Men's Basketball looks to capitalize on its first ever NCAA bid this Friday at Johns Hopkins University.
For the first time in the program’s history, the men’s basketball team has a ticket to the dance. On Friday, March 6, the Cardinals will square off against the recently crowned Liberty League champion Skidmore College at Johns Hopkins University. The NESCAC will be well represented in the national tourney as the three teams the Cardinals beat in the conference tournament—Bates, Trinity, and Amherst—also managed to clinch bids.
Head Coach Joe Reilly’s squad will have a difficult test awaiting them in their first-ever national tournament game as the Thoroughbreds ride into the first round unbeaten in their last eight competitions. The 19-8 Cardinals will also be putting their five-game winning streak on the line against their evenly matched, 19-7 opponents from Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Fresh off winning its third Liberty League title in the last five years, Skidmore has been one of the tougher competitors in Division III this year. After getting off to a tepid 3-5 start to the 2014-15 campaign, Skidmore notched a 16-2 record in its following 18 games. Part of the reason for that early season turnaround is that the Thoroughbreds boast the fifth-best field goal percentage defense in the nation, holding opponents to a 37.6 percent mark on the year.
Along with stifling opposing shooters, Skidmore has made a point of applying pressure in the paint. The Thoroughbreds have posted 4.8 blocked shots per game and 28.3 defensive rebounds per contest, good for 11th and 19th in the nation, respectively.
Guiding Skidmore offensively will be the Liberty League Player of the Year Aldin Medunjanin. The 6’4” junior guard from New York City has had a prolific career thus far, earning All-Conference honors in each of his three seasons. In his most recent campaign, Medunjanin has been pacing the ’Breds in scoring with 14.8 a game. Skidmore has depended on its lead man to handle the ball and run one of the most efficient offenses in the Liberty League as Medunjanin ranks second in the conference with 4.1 assists per game and first in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 2.2 mark.
The Thoroughbreds will pair Medunjanin with Liberty League Tournament MVP Erik Sanders. The junior guard rides into Friday’s matchup with a hot hand after posting 25 points off 8-of-9 shooting in the conference final against Clarkson University. Sanders has averaged 14.3 points per game this season off a 43 percent clip from the field.
Matching up against the Thoroughbreds’ efficient offense and defense, the Cardinals will rely on their team-oriented, diverse scoring arsenal that has seen all five starters lead the squad in scoring in games throughout the season. The Cardinals’ most recent, and perhaps most consistent, hero on the offensive end has been sharpshooter Jack Mackey ’16.
In the championship battle against Little Three foe Amherst, Mackey led the Cardinals with 18 points, shooting 6-13 from three-point land. By comparison, the rest of the squad shot 4-for-14 on the game, indicating just how important the junior captain has been for the Cardinals’ late season surge. Throughout the conference tournament, Mackey has upped his offensive production, averaging 15.3 points a game to his 12.0 season average.
In order to be dominant against Skidmore, the Birds will need Rashid Epps ’16 to repeat his performance against Amherst. In the championship game, Epps was as efficient as ever in the paint, making 7-of-10 for 14 points while ripping down a team-high 11 boards.
The Cards will also need to see Epps’ partner in the interior, Joseph Kuo ’17, dominate again. After leading the Cards in scoring throughout the season with a 12.0 point per game mark, the 6’8” forward’s production dipped a bit in tournament play as he averaged 9.7 and 4.7. As opposing defenses begin to take Kuo’s production into account more and more, the Cardinals will need to fortify their inside-out game, giving Mackey, Harry Rafferty ’17, and Joe Edmonds ’16 plenty of looks from beyond the arc.
In order to move onto the second round and face either Keene State or the home court advantage-sporting Johns Hopkins University, the Cardinals will undoubtedly need to mount another full team effort. Skidmore represents a much more seasoned and tournament-ready side, but the Cardinals haven’t been afraid to go off script this year. After becoming the lowest seed ever to win the NESCAC tournament by dethroning the three-time defending champs in Amherst, the Cardinals are poised to keep their dream season going as they put on their dancing shoes.