All eight college basketball teams playing in Denver in the NCAA Tournament are coming through the Pepsi Center today for a 40-minute practice, and to talk with the media.
Fans from around the country are in the arena watching the practices.
Morehead State took the floor first at noon, and Gonzaga was last, ending at 7:20 p.m.
Check back for updates throughout the day from the team’s news conferences, which are held before each team practices.
Gonzaga keeps its streak alive
Far from inheriting a predetermined berth, Gonzaga this season was struggled some to keep an NCAA tournament streak alive.
The Bulldogs got in with the West Coast Conference automatic bid after beating St. Mary’s in the league title game. But the season was a tough test at times.
Gonzaga started 2-2 after early losses to San Diego State and Kansas State. And the Zags were just 5-4 after a three-game losing skid in December.
But they rallied, winning nine in a row at one point. They’re on another nine-game streak heading into the tournament.
“The start of the season was one where we took a lot of lumps, had to do a lot of learning and growing up,” Gonzaga guard Steven Gray said Wednesday.
“This team was able to really draw a line in the sand and started winning games when we had to to get us here.”
Gonzaga got nationally-televised wins over Baylor, Xavier and Oklahoma State to pad its resume.
“Coaches tested us all year by giving us a tough schedule,” Bulldogs center Robert Sacre said. “We just needed to fight through it. It showed a lot of adversity, we just handled it the right way.”
BYU draws big crowd — and lots of questions
BYU finished the season ranked No. 10. But after the suspension of Brandon Davies in late February, after a Cougars 13-point win over San Diego State on Feb. 26, BYU has since struggled some.
In five games down the stretch, BYU went 3-2, including 18-point losses to New Mexico and San Diego State.
“I think the fact that this team has moved on and been able to be successful, you know, is a positive thing,” BYU coach Dave Rose said Wednesday.
“And hopefully we can just continue to play with confidence.
BYU is seeded third in the Southeast Regional and plays No. 14 Wofford on Thursday.
“The team is different. We play a little bit different. But I do believe that we can continue to be successful.”
Wofford coach Mike Young said he’s prepared for both versions of BYU.
“I thought it was important for us to see Davies and their team before and after… I think any good team will adjust and adapt. And (BYU) has done that, to pick themselves up from that point.”
St. John’s a long way from New York
Coming from New York to Denver might spell trouble for a team not accustomed to playing at altitude. But St. John’s guard Dwight Hardy isn’t worried.
“I don’t think it will be a factor now,” he said. “We traveled to the West Coast a couple times this year. I think we should be used to it now. We’re just going to play the way we play.”
The Red Storm twice played in California this season, at St. Mary’s and at UCLA, both sea-level games. St. John’s last played an NCAA tournament game at altitude in 1988, at Salt Lake City.
The Red Storm, seeded No. 6, faces 11th-seeded Gonzaga on Thursday.
And more than the altitude, St. John’s coach Steve Lavin is concerned with Gonzaga’s offense.
“They’d be near the top” of the Big East Conference this season, Lavin said. “Their firepower and personnel would put them near the top in terms of talent.
“They’re as gifted a team as we faced all year offensively.”
The Big East qualified 11 teams, the most in this year’s tournament. Gonzaga is the lone entrant from the West Coast Conference.
SEC no pushover, Vanderbilt says
The Big East (11 teams) got the most attention heading into the tournament. And the Big 12 got the spotlight for being snubbed (Colorado).
The SEC, normally a power conference, is on a particularly down year. Only five teams qualified for the tournament, the same number from the Big 12.
But the SEC is no pushover, its players said Wednesday.
“The Big East is definitely a great conference. I watched them a lot this year,” Vanderbilt guard John Jenkins said. But “I would say” we can play with anybody.
Added Commodores forward Jeffery Taylor:
“I feel as though the SEC has a lot of great teams, especially in the East Division. So hopefully all of us can have great showings.”
