“It's been a long time comin' but now it's here”
- B. Springsteen
 
A big hello from the busy confines of the Freeman Center! As the rest of the student body gears up for spring break, it's been a prolific last week for CNU athletics.  The spring sports season is in full swing, with baseball, softball, and women's lacrosse all sporting national rankings. The CNU women's basketball squad took home the hardware last Sunday, winning the USA South conference tournament down in Fayetteville, NC. Then, of course, there's us over here in men's basketball.
 
I talked last week about what it would take to survive and advance through a brutal three-day stretch. Our guys more than answered the call, riding a string of strong defensive performances to the 2012-2013 USA South tournament championship. The casual observer can find it difficult to understand just how challenging it is to win both a regular season and conference tournament championship; much less two years in a row as we have done. It is a testament to the tireless effort and dedication put in by every single member of this program.
 
The old adage “defense wins championships” was certainly true for us last weekend. We faced two of the top four scorers in the nation in the quarterfinals and semifinals (Averett's Justin Pierce and N.C. Wesleyan's Brandon Givens) and held both to well under their scoring averages. Then we kept a blazing hot Greensboro team in check for most of the game, withstood a furious late rally, and held on for the win. Most importantly, our success in Fayetteville was a true team effort – everyone contributed and different guys stepped up at key moments. As coaches, it is very fulfilling to see it all come together like it did in the USA South tournament.
 
Now, we get to continue the journey! On Monday we gathered in the Freeman Center President's Room to watch the NCAA Division III tournament Selection Show. The excitement of seeing “CNU” pop up on the screen was quickly replaced by investigative work as the coaches set out to learn all we could about our new opponent: the Scarlet Raiders of Rutgers-Newark University. I have a tremendous amount of passion for the strategy/X's and O's aspects of coaching, so for me it does not get any more fun than analyzing, dissecting, and game planning for an opponent you previously did not know anything about, especially in a game of this magnitude.
 
As a staff, we've poured over numerous hours of game footage on Rutgers-Newark. They are a very tough, physical, and hungry squad who, very similarly to us, pride themselves on their defense. The fact that Rutgers-Newark received one of the nineteen coveted at-large berths into the tournament speaks volumes about the type of season they've had. We will certainly have to compete and execute at a very high level on Saturday in order to have a chance to advance onward.
 
Being presented with the opportunity to compete in the NCAA national tournament is an amazing privilege.  Of the 407 men's basketball teams in Division III, only 62 still have the chance to be called the “best”, to win a national championship. After Saturday, that number will be down to 32.
 
It would be a shame to let an opportunity like this slip away, so as a coach you have to make sure that the team is extremely well-prepared, with laser-like focus on what needs to be done to achieve success during those forty minutes of game action. Every team left standing right now is elite. In a game of two evenly-matched teams like ours will be on Saturday, it will ultimately come down to which group of young men is more determined to not have their season come to an end.
 
For most of us in the program, the sting still exists from our 94-84 defeat in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament – a game we were leading for the first 36 minutes. Exactly one year later, we have a shot at redemption. Reaching a single NCAA Tournament is extraordinarily difficult – there are many coaches and countless players who have gone their entire careers without ever making it. Getting here two years in a row is exceptional. Hosting the first NCAA Tournament game in the Freeman Center in over a decade is special. Now, it is up to us to make it memorable by going out there and getting the job done one more time.
 
This is where you come in! Our home crowd and home court advantage have been tremendous all year. Help us fill the Freeman Center on Saturday afternoon at 4pm. I can guarantee that you will get your money's worth. There are few sporting events at any level that can measure up with the electric, thrilling, pulsating atmosphere of an NCAA tournament game. If you can't be there in person, the game will be streamed live at CNUsports.com/LIVE. We look forward to having all of you with us in person and in spirit on Saturday. It's been a long time coming, but the moment is here. Go Captains!