WASHINGTON — “March Madness” seems an apt description of what Towson men’s basketball is trying to accomplish.
Not only are the top-seeded Tigers — who captured their second Coastal Athletic Association regular-season title in four years — attempting to end a 34-year absence from the NCAA Tournament, but they are also trying to do so at a competitive disadvantage when compared with their peers.
Coach Pat Skerry said the College of Charleston used $1.1 million in NIL revenue to build its roster and UNC Wilmington invested $500,000 into its team. Meanwhile, Towson had $120,000 to retain and attract players.
Skerry said he will need “five times, six times, seven times” that amount to contend with the other schools in the conference. He credited athletic director Steven Eigenbrot with agreeing to try to drum up more financial support for the team.
Skerry is a realist. As rewarding as claiming the CAA regular-season championship was for a program that has gone 54-18 in the league since the 2021-22 season, he knows that many will judge the team’s success on whether it wins the tournament crown and earns the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
“I know we’re good,” he said. “Just making sure we play the right way. … What defines you is how you play these three days.”
The Tigers (22-10) held off No. 8 seed Drexel, 82-76, in Sunday afternoon’s quarterfinal at the Carefirst Arena and will meet No. 12 seed Delaware (15-19) in a semifinal on Monday at 6 p.m.
Towson men’s basketball granted The Baltimore Sun an inside look at their preparations for and journey through the CAA Tournament in their quest for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991.
8 a.m.: Towson conducted a walkthrough in Ballrooms 4 and 5 of the second floor of the Washington Marriott Georgetown, which also hosted Monmouth and Northeastern. Under the direction of assistant coach Chris Conway, the players ran through defensive schemes labeled “Seal lob,” “Baseline out,” and “Staggered.” Skerry reminded the players that, in late shot-clock situations, Drexel’s 6-foot-8, 250-pound junior power forward Cole Hargrove tends to hang around the rim for a lob. “Show your hand and play football,” Skerry instructed.
8:16 a.m.: The team settled into a short film session with Conway running through which Dragons contributors are primarily right-handed. (Junior small forward Victor Panov was the only left-handed player cited.) Conway emphasized the need to be physical, especially in the lane. “Can’t fall asleep,” he said. “There should be collisions in the post.” Skerry wrapped up the session at 8:25 a.m. by chanting, “Tick tick,” and the players finished it off with “Boom.”
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9:30 a.m. The university’s 40-member band and 13-member cheerleading squad formed a two-line corridor for the players and coaches to walk through before boarding a bus. While the school’s fight song was played, sophomore shooting guard Mekhi Lowery was first, Skerry was last, and several players recorded short videos on their phones.
10:06 a.m. After a quiet ride with many players listening to music or scrolling through their phones, the bus arrived at the arena.
10:30 a.m. The Tigers began pregame warmups in black Under Armour T-shirts emblazoned with “DOUBT US” on the front.
11:40 a.m. Most of the team walked back to the locker room in front of a vocal phalanx of fans. After sophomore shooting guard Tyler Tejada and redshirt senior shooting guard Nendah Tarke finished attempting to drain shots from half-court, they ran past the same group of fans, and Tarke motioned for them to raise the volume.
