INDIANAPOLIS – They came together Monday for the WBIT semifinals, four teams who walked through fire to get here. For the moment, Hinkle Fieldhouse might be the survive-and-advance capital of the basketball world.
Here’s Florida. Came from 14 points down in the second round to beat UNLV on Kenza Salgues’ 3-pointer at the buzzer. Not even the Gator guys, now on their way to San Antonio, have done that.
And here’s Minnesota. Three different Gophers hit 3-pointers in the final 2:31 of regulation to force overtime against Gonzaga in the quarterfinals, and Minnesota then took over 82-77.
And here’s Villanova, down five points in the final minute against Saint Joseph’s in the second round, won on a corner 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left by Maddie Burke, a senior who wore a mask when grabbing the game back, protecting her broken nose.
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“You don’t go away,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon was saying, speaking for them all here. “You want to keep playing, keep fighting.”
Speaking of which, here’s Belmont. Down 21 points to Northern Arizona in the first half in the second round, and still behind 14 with under three minutes left. Won on Jailyn Banks’ reverse layup in the final second.
They had us in the first half, we can’t lie… | | |
— Belmont WBasketball (@BelmontWBB)
They were down five to Villanova in the third quarter Monday but that was cake. They went rushing past to a 66-57 victory, and now look where being stubborn has gotten them. Belmont has never played for a Division I postseason tournament title before. Ever. The Bruins will Wednesday night against Minnesota. “It means a lot to make history together,” said Banks, after scoring 25 points.
Nor has Belmont ever played a game in April. Another first, which was news to coach Bart Brooks, who has been a little busy moving his team along. “I have no idea what day it is,” he said. “Is it March?”
Not for much longer, so Belmont has outlived the most demanding page of the college basketball calendar.
“I don't think we've used the term `survive and advance’ this year with our team, ever,” Brooks said. “We hear it. I mean, it's what's said this time of year. For us, we're more, let's just make this thing last as long as we can because we love what we're doing. I think that showed itself when we were down 14 with 2:52 to go, or down 20 at halftime and not playing well. I think it showed itself when things are hard, and I think the test of a team isn't when the shots are going in and everything feels great. It's when everything is going wrong.”
Not much has gone wrong for Belmont since that second round escape. The 26-12 Bruins mauled James Madison by 45 and then shook off Villanova Monday. This is a team that took on the likes of Kansas State, Ohio State, Duke, Michigan, Mississippi State and Kentucky early in the season. Lost to them all but played Ohio State to four points and Kentucky to six. “We've been tested,” Brooks said. “We've played anyone and everyone, and rarely at home in nonconference.”
He’s already had a big week. This being Indianapolis, the hotel had an auto racing theme. “I got to try on a NASCAR helmet. Never done that before,” he said. “So checked that off my list.”
Now he has the chance to mark off another, since the Bruins can go where no Belmont women’s team has gone before and could accomplish it in a hallowed 97-year-old fieldhouse which was the scene of the most famous basketball movie ever made.
“Someone as old as me that knows the history; I'm not sure many of our players know the history,” Brooks said. “They just think it's a nice building, has nice backgrounds for a shooter. But for me, it's pretty cool. It's the heartland of basketball.”
And the movie?
“I grew up on Hoosiers.”
