FIU men’s basketball laments the lost chance to play in the NCAA Tournament
FIU’s men’s basketball team was three wins from the second NCAA Tournament berth in program history and just one victory short of reaching 20 for the second straight year.
The coronavirus pandemic halted all sports, and FIU’s season ended at 19-13, shocking coach Jeremy Ballard and his players.
“It happened so quickly,” Ballard said.
FIU had just defeated Rice 85-76 on March 11 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament in Frisco, Texas. The next day, fifth-seeded FIU was set to play fourth-seeded Charlotte.
That’s when the news came that the Conference USA tournament had been postponed, initially, and eventually
canceled.
“We were having a team meal and meeting before our shootaround,” Ballard said. “We were in game mode, ready to play Charlotte. All of a sudden, we get the news, but we didn’t know the gravity of the situation.
“I addressed our team and told them, ‘This is unprecedented. It could be the end of the season, but we could be playing in a week.’ That’s what we thought at the time.
“It was bizarre, and things have progressed at warp speed since then.”
FIU went 20-14 in 2018-2019, leaving Ballard’s two-year record of 39-27 since joining the Panthers. That’s the most wins in any two-year period in program history, and a berth in at least the NIT seemed fairly likely had they beaten Charlotte. And, had FIU won that game and reached the Conference USA semifinals, then the NCAA Tournament would have been in sharper focus.
Instead, the season ended, and the same can be said for the college careers of FIU seniors Osasumwen Osaghae, Devon Andrews and Trejon Jacob.
Osaghae, a 6-9 senior center, led the nation in blocked shots and was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year.
Andrews, a 6-6 forward, averaged a team-high 15.2 points and joined Osaghae as a second-team All-C-USA player.
Jacob, a 6-5 shooting guard, was third on the team in scoring (11.6). He also led the team in three-point shooting percentage (38.4).
“I’m really hurting for my seniors because they didn’t get the closure to their college careers that they deserved,” Ballard said.
“Those are three special seniors. They helped transform the landscape at FIU. They have meant so much to our program and to me personally. They will be sorely missed, but they will still be a part of our lives.
“All three of them will be pros. We want to help them pick the right agents and stay prepared physically through this time of uncertainty.”
Ballard said he has used this hiatus to spend more time with his son, Khalif, a first-grader who goes by the “Bam Bam” nickname.
“I’ve been helping him with his virtual homework, which is great,” Ballard said. “I’ve also been looking at film of recruits and talking to our staff.
“[The end of the season] hasn’t completely sunk in yet. We felt we had a run in us [at the Conference USA tournament]. We felt great about our game at that time, and it hurt not to have the opportunity to play it out.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Due to the coronavirus, the FIU baseball team’s season ended prematurely at 10-5.
“It’s disappointing, but we understand the bigger picture, which is everybody’s safety,” FIU coach Mervyl Melendez said. “We’re concentrating on next season.”