DAYTON, Ohio — With 2.9 seconds left and Mount St. Mary’s clinging to a one-point lead over New Orleans in the NCAA tournament’s First Four on Tuesday night, coach Jamion Christian gathered his team in the huddle. He knew exactly what was coming.
Christian’s assistants had so thoroughly scouted New Orleans in the 48 hours since Selection Sunday that Christian told his team the Privateers were going to run a play The Mount calls “Valpo.” (And, let’s be honest, doesn’t every team call its go-to full-court inbounds play Valpo?)
Still, knowing what’s coming and defending what’s coming are not always the same thing.