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UMBC one win away from being America East’s top dog
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UMBC basketball head coach Randy Monroe says each team the Retrievers face is like a 'WWE Hell in a Cell match.'
Baltimore County (Map, News) - For UMBC, it’s all come down to one game. One game to decide if it wins its first America East Tournament title.
One game to decide if it forever turns a downtrodden team into a champion before its largest crowd in the Catonsville school’s 40-year history.
One game to decide if it heads to the NCAA Tournament or National Invitation Tournament.
The Retrievers (23-8) host Hartford (18-15) today at noon in a game between teams that defeated each other by a point during the regular season. But this time, the stakes are much larger and the stage much bigger, as the teams will play in front of a national television audience on ESPN2.
The last time the teams met, the Hawks defeated UMBC, 58-57, in Connecticut to end the regular season. Two months earlier, senior guard Brian Hodges made a game-winning three-pointer as time expired to give his team an 86-85 victory at RAC Arena.
So naturally, UMBC coach Randy Monroe draws one conclusion for what will happen in the teams’ only meeting that matters.
“Every game at this time of year is a knock-down, drag-out fight like in a WWE Hell in a Cell match,” Monroe said. “We had a chance to win both games and we could have lost both games against Hartford. We don’t expect anything different this time.”
For UMBC to defeat Hartford and punch its ticket to NCAA Tournament — where it likely will be one of the lowest-seeded teams in the field of 65 — it must find a way to neutralize sophomore guard Joe Zeglinski and junior forward Warren McLendon.
Zeglinski, a first-team All-America East selection, was fifth in the conference in scoring at 16 points per game. Zeglinski also is an excellent three-point shooter, making 41.4 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. McLendon averages 12.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, but had one of his best games of the season at UMBC, when he scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
“In hindsight, I’m glad we lost that first game,” Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz said. “Because then we could be faced with the unenviable task of beating a team for the third time on its home court.”
Leibovitz has built Hartford into a legitimate America East contender in two years. His roster includes just two seniors and the former Temple assistant would like nothing more than to lead the Hawks to their first NCAA Tournament.
“We have a young core and I thought we could be good, but I wasn’t sure we were ready to compete for the America East title,” he said. “I’ve been to the NCAA Tournament before and hope to be here long enough to go some more. But for these kids, they only have four years to get that opportunity.”
As for UMBC, its tournament hopes rely heavily on its ability to take care of the ball. The Retrievers rarely give opponents extra possessions as they entered the week ranked first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62) and fewest turnovers (9.5) per game.
A big reason the Retrievers have been so efficient is junior point guard Jay Greene, who entered the week second in the nation with 7.3 assists per game and in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.53). He is the only Division I player ranked in the top five in both categories.
Greene said his team gained a lot of confidence last Sunday when they beat perennial conference power Vermont in the semifinals, 73-64, in a game in which it rallied from a five-point deficit in the final five minutes.
“To beat a team like Vermont for a third time was a great accomplishment,” Greene said. “It’s a credit to all of the work we’ve done this season.”
rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
2:10 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 15, 2008 re: "Retrievers playing at full capacity"
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D said:
2 more wins I can handle
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Chip Blevins said:
After checking your preview of this weekends lacrosse action you seem to have expected Maryland 's lacrosse team to walk past UMBC friday night, having listed MD's record as 5-1. Unfortunately for MD, UMBC upset them9-8 in triple overtime with 1.5 seconds remaining.
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Examiner Reader said:
Thank you for reporting on UMBC mens basketball! These athletes are making history! UMBC focuses highly on academics, so its athletics often are less publicized than larger sports programs. However the UMBC men's basketball team has earned the conference title, while at the same time maintained academic standards, which UMBC is known for. My husband and I are graduates of UMCP and UMES. Our 2 sons graduated from Salisbury State and UMES. Now our daughter attends UMBC. We are loyal to Maryland colleges and sports. We want to hear more about teams like UMBC. Their sport facilities and resources are not as great, yet they hold the title and have progressed to the America East finals to be played on our home court! Hey how bout more photos of them? Thanks.
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Examiner Reader said:
The conference tournament is at Binghamton's Event's Center, not in Albany.
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