On Wednesday at 1 p.m., before the big boys at Duke and Virginia had even left their respective campuses, Gardner-Webb’s basketball players were leaving Carolina Coliseum after a brisk 90-minute practice.
“I just wanted to get into a new environment, get them feeling this whole deal a little bit as early as possible and allow them to experience the tournament as early as we possibly can,” Runnin’ Bulldogs head coach Tim Craft said. “I want our guys to really enjoy this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type deal for most college players, but at the same time we want to play well and we have no shot to play well if we’re not locked in.