FGCU basketball: Plenty on line in A-Sun women's final even with NCAA bid sewn up
It
was suggested that FGCU women's basketball coach Karl Smesko was
channeling his inner Bill Belichick, so much so it wouldn't have
surprised to hear him say, "We're on to Cincinnati."
"What would be the point of celebrating the NCAAs?" Smesko said after FGCU clinched its third NCAA tournament berth in four years earlier than expected thanks its Atlantic Sun Conference semifinal win Wednesday and Northern Kentucky's defeat of Stetson.
"That was an overriding goal, getting back to the NCAA, winning in the NCAA once we find out who we play. But right now we're in the middle of something that we're trying to complete, and that's to win this conference tournament."
This is where Smesko might also have paraphrased another famed football sound bite.
"Hello?! You play to win the game!" then-New York Jets coach Herm Edwards said in 2002 when he was asked if he had to keep his 2-5 team from giving up on the season.
The scenario is different but intent the same for FGCU.
Win or lose in Sunday's A-Sun final, FGCU already owns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, which plays its first round next Friday and Saturday in match-ups to be announced Monday night.
"What would be the point of celebrating the NCAAs?" Smesko said after FGCU clinched its third NCAA tournament berth in four years earlier than expected thanks its Atlantic Sun Conference semifinal win Wednesday and Northern Kentucky's defeat of Stetson.
"That was an overriding goal, getting back to the NCAA, winning in the NCAA once we find out who we play. But right now we're in the middle of something that we're trying to complete, and that's to win this conference tournament."
This is where Smesko might also have paraphrased another famed football sound bite.
"Hello?! You play to win the game!" then-New York Jets coach Herm Edwards said in 2002 when he was asked if he had to keep his 2-5 team from giving up on the season.
The scenario is different but intent the same for FGCU.
Win or lose in Sunday's A-Sun final, FGCU already owns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, which plays its first round next Friday and Saturday in match-ups to be announced Monday night.