Radford Highlanders
Big South (22-12, 12-6)
Radford is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009. Coach Mike Jones has done a great job during his seven years with the program. He took a 6-26 team in 2011-2012 and turned them into a 20 win program just a couple years later. And after a down year in 2016-2017, Coach Jones returned a veteran squad that finished second during the regular season and fought their way to the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 12/23 vs UC Davis (72-62), 1/6 UNC Asheville (90-70), 3/2 vs Winthrop (61-52)
Bad Losses: 1/21 at Campbell (56-59), 1/27 Charleston Southern (81-84), 2/7 High Point (60-61)
Coach: Mike Jones
Why They Can Surprise:
Radford wins games with defense and rebounding. The Highlanders allow just 64.4 points per game and it takes an entire team effort to rank 15th in the nation in scoring defense. Ed Polite is the star of the team on both ends of the floor. He leads the squad with 13.5 points and 7.7 rebounds. With Randy Phillips and Devonnte Holland, Radford has a good frontcourt that has done very well in Big South play. Of course, the competition is about to get much, much tougher in the NCAA Tournament.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Point guard Carlik Jones has had a tremendous freshman campaign and has already turned into the leader of this team. He will get to the basket regularly and finish or find his teammates. Jones will get his points, but Radford is going to need others to step up and score the ball if this team is going to make things interesting in the NCAA Tournament. Donald Hicks, Caleb Tanner, Travis Fields and Christian Bradford are all capable shooters. If their shots are falling and Jones is creating open looks for them, Radford can do enough defensively to stay in any game.
Probable Starters:
Carlik Jones, Freshman, Guard, 11.8 ppg, 3.0 apg
Christian Bradford, Senior, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 1.9 apg
Donald Hicks, Sophomore, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 1.4 apg
Ed Polite, Junior, Forward, 13.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.9 spg
Randy Phillips, Senior, Center, 6.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Devonnte Holland, Sophomore, Forward, 4.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Caleb Tanner, Junior, Guard, 6.5 ppg
Travis Fields, Sophomore, Guard, 6.1 ppg, 2.2 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 67.4 (313th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 64.4 (16, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.6 (282, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.8 (110, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (165, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (172, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 72.3 (133, 4)
Rebound Margin: 3.2 (72, 2)
Assists Per Game: 12.2 (279, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (103, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 CBI First Round win over Delaware State
2015 CBI Quarterfinal loss to Vermont
2014 CBI First Round win over Oregon State
2014 CBI Quarterfinal loss to Old Dominion
2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to North Carolina
1998 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Duke
*all team stats through 3/4
