These guys look familiar
Jim Hayford sports a bald look. Bill Fenlon has a full head of brown hair and wears thin-framed eyeglasses.
They may not look alike, but the same can’t be said about their respective Whitworth and DePauw men’s basketball teams. Granted, it may be one of those distorted images you’d see in a mirror in an amusement park’s fun house, but the similarities certainly exist.
The two programs clash Friday in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament at Washington University in St. Louis. The game tips off at 4 p.m. PST.
“You look at them, and they’re not a team where they’re really dependent on one person,” said Hayford, the Northwest Conference’s coach of the year. “They are, in many ways, a mirror image of our team. They’re a little bit bigger and maybe not as strong in the backcourt. They have a little more of a size advantage, but we have a little more guard play.”
Hayford added that the matchup unofficially pits No. 8 and 9 seeds against each other, and he expects the game to be one of the more competitive contests of the opening round.
DePauw (22-5) boasts four players scoring in double figures, led by wing Austin Brown’s 14.8 points per game. Stephen Schott averages 11.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and Mike Moore (11.0) and Reid Sakel (10.6) have combined to make 124 3-pointers this year.
Every Whitworth starter scores in double figures. Swingman James Jones leads the Pirates (23-3) with 16.1 ppg, followed by forward Ryan Symes (15.0), post Kevin Hasenfus (11.8), off-guard Jon Young (11.6) and NWC player of the year Bryan Williams (11.0).
“We’re two very evenly matched teams,” Hayford said.
Hayford said that tournament qualifiers are required to ship recorded game footage to their first-round opponents. He added that he has contacted other coaches who have played against DePauw to seek out additional tips on how to attack the Tigers.
Based on its conference and NWC tournament championships, Whitworth held out some hope that it could host a first-round game. Hayford said he was happy to be alive in the hunt for a national title and doesn’t mind traveling to Missouri.
“I never understood why a coach could be upset being in the national tournament,” Hayford said. “When we made the tournament four years ago, we were the higher seed and given an away game. That was disappointing, but at the same time you realize we’re getting to play basketball when the overwhelming majority of schools aren’t.
“We’re going to St. Louis, and that beats (a) lot of other places games are being played at that weekend in real remote locations and small towns. We’re playing a game in a great gym and a wonderful facility.”
DePauw earned an at-large bid to nationals, the Tigers’ second consecutive berth into the tournament. Fenlon said there were some nervous moments before Selection Sunday, even though he continued to receive assurances the Tigers would earn a spot.
“Until you find out you’re actually in, there’s always some doubt,” said Fenlon, whose team got knocked out in the first round last year. “I’ve been in that position before and not gotten in.”
Hayford said he doesn’t believe DePauw’s tournament appearance last year is an advantage for the Tigers.
“The way to look at this for us is we’re going to a four-team tournament,” Hayford said. “It’s not necessarily looking at the whole big thing. This is a four-team tournament in St. Louis, and if we win two games we get invited to another four-team tournament next weekend. We’ve gone to play four-team tournaments in these guys’ careers, and we’ve won them.
“It’s a better perspective to look at it this way. You can’t play the other 58 teams in the tournament. You’re only in that gym that weekend.”
Host Washington University (20-4) hosts Fontbonne (16-11) after the Whitworth game in the site’s other first-round matchup. The winners of those two contests will meet Saturday at 5 p.m. PST.
“I think the advantage for both of our teams is not having to play (Washington University) Friday night,” Fenlon said. “When you get into this tournament, there is so much anticipation for the players, getting there and getting ready to go, taking the pats on the back all week for the accomplishment and those kinds of things, having to load it up against a home crowd gets a little difficult.
“There is always some adjustment to playing in the NCAA tournament. In both of our favors, we’ll be able to play in a neutral-floor game for the two of us.”