Jacksonville State University
No. 2 Louisville
Gamecocks Make Dance Debut Friday vs. Louisville
3/16/2017 1:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jacksonville State Notes | Louisville Notes
Game 35 - NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship: First Round
Jacksonville State (20-14, 9-7 OVC) vs. Louisville (24-8, 12-6 ACC)
March 17, 2017 | 1:45 p.m. CT
Indianapolis, Ind. | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,165)
Series History
Last Meeting: Nov. 17, 2014 @ UL (L, 88-39)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 1-0
Follow Live
Listen: Gamecock Sports Network (WLJS 91.9 FM, WVOK 97.9 FM), Westwood One
Watch: CBS (Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson)
Live Stats: Click Here
INDIANAPOLIS – The 15-seeded Jacksonville State men's basketball team practiced one final time Thursday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in preparation for its March 17 NCAA Basketball Championship matchup with two-seeded Louisville.
The Gamecocks (20-14) and Cardinals (24-8) go head-to-head Friday at 1:45 p.m. CT on CBS in the Midwest Regional's First Round. It marks just the second meeting between the two programs with Louisville holding a 1-0 advantage.
"We're excited to be here," head coach Ray Harper said. "These kids have worked awfully hard all season long. They were picked to finish last in the Ohio Valley Conference, so we're excited to be here. We're looking forward to a huge challenge tomorrow afternoon against Louisville."
While JSU is making its Big Dance debut, Harper owns a 1-2 record in two tournament appearances. Harper led the Gamecocks to their first Division I championship and NCAA Tournament berth, while also improving on the previous season's record by 10.5 games in just one year at the helm in Jacksonville.
Four of the Gamecocks' five starters enter the contest averaging more than 10 points per game. Juniors Malcolm Drumwright (12.6) and Norbertas Giga (10.4) are the bookends while seniors Greg Tucker (11.3) and Erik Durham (11.1) provide the filler. They became the first quartet to finish the season averaging double figures since 2013.
Louisville goes into the First Round ranked 10th by the Associated Press and ninth in the USA Today pole. The Cardinals finished tied for second in the Atlantic Coach Conference en route to their 42nd tournament appearance. Head coach Rick Pitino owns a 769-270 career record and owns a 53-18 NCAA Tournament record.
For more information on the JSU men's basketball team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSU_MBB). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks), Instagram (@JSUGamecocks) and Snapchat (@JSUGamecocks).
NOTEWORTHY
• The Gamecocks are competing in their first NCAA Tournament following their first Division I conference championship.
• Jacksonville State is the sixth-most improved team in the nation, bettering it's record by 10.5 games from just a year ago (8-23).
• The Gamecocks have 20 wins for the just the second time in its Division I history. Mike LaPlante led the Gamecocks to a 20-10 mark in 2002-03.
• JSU is second in the Ohio Valley in RPI (151) in the latest NCAA rankings behind Belmont (60). The Gamecocks' own the fourth-best RPI ranking among Alabama programs behind just Alabama (78), Auburn (113) and Troy (147).
• Jacksonville State went 9-7 in Ohio Valley play, picking up nine wins in 16 OVC games for the first time in program history (under 16-game league schedule). Prior to this year, JSU had recorded just two seasons of eight OVC wins (2011-12, 2012-13) and never won more than eight league contests under the 16-game format.
• Through 34 games as the head coach of the Gamecocks, Ray Harper is 20-14 to bring his career coaching record to 451-141. It is the best first year for a JSU head coach since Bill Jones began his tenure with a 20-7 record. Only three coaches have enjoyed a .500+ record in their first year at Jacksonville. Jones was the last to do it, going 20-7 in 1974-75.
