Men's basketball team opens state tournament Wednesday night against Indian River State College
For the 10th straight season the Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team will play in the FCSAA State Tournament beginning Wednesday night at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
The Titans finished tied for the Mid-Florida Conference regular-season title and advanced to the state tournament by defeating Santa Fe in the conference tournament final.
On Wednesday night they take the court against Indian River State College in the final game of the men's quarterfinals, scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EST
"We are facing an outstanding opponent in Indian River State College. They are one of the best teams in the country and they do so with arguably the top offense in the nation," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "They are incredibly talented, extremely well coached and a very deep team."
The Pioneers come into the matchup as the Southern Conference champion and are receiving votes in the NJCAA Division I poll at 22-7 on the season. Indian River State College is 15th in the nation in points scored, averaging 92.1 points per game which leads Region 8 and are fourth in the nation in 3-pointers made, averaging 14 per game and shoot close to 40 percent from 3-point range.
Meanwhile the Titans come into the tournament as one of the best defensive teams in the nation, allowing 63.7 points per game which is 6th-best in the nation and tops in Region 8.
"For us to be as successful as we want to be in the tournament, we will have to have a great focus on defending every single possession and do a great job on the glass," Shulman said. "Defense and rebounding is our bread-and-butter and we need to continue to have great focus and motivation in those aspects."
With six sophomores on the roster the Titans have experience heading into the tournament after making it to the state tournament championship game last year and the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament.
One of those sophomores, Jonathan Ned is coming into the tournament averaging 16.75 points per game in the past four games.
"I am really pleased with the progress Jonathan Ned has made throughout the year and feel he is playing his best ball of the season as we head to the postseason," Shulman said. "He has worked hard and stayed the course and all of that extra work is really starting to pay dividends."
The Titans come into the tournament 21-10 on the season. You can watch the state tournament games live online at emeraldcoasttv.com