ROUNDBALL DAILY

NCAA Tournament Profile: Jacksonville State Gamecocks

 

Jacksonville State

OVC Tournament MVP Malcolm Drumwright leads the Gamecocks in scoring. (Getty Images)

The most surprising thing about Jacksonville State’s run to the NCAA Tourney? Realizing that they’re located in Alabama.

The second most surprising thing? That they’re anywhere near the field, after being predicted to finish 12th in the Ohio Valley Conference in the preseason coming off of an 8-23 season last year.

The Gamecocks, seeded fourth in the OVC tournament, knocked off top seed Belmont, 65-59, in the semifinals, and downed second-seeded Tennessee-Martin, 66-55, in the final.

JSU lost to Belmont by a combined 30 points in two regular season games. The Bruins, who finished 22-6 overall and 15-1 in the league, may have made a little bit of noise in the NCAA’s, but now they’ll settle for the NIT. March is cruel.

Jacksonville State has a balanced squad, with four players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by 6-2 junior guard and OVC Tournament MVP Malcolm Drumwright at 12.5 per.

The Gamecocks (20-14, 9-7/OVC) won 20 games for just the second time in school history, and will be making their first-ever NCAA Tourney appearance. First-year head coach Ray Harper has to be pumped.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *