<em>Basketball:</em> Drexel Hoping to Make Noise in CAA Tournament
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - After a 20-9 regular season, the Drexel Dragons are the fifth seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.
Dragons head coach Bruiser Flint says he is looking forward to this weekend sprint which will end with someone earning the CAA title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
"This is conference time," he told KYW Newsradio. "I try to break the season up into three: preseason, conference season, and playoffs. It's about a clean slate -- you are 0-0 right now, and no matter how well you did or how poorly you did in the past, this is totally different. I think that's the way you have to approach it," Flint said.
Hear Matt Leon's full interview with Bruiser Flint in this CBS Philly SportsPod...
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The Dragons will open up the tourney, being played in Richmond, Va., on Friday afternoon as they take on the #12 seed, Towson. The Dragons beat the Tigers over the weekend in their regular season finale, 66-63, at the DAC.
Flint says a key for his team on Friday -- and for the entire tournament -- will be putting the ball in the basket.
"I've said it all along: if we shoot around 40 percent (from the field), then we have a chance to win. When we've shot that, we've been pretty good, because we have defended and rebounded pretty much all year, consistently. Now we've just got to try and put the ball in the basket, and if we can put the ball in the basket and don't kill ourselves from the foul line also -- because that's one of the things that's hurt us in the past -- then you know what? Then I think we've got pretty good chances to win," he said.
The Dragons have outrebounded their opponents by nearly ten caroms a game this season, while holding them to 59 points per game. The Dragons have shot 42 percent from the field and just 62 percent from the foul line.
Towson is 4-25 on the season; they lost all 18 CAA match-ups during the regular season. The Dragons will be the second first-round game on Friday, tipping off around 2:30pm. George Mason is the top seed in this year's tournament.
Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060.