No. 2 seed Florida, fourth-seeded Kentucky, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 Georgia join fifth-seeded Vanderbilt in the bracket.
The Commodores play No. 12 Richmond on Thursday.
Pitino continues building
Louisville coach Rick Pitino wasn’t sure what to expect this season, and after losing his one returning starter from last season, Pitino early in the season labeled it a “bridge” season.
“I didn’t call it a rebuilding year, I called it a bridge year,” Pitino said Wednesday.
“We only had one return starter, Jared Swopshire, he went out for the season, we didn’t have a lot of experience returning. We were picked eight in the Big East.
“I was saying we’re going to build to something special. I Just don’t know when the bridge will be complete.”
The Cardinals finished 25-9 and 12-6 in Big East and play Thursday against Morehead State.
After Louisville’s practice Wednesday at Pepsi Center, Pitino corralled his crew straight from court to another practice at the University of Denver. The team didn’t even change out of its gym shoes.
Triumphant return of Mooney
Chris Mooney, who was head coach at Air Force in 2004-05 after an assistants job at the Academy for four years, returned to Denver in his fifth season as coach at Richmond.
“It’s great to be back in Colorado,” he said. No. 12 Richmond plays fifth-seeded Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Mooney went 18-12 at Air Force to finish third in the Mountain West. But the Falcons that season failed to earn an NCAA bid.
Since then, Mooney is 110-86 at Richmond, with two NCAA berths.
The Spiders last season entered the tournament as a seventh seed from the Atlantic 10. But they were upset in the first round by No. 10 St. Mary’s.
“I don’t know if there was added pressure last year, or if there is less pressure this year,” Mooney said. “The matchup is a lot more important than the seed. No matter what, you’re going to play a really good team, a great team most likely.”
But with back-to-back berths for Richmond, the “Cinderella” tag that once followed Richmond is gone.
“It’s different now than when it started happening (in Richmond) in the late ’80s, early ’90s. I don’t think it applies anymore.”
Early advantage for BYU?
An old story, sure. But nearly every coach and player today has mentioned at least some worry about the Colorado altitude.
Most players in the Denver second-round games have never played at altitude — except, notably, BYU.
The third-seeded Cougars play No. 13 Wofford on Thursday.
“We’re not going to belabor it,” Wofford coach Mike Young said. “Listen, if BYU beats us, it’s because they outplay us. It’s not going to be because we’re 5,550 miles in the air. I don’t know what we are. I don’t know much about that altitude.”
No. 5 seed Vanderbilt, which faces 12th-seeded Richmond in the first round Thursday, has never played in Denver. And No. 6 St. John’s, from New York, last played an NCAA tournament game at altitude in 1988, at Salt Lake City.
The Red Storm face No. 11 Gonzaga on Thursday.
Morehead State’s Demonte Harper, asked if he’d noticed the altitude, said with a smile: “Yes. We did.”
No. 13 Morehead faces No. 5 Vanderbilt on Thursday.
Up first, Morehead State
The nation’s leading rebounder Kenneth Faried was the hightlight of the opening news conference.
Faried is a 6-foot-8 center, it was his mother who pushing him to be a rebounder and not a shooter.
“My mother said, when I was young, I wasn’t getting enough shots. I went home complaining, like most kids would do, saying ‘They won’t pass me the ball.’ She said, ‘Well, go get it. If they miss it, you go rebound it and you put it back yourself. … Just get the ball yourself,’ ” said Faried, who averages 14.5 rebounds a game.
Morehead is playing Louisville in the opening game Thursday.
Today’s Practice Schedules
Practices are free and open to the fans:
Noon-12:40 p.m.: Morehead State
12:45-1:25 p.m.: Richmond
1:30-2:10 p.m.: Louisville
2:15-2:55 p.m.: Vanderbilt
4:25-5:05 p.m.: BYU
5:10-5:50 p.m.: St. John’s (N.Y.)
5:55-6:35 p.m.: Wofford
6:40-7:20 p.m.: Gonzaga
