By C. Scott Shasteen
Motlow Sports Information
Now that the national tournament trip is secure, the next goal for the Motlow men’s basketball team is to win the TCCAA tournament, which begins Tuesday, March 5 at Copperweld Arena. The Bucks are the top men’s seed and will play their first game on Thursday, March 7 at 2 p.m.
A tournament championship would increase Motlow’s seeding position at the national tournament in Kansas significantly. Any team that enters the tournament as both regular season and tournament champion of any of the NJCAA’s sixteen regions is bound to get a favorable seed.
The Bucks (22-3, 17-1) will have to win three games to accomplish the next goal, which would push their record to 25-3 heading to Hutchinson, Kan. on March 18 for the national event. With that record and both titles, it seems a safe bet that the Bucks could be a top ten seed.
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On women’s side Motlow is guaranteed one of the four ‘play-in’ spots on the first day, with tipoff time either at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. at Copperweld Arena.
A promising start to the season back in November found the Lady Bucks winning their first three games, including conference wins over Columbia State and Jackson State. However, injuries began to take a toll early and have continued to limit first-year head coach Aaron Holland’s squad.
The loss of Chelsey Wiseman, one of the league’s top players, has further restricted Motlow’s depth and options. Wiseman led the team in almost every offensive category when she elected to leave in early February for the Air Force.
With a roster now down to seven or eight players, the Lady Bucks will take the next week to determine how to make a tournament run and get themselves into position to spring a couple of upsets on higher seeded teams and fight their way to a tournament championship.
