The Spartans have landed - the St. Thomas Aquinas College men's basketball team has arrived in Spokane, Washington, where they will meet Division I Nationally-Ranked Gonzaga University on Saturday in the NIT Season Tipoff Tournament.
Okay, we'll get the details out of the way first. The Spartans, a Division II program, are 0-2 after dropping a pair at their season-opening tournament. And Gonzaga? The "Zags"? You may have heard of them.
Not only are they a Division I squad, but they are ranked #11 in the entire nation in this week's USA Today Division I poll. If you're looking for a bright side, the Associated Press poll drops them all the way to Number 13.
Make no mistake, the 3-0 Bulldogs are for real, considered by many to have a legitimate shot at the National Championship. But fear not, Spartan faithful, for this is the time to dream.
Images can be conjured of the legendary "Rocky" movie, with an upstart challenger picked from obscurity to serve merely as an opponent, a formality at best. The feisty titular hero, however, sees the opportunity as his one chance to reach the top, one he will not concede lightly. True, he does not win in the end but he battles to the final bell, earning the respect of the reigning champ and the world.
Reality check - Gonzaga is 3-0. Their average margin of victory is nearly 40 points a game. Against Division I foes. On November 19, they led St. Joe's of Pennsylvania, 48-10 at half, en route to a 94-42 drubbing.
"You can't win, Rock!"
(Okay, we've taken some liberties and jumped to Mick's impassioned plea from Rocky III. We're entitled.) So what can the Spartans realistically hope to gain? Well the fact is, in a sense, they cannot lose.
On Saturday night at 9:00 EST (6:00 local - Pacific - time), Sparkill's own STAC Spartans will take the floor at the McCarthey Athletic Center in front of about 8,000 rabid, hostile fans. Sam Berlin will peer across at Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer (#10 on this list of nightmare opponents); Kevin Pangos, one of the top point guards in the country, will put his uniform on the same as the STAC tandem of Marcus Henderson and James Mitchell.
Regardless of the outcome, the game, or at least the score, will receive national recognition. It will start tied at 0-0 and 20:00 on the clock. And who knows - at the end, the feisty challengers may still be swinging toe to toe with the final outcome in doubt.
Now, two days out, it is the stuff dreams are made of.
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Good News, Bad News
On the injury front, the Spartans will still be at less than full strength, though with an added asset missing from their season openers. Alushula Odongo, who started all 29 games a year ago but missed the first two this season due to a lower body injury, is on the trip and is expected to play. Jules de Courtenay, who was expected to challenge for a starting position, will still have his official STAC debut delayed, as he remained in New York to complete his recovery from a recent ailment. de Courtenay did start in the exhibition against St. John's, though that does not count in NCAA statistics.
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STACathletics.com will be bringing you special features to highlight this landmark contest through the weekend, and you can follow the team's activities on Twitter as well.
Spartans Chaz Watler and Jon McNair will be blogging their experience, with posts starting Friday. And we will continue to present features of interest though Saturday night's contest.