With 79 straight home wins, NSU men’s basketball within one of NCAA Division II record
With just 2:38 elapsed, coach Jim Crutchfield subbed in four new players.
It wasn’t because his Nova Southeastern University Sharks were playing poorly.
They weren’t.
It wasn’t because they weren’t hustling.
Never that.
It was because the style Crutchfield’s teams play is exhausting – even for a bunch of highly fit guys in their late teens or early 20s.
Lots of basketball teams talk about pressing full-court and running at every opportunity, but the Sharks actually live that philosophy.
And, tired as his players may get, you can’t argue with Crutchfield’s results as was proven again on Tuesday night as the host Sharks routed Barry University 116-79 in a Sunshine State Conference quarterfinal.
“The goal is to keep everyone fresh,” NSU guard MJ Iraldi, who scored a team-high 23 points on Tuesday. “There’s no real drop-off. We can play anybody on our roster. Our second unit gives us great minutes.”
The Sharks, ranked the No. 2 team in the nation in NCAA Division II, improved to 28-1, winning their 79th consecutive home game.
With a victory on Thursday against Tampa (20-9), the Sharks will have tied the all-time Division II record with 80 consecutive home wins. The record currently belongs to Jefferson (Pennsylvania), which was unbeatable during that run from 1991 to 1995.
“The record is on my mind now that we’re talking about it,” Iraldi said. “But I think I’ve done a good job of focusing on the game at hand. Obviously, this is the game (coming up on Thursday), but we’re trying to win (the league) title.”
Indeed, NSU could break the record if they go on to win the SSC championship on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the Sharks never trailed as Ryker Cisarik hit a 3-pointer on the game’s first shot.
By halftime, NSU had a 57-28 lead against a Barry program that dominated local Division II basketball before Crutchfield was hired in March of 2017.
Since then, it’s been all about NSU.
In fact, the Sharks are 126-5 since 2021-2022. They won the program’s first national title in 2023. Last season, they finished second in the nation, and there is every expectation that NSU will make another deep playoff run this month.
With Tampa up next, the Sharks should feel confident after beating the Spartans both times in the regular season, 114-88 in Davie and 100-66 on the road.
Expect the Sharks to put the pressure on Tampa on Thursday just like they did with Barry.
“That’s part of what we do,” Crutchfield said. “There’s a lot of things (subbing four fresh players accomplishes). It rests our guys. It tires out the opponent.
“Sometimes it’s a body blow. You see it late in the game in the other team’s defense maybe. It’s a little softer because they’ve been pressed the whole time. Guys that shoot the ball well if they have to bring up the ball under pressure every time … they don’t shoot it as well.
“There’s a lot of collateral (damage) from full-court pressure.”
The four starters that Crutchfield takes out are Cisarik, Iraldi, Tyler Eberhart and Ross Reeves. The coach inserts Ryan Davis, Alex Mangold, Eli Allen and Alex Sessoms.
Point guard Dallas Graziani, who had a game-high 12 assists on Tuesday, generally stays in the game.
“He never gets tired,” Crutchfield said with a smile. “He’s our energizer bunny.”
As for the home winning streak, Crutchfield said the significance is “right now almost nothing to me.”
Added Crutchfield: “Maybe there will come a time in the future where I’ll say ‘wow.’ But right now we have to beat Tampa to get to the conference championship, and that takes priority over the record.
“I’ve never brought it up to the players. Why? It would just put pressure on us. There will come a time where (the record) will mean something, but that’s not now.”
SHARKS WOMEN WIN
NSU’s women’s basketball team defeated visiting Palm Beach Atlantic 65-49 in an SSC quarterfinal on Tuesday.
NSU (24-5) trailed 21-14 after the first quarter, but the Sharks cruised in the final three periods.
“Our defensive intensity,” NSU coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry said when asked how her squad turned it around. “Forcing turnovers and getting out on the fast break lit the fire for our offense.”
Jess Moore led NSU with game highs in points (16) and steals (four). Corina Conley added 15 points; Michaela Cloonan dished a game-high seven assists; and Dash Shaw produced 11 points for a Sharks team with loads of balance.
As a team, NSU shot 40 percent on 30-pointers (10-for-25).
Next up, NSU will play at Tampa (26-5) in a SSC semifinal game on Thursday.