By: by Mark Toma
Atlanta Journal Constitution Story
MACON, Ga. - It has been four years in the making, and on Wednesday afternoon the Kennesaw State Owls will prepare for its first Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. For the Owls, the “Road to Indianapolis” begins at the University Center where the No. 1 seed, Lipscomb, awaits head coach Tony Ingle and his Owls.
“This is a step in the right direction for us,” commented Ingle. “We moved up three spots from where we were picked in the preseason poll, and now everyone is at the same place, 0-0.”
The Owls (12-19, 7-13 A-Sun) will play its first postseason game since 2005, when they were in their final Division II season and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Today, the Black and Gold are just three wins away from a trip to the Division I tournament.
“I’m very proud, specifically, of what Jonathan Whipple and Jon-Michael Nickerson have done," said Ingle. “Those two guys have been in the program the past three years when we didn’t have a chance to play for an NCAA berth. They played Division I basketball for the love of the game and all the right reasons. Now they have a chance to go to the national tournament and I am excited for them.”
The journey will be difficult from the outset, as the Owls will tangle with the A-Sun regular season champions from Nashville. The Bisons (17-12, 14-6 A-Sun) won a four-team tiebreaker as they clinched their first regular season title since 2006, and the second in the program's history.
While the Black and Gold are making their tournament debut, Lipscomb will be playing its 10th A-Sun tournament game. Since joining the conference in the 2003-04 season, the Bisons have a 4-5 record, advancing to the title game in 2006, losing to cross-town rival Belmont, 74-69.
The Owls and the Bisons split a pair of games this season, with Kennesaw State winning the first meeting, 97-91, on Dec. 5 at the KSU Convocation Center. Lipscomb defeated the Owls last Thursday in Nashville, 74-66, and has a 5-4 advantage in the all-time series.
“Lipscomb is a good team and we’ve got a lot of respect for them,” added Ingle. “They’ve got two kids who made first team all-conference and when you have that you’re a pretty good team. They beat Belmont twice, they can play fast and slow, have power inside and quick guards. ”
Markeith Cummings, the Owls all-conference performer, leads the Black and Gold. Scoring 17.4 points per game, Cummings is the leading scorer in the conference and one of the top freshman scorers in the country. He earned Second Team All-Conference honors as well as being a unanimous All-Freshman Team selection.
A-Sun Player of the Year Adnan Hodzic pairs with Josh Slater to lead the Bisons attack. The two players were first team, all-conference selections, marking the first time since Lipscomb’s Eddie Ard and Brian Fisk in 2005-06 that two players from the same squad were voted to the first team.
“Lipscomb is hungry,” added Ingle. “What makes them hungry is that they hosted the tournament the last two years and didn’t advance. I just hope our guys are not just happy to be there, but really want to compete.”
It is not completely uncommon for a No. 8-seed to defeat a top-seed in the conference tournament. The last time a No. 8-seed defeated a No. 1-seed came in 2000 when Mercer upset Troy, 79-75, in Jacksonville, Fla. when the league took 10 teams to the tournament.
The last time a No. 8-seed won a first round game in an eight-team field came in the 1996 season when Florida International stopped Samford in overtime, 58-55. All-time, the No. 8-seed has a 7-25 record in A-Sun tournament games while the No. 1-seed has a 49-20 record.
Tip-off between the Owls and the Bisons is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. The game can be viewed on ASUN.TV.
