Drexel and Illinois get underway at 1:15 on Friday afternoon.