Jacksonville State is in the NCAA Tournament after winning three games in three days to capture the Ohio Valley tournament. As the Gamecocks prepare for their maiden voyage into March Madness, we take a look at the Alabama-based school.
Record: 20-14 overall, 9-7 Ohio Valley Conference.
Bid: Automatic.
RPI: 167.
NCAA Tournament history: This is Jacksonville State's first appearance in school history.
Coach: Ray Harper is in his first year at Jacksonville State after a successful five-year stint at Western Kentucky, compiling a 90-62 record and winning the Sun Belt tournament in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013. Harper won those two titles with WKU as a seven seed and six seed, so the 55-year old knows how to take an underdog to the NCAA's.
Best win: The Gamecocks' 65-59 upset of top seed Belmont in the Ohio Valley semifinals was the landmark win in program history. Holding the Bruins to 8-38 from behind the three-point line as well as limiting OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds to just 16 points on 6-13 from the field, JSU reached the conference finals for the first time in school history.
Worst loss: On December 10th, Jacksonville State traveled to Monroe for a game against Louisiana-Monroe and the result was an 88-83 loss in overtime to the Warhawks, who would go 8-23 overall with just two wins in the Sun Belt.
Best player: Junior guard Malcolm Drumwright scored 49 points in three games in the Ohio Valley tournament, including 21 in the semifinal upset of Belmont, his fifth 20-point game of the season. The 6'2" junior is the Gamecocks' leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, one of four players averaging in double figures.
Strengths: Jacksonville State is holding opponents to 67.9 points per game, 64th in the country. In the OVC tournament, the Gamecocks did even better, holding their three opponents to just 55 points per game. In addition to limiting Bradds, JSU held Tennessee-Martin star Jacolby Mobley to just 5-14 from the field in the OVC title game.
Weaknesses: The Gamecocks are 259th in the nation in scoring, averaging just 69.7 points per game and have tallied 70 or more points in just 13 of their 35 games. It's likely they'll face a high-scoring team in the Tournament, which could present a major challenge to Harper and his club.
NCAA Tournament outlook: It's likely Jacksonville State will be a 16 seed, whether in the main bracket or a First Four game in Dayton.
Overall thoughts: Picked to finish last in the OVC this year, Harper has done a masterful job in guiding Jacksonville State to the Tournament in his first season in northwest Alabama. Defying all the odds, their stunning run through the OVC tournament was made all the more astounding considering the Gamecocks hadn't even qualified for the conference tournament in six years and none of their three games were close in Nashville, winning by an average margin of 14.3 points per game. As the first team to qualify, JSU has eight days until Selection Sunday and an additional three to five days until their first Tournament game.Rregardless of what happens once there, Harper and his team can enjoy this magical ride they're on.