Five takeaways as NSU men’s basketball is now three wins from a national title
If the NSU Sharks don’t buy blue-and-white confetti in bulk, they should.
They might want to invest in some extra nets, too.
On Tuesday night, the Sharks won their fifth straight NCAA Division II South Region championship in men’s basketball, defeating the visiting Alabama-Huntsville Chargers, 79-63.
That’s five straight years of confetti-filled celebrations. Five straight ceremonies where each member of the Sharks takes a turn at slicing the net.
Here are your 5 NSU Takeaways:
1. STREAK CONTINUES
This was NSU’s 105th consecutive home win, extending its own NCAA D-II record. Only Division I power Kentucky has ever had a longer men’s basketball home streak, winning 129 straight from 1943 to 1955.
“There’s no better place to play than the (Shark) Tank,” NSU wing Ryan Davis said of Rick Case Arena. “The energy you feed off of is crazy. When (a teammate) hits a three, it’s like you hit a three.”
NSU (30-1), the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, will now travel to Pittsburgh, which will host the Elite Eight game on March 25 and the national semifinal on March 27. If the Sharks were to survive those two rounds, they would travel to Indianapolis to play in the national title game for the fourth consecutive year. They were crowned champs in 2023 and 2025.
First off for NSU in Pittsburgh will be a date with the Lander Bearcats (28-5), a South Carolina-based university which has won 13 straight games. This will be Lander’s first Elite Eight appearance since 1999.
2. THE STARS
Sharks point guard Dallas Graziani – who was named the tournament’s MVP – scored a game-high 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the floor, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers and 7-for-9 on free throws. He also had a game-high five steals.
NSU’s Ross Reeves, who made the all-tournament team, scored 20 points, and the Sharks also got 12 points from Jaxon Nap; 10 rebounds from Eli Allen; and seven points from the aforementioned Davis.
For Alabama-Huntsville, Matthew Thurman scored a career-high 25 points, and Thomas Allard added 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Davis said the Sharks are a tight group.
“We’re brothers,” he said. “Every day we get to see each other is a great day. We don’t want this season to end.”
3. NSU’S SLOW START
The Sharks trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, going into the break, down 35-32.
In that first half, NSU shot just 35.9 percent overall, including 2-for-10 on 3-pointers. Alabama-Huntsville, meanwhile, shot 46.2 percent overall and 8-for-16 from deep. In fact, Allard made his first four 3-point tries, all of them in the game’s first 10 minutes.
NSU stayed in the game by getting extra possessions, including grabbing seven offensive rebounds to zero for Alabama-Huntsville.
Said NSU coach Jim Crutchfield: “It’s not the first time we’ve gone into the locker-room saying, ‘We got outshot, but we’re still in the game.’ It’s not like we change anything. We just keep the pressure on.”
4. MOMENTUM SWINGS FOR SHARKS
Early in the second half, NSU drew four defensive fouls in one possession. By continuing to attack, the Sharks were in the free-throw bonus for the game’s final 16 minutes.
The Sharks also amped up their full-court pressure, and – by game’s end – there were a bunch of key statistics that were heavy in NSU’s favor. That list includes second-chance points (17-3); fast-break points (16-2); points in the paint (34-14); and points off turnovers (21-10).
NSU also won on offensive rebounds (14-5) and steals (11-5).
“It was a great team win,” Graziani said. “We were as locked in as we’ve ever been.”
Added Reeves: “We played as hard as we could. We sat down and guarded, and even the shots they made were tough ones.”
5. TOUGH-LUCK CHARGERS
Alabama-Huntsville (23-10) has now lost seven straight games to NSU.
Last season, the Chargers opened their campaign with a 105-104 overtime loss to visiting NSU. The Chargers then won 32 of their next 33 games before getting eliminated by NSU, 76-69, in the South Region final.
This season, the Chargers again lost their opener to NSU, 87-79. Then the Chargers again got eliminated in the South Region final by NSU on Tuesday.
“Alabama-Huntsville is a tough out, and they’re so well coached,” Crutchfield said. “If I ever felt sorry for a team – which I actually haven’t – it would be Alabama-Huntsville.
“I’m not that nice of a guy so I don’t (feel sorry for them).”