The Bisons opening round matchup in the A-Sun tournament is a familiar one– the host team, the Mercer Bears. Mercer comes off a season finale win over the Bisons 68-67, but the Bisons got the better of Mercer on Dec. 4 in Allen Arena with a 77-65 win.
Each team won the regular season matchup on their home court, but Coach Sanderson knows there is much more to winning than just home court advantage.
“It’s more about us,” Sanderson said. “It’s not necessarily about Mercer, it’s more about what we do. I think we have won the last four times at Mercer besides our last game in which we were only beat by 1, so I think it’s more about what we do and how we prepare.
“We just have to be more focused and know that we have been successful down [at Mercer] before.”
Seniors Josh Slater and Adnan Hodzic get much of the attention from opposing teams, and rightfully so. Adnan leads the team in points per game (18) and rebounds (7.5). While Slater leads the team in assists per game (4.7) and is second in points per game (16.5).
A big key to the game and tournament is balance.
“We just need to be more balanced,” Sanderson said. “If those two guys (Hodzic and Slater) have career nights there is a chance we still may not win, so we have to have balance throughout our roster. We have to have everyone step up and do the things we ask them to do, both offensively and defensively, to take the pressure off of Adnan and Josh as much as we possibly can.”
Averaging 6.4 points per game, Brandon Barnes has been a pleasant surprise off the bench for the Bisons this year. This will be Barnes’ first A-Sun tournament and he is confident in the team.
“We have a talented team,” Barnes said. “If we show up night in and night out we are a tough team to beat. I have a lot of confidence going into the tournament.
“We have four seniors and this could potentially be their last game. They are going to come in and give it all they have. As a freshman I want to make sure their last tournament experience is a good one.”
The Bisons’ opening game is on Thursday at 8 p.m. With a Bison win and a Belmont win the team could be in for the Battle on the Boulevard part III in the second round of the A-Sun tournament.