TOWSON, Md. – After enjoying a viral moment on social media Sunday, it seems only appropriate that the Towson University men's basketball team will finish its regular season and start its postseason journey in three of America's historic cities: New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.
The Tigers (17-12 overall, 10-6 CAA) begin their final week of the season by visiting Hofstra (22-7, 13-3) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. and Northeastern on Sunday at 4 p.m. The Tigers game against Northeastern (14-14, 8-8) will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
It's a difficult trip against a pair of quality teams in two tough environments. Towson hasn't won at Hofstra since 2017 and Northeastern since 2016. Both teams beat Towson this season to begin the conference schedule way back in December.
A lot has happened since then.
Winners of eight straight, Hofstra has clinched at least a tie for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season championship. One more victory and the Pride clinch the title as well as the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. Meanwhile, Towson knows for sure it will be seeded among the top six teams and open the tournament on Sunday, March 8 against an opponent to be determined.
With at least one victory, Towson will be assured of no worse than a No. 5 seed. Northeastern still has work to do to avoid Saturday's first round.
The Tigers made the rounds on ESPN's SportsCenter following their 84-71 victory over Elon on Saturday.
Jason Gibson's beautiful save of a loose ball turned into a viral clip. The freshman guard fired a no-look, behind-the-back pass that
Brian Fobbs caught and dunked during the victory. It also helped that the official SportsCenter twitter accounted tweeted the highlight to its 36.2 million followers.
Of course, while that was nice, that won't help the Tigers against the Pride on Thursday.
Hofstra is rolling after beating Drexel and Delaware on the road last week. Desure Buie has been a force throughout the season for the Pride leading the team in scoring at 18.7 points per game.
Buie is one of five Hofstra players averaging double figures. Eli Pemberton (16.7), Jalen Ray (11.9), Isaac Kante (11.4) and Tareq Coburn (10.6) have all made meaningful contributions to the Pride's success this season. During its eight-game winning streak, Hofstra has permitted two squads to score at least 70 points.
Towson dropped a double overtime heartbreaker at Hofstra last season despite double-doubles from
Nakye Sanders and
Dennis Tunstall. The Tigers held a 12-point second-half advantage against Hofstra in the first meeting. They lead the CAA in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and rebounding margin.
Don't be deceived by Northeastern's 8-8 CAA record. Seven of its losses have been by five points or less. The Huskies opened CAA competition by handing Towson a 61-45 loss at SECU Arena. Northeastern is second in the CAA in scoring defense. Offensively, the Huskies have been led this season by the conference's leading scorer Jordan Roland (23.1 points per game).
Tyson Walker (10.6 ppg) and Bolden Brace (10.1) are also averaging double digits for Northeastern, which have won four of its last five games against Towson.
Towson is headed north confident and excited for the challenges that await. The Tigers can also take comfort that it is 5-2 in CAA road games this season. The last time Towson won at least six road conference games was during the 2013-14 season.
