CONWAY – Coastal Carolina players know they’ll be in the NCAA tournament next week. They’re just waiting to find out who they’ll play and where.
Those questions remained on the Chanticleers’ minds as they opened tournament practice Friday. They’ve been resting this week since their 81-70 win over Winthrop in Sunday’s Big South title game, but they’ve paid close attention to all the projections about where they might land.
“We don’t know who we’re playing, so we’ve heard a lot of stuff,” junior forward Badou Diagne said. “I heard Duke. I heard Portland. I’ve heard everything, so it’s been very exciting.”
It’s not just the team and place the Chanticleers are wondering about – it’s also the seed. They were a 16-seed in last year’s tournament when they led 1-seed Virginia by 10 in the first half before falling 70-59. They’ve survived a tougher conference schedule this year and made trips to UCLA, Ole Miss and Auburn during non-conference play. Coastal Carolina coach Cliff Ellis campaigned for a higher seed this year after they clinched the conference title. After looking at projections for the last few days, he believes it’s possible he’ll get what he’s seeking.
“Indications are that we’re no longer a 16-seed, that we’re a 15-seed but could go as high as 14,” Ellis said. “So I don’t know. We’ll know Sunday when we play.”
Projections have varied throughout the week for the Chanticleers. Some publications have predicted that they’ll play Duke in Charlotte. Others say they’ll go to the west coast to play Arizona. Some expect CCU to start in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. But the Chanticleers won’t know the official answer until Sunday afternoon, and they can’t worry about it right now.
“Our main focus now is just to focus on ourselves,” Ellis said.
