C'mon and take your best shot
Let me see what you got
Bring on your wrecking ball
-          B. Springsteen
 
A happy hello from the Freeman Center! Spirits are high around here after a great weekend for CNU athletics. Our women's basketball squad held court at home, running through the competition all the way into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament! It's a phenomenal accomplishment for the coaches and players in that program – an accomplishment that we will have the opportunity to match ourselves this weekend.
 
We have that opportunity because we came out ready to play last Saturday; combining another stellar defensive effort with some fast-paced scoring to outlast Rutgers-Newark 84-72 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Another team effort, we received significant contributions from our seniors all the way down to our freshmen. The win marked the first NCAA Tournament victory for the CNU men's basketball program in over a decade. Like I said last week, it was a long time coming – but the moment arrived and we met the challenge.
 
Now we get to keep on playing some basketball. Winning in the NCAA Tournament is a thrilling achievement, both for the win itself and the fact that it allows you to keep chasing a national championship. Any tournament game with a Sweet Sixteen trip on the line is going to be full of excitement and energy. However, the familiarity and rivalry with our Saturday opponent makes this matchup an even more rare and special occasion.
 
Virginia Wesleyan College has simply been the class of Division III men's basketball for the past decade. One national championship, two national championship game appearances, perennially ranked in the top 25, the Marlins have set the standard of Division III basketball excellence. This year's version is no different: a senior-laden squad featuring formidable weapons at every position. Virginia Wesleyan is simply, one of the most talented teams in the nation. They showed this to be true last month when they came into the Freeman Center and walked away with a 79-66 win.
 
That game served as an important lesson to our team, ultimately helped us get “right” and make the push we've made over the last two weeks. We know what will be in store for us in this rematch. With the stakes higher and more time to prepare, we should be fully ready for this next moment in the journey.
 
There is no doubt that will need to go into the Batten Center on Saturday night and play one of our most complete, well-executed, and toughest games of the season in order to come out victorious. However, the opportunity before us is one that any of us would have eagerly signed up for prior to the season: the chance to play for the Sweet Sixteen against one of the top teams in the nation only a few miles from our campus.
 
We have been playing well when it has mattered the most over these past few weeks, and the plan is to keep that momentum going. The Sweet Sixteen is rare territory – it's supposed to be very difficult to reach. Saturday will reveal if we truly have what it takes to be mentioned amongst this elite group.
 
The hard part has been already achieved. We've done our part to put ourselves in this situation. The only thing left to do is to go out and give Virginia Wesleyan our very best shot. We as coaches have preached all year about putting it all on the line, playing freely, with toughness, with passion, with intensity, with confidence, and for each other. If we are able to do that on Saturday, then we will be at peace with the result, no matter which way the ball ultimately bounces.
 
We thank you for the tremendous support we have received so far. The Batten Center will be a formidable venue, but we go in confidently knowing there will be a strong contingent of CNU supporters in the crowd. Either in-person or watching online, stay with us for this part of the ride, it's going to be a doozy! Go Captains!