PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It’s college basketball tournament time.
While the current focus in Division I is conference tournaments, the Division II men’s and women’s tournaments begin Friday. Division III teams are down to the Sweet 16.
Two local women’s teams have earned spots in the Division II field, while three local men’s squads are alive in the Division III tournament.
Coaches from area teams share where they stand going into their respective tourneys.
WBB
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester University earned an at-large berth in the tournament, and the Golden Rams are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Regional.
In the first round, they will face California University of Pennsylvania Friday at noon in Glenville, West Virginia.
West Chester, 22-8, is in the tournament after winning just nine games a season ago. Head coach Kiera Wooden said the key to tournament success for her squad is efficiency.
“It’s funny cause I’m a defensive-minded coach, but I’ve learned to understand the skill set of my team,” she said. “If we’re gonna be successful, we’re gonna have to be efficient on the offensive end, we’re going to have to be smart with our shot selection, we’re gonna have to be smart with our management of the clock.”
Thomas Jefferson University Rams
The other area team in the tournament is Thomas Jefferson University. They are the No. 3 seed in the East Regional. They will take on Daeman University in the first round at noon on Friday in Massachusetts.
The Rams of Thomas Jefferson University bring a 26-4 record into the tournament. They earned an at-large bid into the field.
Head coach Tom Shirley has some notable standouts on his his squad.
“We have Haley Meinel, who was the MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year [in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference]. Morgan Robinson, who leads the country in assists,” he said. “Cassie Murphy, who was a second team all-conference player, and Sam Yencha, both [from] our inside presence. So they’re the four core kids.”
MBB Sweet 16
Rowan Profs
Three local teams have advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Division III NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Rowan University, in Glassboro, New Jersey, defeated Cal Lutheran and Utica at home in the first two rounds to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Profs will face Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Friday at 4:45 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio.
Rowan head coach Joe Crispin said pace is key for his squad if they are going to continue to have tournament success.
“Pace doesn’t mean craziness,” he said. “I mean, we only scored 83 this past weekend, but that was partly just because we didn’t shoot the ball that well. But we dictated pace in both games.
“Friday for sure is just clarifying a flow and pace to the game that is favorable to the way we play. That’s always probably tops on our keys to the game.”
Stockton Ospreys
The other two local teams still alive in the field will both play at Swarthmore College on Friday. Swarthmore will host Keene State Friday night, and prior to that game, Stockton University, in Galloway, New Jersey, will play Nichols College from Massachusetts.
The Stockton Ospreys advanced to the Sweet 16 by beating La Roche University and the University of Mary Washington in the first two rounds on the home floor.
Head coach Scott Bittner has been watching this Nichols team, which averages 88 points a game.
“They just drive the heck out of the wall,” he said. “They’ll run a simple action and just try to get a little bit of a mismatch and the kids just put their head down and attack the basket. They kind of dare you to step in. Really, really hard nose. I mean, really athletic, quick.
“It’s gonna be a heck of a challenge, keeping them on the perimeter, that’s for sure.”
Swarthmore Garnet
Swarthmore College picked up two impressive wins last weekend in its first two tournament games, blowing out SUNY Delhi and St. John Fisher at home.
The Garnet remain home for the Sweet 16 to host Keene State, a team that upset Swarthmore in the first round of last year’s tournament.
“We kind of balance it, in that we just got outplayed last year,” said Swarthmore head coach Landry Kosmalski. “We just say it very pointedly — they just outplayed us. We don’t talk about revenge as much.
“We don’t generally talk in those terms, but we did just say, hey, they outplayed us and now we’ve got another chance. We don’t know what the result is gonna be [Friday], but we know our goal is we’re not gonna be outplayed like we were last year.”