640 SPORTS | LIVE STATS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team (14-11, 6-9 SSC) will end the regular season on the road Saturday, as the Sharks take on the Barry Buccaneers (13-12, 6-9 SSC) at 5:30 p.m. The game will broadcast live on 640 Sports.
"Barry is on a roll of late, winning three straight and four of their last five,” said head coach
Gary Tuell. “Playing a hard fought game at red-hot Florida Tech Wednesday night and finishing the season on the road against a hot Barry team is exactly what we need to prepare us for the first round of the conference tourney next week.”
This will be the last opportunity for NSU to pick up momentum for the 2013 Sunshine State Conference Tournament, which begins for the Sharks on Friday, March 8. The winner of Saturday’s game will take the sixth seed, with the loser taking seventh. Above all, the Sharks will look to make up for their home loss to Barry earlier this season, 68-61.
"This is Senior Day for Barry and they have six seniors who will play their tails off to keep winning and end their home court careers on the right note,” said Tuell. “Florida Tech was a heck of a challenge for our guys Wednesday and I thought we played hard and with great passion. We didn't execute well but still knocked down 17 threes (new school record) and competed at a conference tourney level.
"We're going to need that same effort at Barry on Saturday. The last time we played them we got our feelings hurt and also had a couple of guys beat up pretty good. Our guys have a lot of pride. They remember that game. I expect we will be better prepared mentally and physically this time around. It should be an old-fashioned backyard brawl. We're ready for that. In fact, we've been looking forward to this one for a while.”
Although the winner gets the better seed in the tournament, the stakes will not change for either team, win or lose. Both NSU and Barry will have to play Rollins, Florida Southern or Eckerd in the first round. NSU’s first round matchup will depend on how other games shake out Saturday. In fact, the only thing a win can solidify Saturday is the start time of NSU’s first round game, nothing else.
What will matter to NSU Saturday is pride and taking a win on Barry’s floor for the first time since 2010. Prior to this season, the last seven meetings between the two teams had been decided by two points or less. In fact, The Sharks’ seven-point loss to Barry this year was the worst against the Bucs since the Sharks joined the SSC. Since joining the league in 2004, NSU has never been swept in the regular season by Barry.
"We don't care about tournament seedings or who we will play in the first round of the playoffs,” said Tuell. “One of us will be seeded sixth and once if us will be seventh. There's no great reward in that. There's pride on the line in this game but it has nothing to do with seedings. We both will have tough first round games next week in the conference tourney. Hopefully we can both use this game to help us prepare for the tournament opener. Hopefully we will make each other better this weekend so we can pull off a couple upsets and meet again next Saturday."
Fans can listen to the game live on 640 Sports. The game will also be available via live stats
HERE. Follow the Sharks on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/NSUSharks.
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