Post a Free Blog

Submit A Press Release

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Action
Animation
ATP Tour (ATP)
Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Breaking News
Business
Business
Business Newsletter
Call of Duty (CALLOFDUTY)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Car
Celebrity
Champions Tour (CHAMP)
Comedy
CONCACAF
Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)
Crime
Dark Comedy
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
Documentary and Foreign
Drama
eSports
European Tour (EPGA)
Fashion
FIFA
FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC)
FIFA World Cup (FIFA)
Fighting
Football
Formula 1 (F1)
Fortnite
Golf
Health
Hockey
Horror
IndyCar Series (INDY)
International Friendly (FRIENDLY)
Kids & Family
League of Legends (LOL)
LPGA
Madden
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
MLS
Movie and Music
Movie Trailers
Music
Mystery
NASCAR Cup Series (NAS)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Women's Soccer (NWSL)
NBA Development League (NBAGL)
NBA2K
NCAA Baseball (NCAABBL)
NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)
NCAA Football (NCAAF)
NCAA Hockey (NCAAH)
Olympic Mens (OLYHKYM)
Other
Other Sports
Overwatch
PGA
Politics
Premier League (PREM)
Romance
Sci-Fi
Science
Soccer
Sports
Sports
Technology
Tennis
Thriller
Truck Series (TRUCK)
True Crime
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
US
Valorant
Western
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Women’s NCAA Basketball (WNCAAB)
World
World Cup Qualifier (WORLDCUP)
WTA Tour (WTA)
Xfinity (XFT)
XFL
0
-- Advertisement --spot_img
HomeSportsBasketballDerik Queen, Maryland face tourney-tested Grand Canyon

Derik Queen, Maryland face tourney-tested Grand Canyon

Add to Favorite
Added to Favorite


Bryce Drew knows all about shining moments in the NCAA Tournament. His task now is to create more.

Drew’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted No. 13 seed Valparaiso to a 70-69 victory over No. 4 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament, and Valpo rode that wave to the Sweet Sixteen.

Drew, now the fifth-year coach at Grand Canyon, finds himself in a familiar situation when the 13th-seeded Antelopes (26-7) meet fourth-seeded Maryland (25-8) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s West Region in Seattle on Friday.

Grand Canyon advanced to its third straight NCAA Tournament by defeating WAC regular-season champion Utah Valley 89-82 in the conference tournament final, securing its third consecutive title.

Maryland fell a half-second short of making the Big Ten championship game, losing 81-80 when Michigan’s Tre Donaldson took the ball the length of the court for a game-winning layup.

The teams feature similar balanced attacks and disparate experience. All five Grand Canyon starters have appeared in multiple NCAA Tournaments, while only one Terrapin — Julian Reese — has appeared in March Madness action.

Grand Canyon’s JaKobe Coles led four double-figure scorers with a 14.8 average in the regular season and was named the WAC tournament’s most outstanding player after averaging 19.7 points.

Coles followed current teammates Tyon Grant-Foster and Ray Harrison as the WAC tournament’s most outstanding player. The 12th-seeded Lopes upset fifth-seed Saint Mary’s in the first round last season before falling to fourth-seeded Alabama.

“You get to high-level games, you need high-level players.” said Drew, whose team has won 15 of its past 17 games. “I’m thankful I have these three (Grant-Foster, Coles and Harrison) next to me.”

Maryland center Derik Queen, the Big Ten freshman of the year, leads the Terps in scoring (16.3 points) and is tied with Reese for the team lead in rebounds at 9.0. All five starters are averaging at least 12.0 points per game.

“I do have a lot of guys that have never been in the NCAA Tournament,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s why I love the NCAA Tournament. Derik Queen was like a fat kid in the chocolate factory. He was so giddy and so excited.”

Queen scored 50 points in two Big Ten tournament games, a blowout win over Illinois and the loss to Michigan. The Terrapins have won eight of their last 10, and they have won their past three NCAA first-round games.

“What makes Derik so unique is that he has an old-school feel to the way he plays basketball,” Willard said. “He loves the game. He is a great teammate.”

Maryland, known as the “Crab Five,” used the portal to build around Queen and Reese, adding backcourt transfers Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont) and Selton Miguel (South Florida).

The Terrapins are shooting 37.3 percent from 3-point range and average only 10.3 turnovers per game, among the fewest in Division I.

“It really was building a roster around those two big guys,” Willard said of his offseason plan.

Grant-Foster and Harrison opted to return to Grand Canyon for a fifth and final season, and Coles transferred in from TCU for his fifth year.

“You love having veteran guys like this that know how to handle themselves,” Drew said. “They know what it takes to play in big-time games. It’s such a blessing to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“They are getting a chance to do what they came back to do.”

–Field Level Media

Subscribe to get Latest News Updates

Latest News

You may like more
more

Keeshawn Barthelemy, Oregon keeping Liberty in sight

Oregon and Liberty have never met on the basketball...

After ‘heavy year,’ reigning champ UConn takes aim at Oklahoma

RALEIGH, N.C. -- UConn openly embraces the opportunity for...

Trey Townsend, Arizona keeping guard up vs. Akron

Trey Townsend is the perfect player to alert his...

Shuffling from underdog to favorite, Florida ready for Norfolk State

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Florida coach Todd Golden said his...