2 down, 1 to go

March 9, 2014March 9, 2014 Katie M 567 Views 0 Comments Go Bears, Mercer Basketball, Mercer Men's Basketball, NCAA basketball

UPDATE:

Mercer beats Florida Gulf Coast to go on to the Big Dance! Damn it feels good to be a Bear!

Molly

Oh my goodness, I’m not even sure where to start. The past two games for Mercer have been not only fun to watch, but they have come down to the wire and are the epitome of what March Madness is all about. Close games, big plays, overtimes, Mercer has done it all. Now, they are on their way to Ft Myers to face off against Florida Gulf Coast for the ASun Championship, a rematch of last year’s championship game.

Over the past few years, the rivalry between Mercer and Gulf Coast has grown. Starting with Gulf Coast being the annoying kid brother that you hated having around to them now being a formidable opponent.

Today, is not only the ASun Championship, but also the last time that Mercer and FGCU will match up as conference foes (Mercer is leaving for the Southern Conference after this year). In the regular season, the teams split the matchups, with both winning on their home court. If the past two games when these two teams matched up, then today’s game is going to be a real doozy (not to mention a nail biter).

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I’m thinking that Coach Hoffman will go with his normal starting 5 today (Langston Hall, Bud Thomas, Anthony White Jr, Jake Gollon, and Daniel Coursey). These guys, along with the rest of the team, have ALWAYS played well together, but these past 3 or 4 games, there is just something special about the way they’ve been gelling. I can’t quite place my finger on it, but it’s there.

I think Coach Dooley will probably also go with his normal starting today as well (Brett Comer, Chase Fieler, Jamail Jones, Bernard Thompson, and Eric McKnight). Now I’ve only gotten to see FGCU play twice this year, but the two times I have seen them play, they remind me of the Mercer team. Which is exciting because that means both teams match up extremely well with each other and it makes every game between the two an exciting time.