SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Bellarmine University men's basketball team held their final official team practice of the 2010-11 season on Friday morning at the MassMutual Center. While the entire season has surpassed nearly everybody's expectations, one focused goal remains: winning a national championship.
The Knights (32-2) will face Brigham Young University-Hawaii on Saturday at 1p.m., before a nationwide network television broadcast, for the right to call the victorious side the best team in NCAA Division II.
“(A national championship) would be incredibly gratifying for so many people who have given so much of their lives for this university,” Bellarmine Head Coach Scott Davenport said on Friday during an afternoon press conference.
The Seasiders (22-8) have made a ferocious run to the championship game. Finishing third in the Pacific West Conference regular season, BYU-Hawaii earned an at-large berth as a No. 7 seed in the West Regional Tournament in Ellensburg, Wash. There, the underdogs defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills (83-76), Alaska-Anchorage (100-91), and top-seeded hosts Dixie State (79-73) to advance to the Elite Eight.
So far in Springfield, the Seasiders have defeated Bloomfield (96-89) on Wednesday evening, and previously unbeaten West Liberty (110-101) in the semifinal on Thursday night.
Tsung-Hsien (Jet) Chang leads BYU-Hawaii on the offensive side. The 6'4” junior guard from Yilan, Taiwan, averages 20.7 points per game, and exploded for a career-high 43 points off 14-17 shooting from the field against West Liberty.
“They have such a balanced attack in so many different ways,” Davenport said. “It's a lot like us in that they are a great blend with a lot of different parts.”
Rebounding has given Bellarmine problems throughout the tournament, and things are not expected to get any easier. 6'5” senior guard Marques Whippy is the nation's second-leading rebounder, averaging 11.6 boards per contest. His 15 double-doubles this season is seven more than the entire Bellarmine squad (Braydon Hobbs: 4, Nick Holmes: 2, Justin Benedetti: 1, Luke Sprague: 1).
“Keys for us to win this game are being tremendous in recognizing situations on defensive and rebounding the basketball,” Davenport said.
Saturday's national championship will be broadcast in high definition on CBS, with Tim Brando handling play-by-play duties, joined by color analyst Dan Bonner. Fans wishing to listen to the game can hear the action on ESPN Radio 680-AM with play-by-play man Nick Curran and former Bellarmine assistant coach Mark Bugg. Bellarmine University Radio will also have the call with Chris Presley and Samantha Hitner.
