San Jose State is pretty excited about being a part of the College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. In fact, the Spartans have not been to the postseason in basketball since 1996 and this year marks their first winning season since 1994. They were close to knocking off eventual WAC tournament champ and NCAA Tournament-bound Utah State in the WAC tournament and are full of confidence after winning six of their past nine games.
The Bluejays and Spartans have not played each other since 1988. A lot of fans may not be familiar with San Jose State and what to look for. Fortunately, Sports Information Directors are a wealth of information and SJSU”s Lawrence Fan ranks right up there with his own game notes for this contest. He took some time to talk to White & Blue Review about the Spartans before Tuesday night’s 7:05 p.m. tip at the Qwest Center.
White & Blue Review: Tell us a little bit about San Jose State and its basketball history.
Lawrence Fan: Tuesday is San Jose State’s fifth post-season appearance since 1950 and first in the CBI. The Spartans’ last NCAA appearance was 1996. So, it’s been 15 years between post-season appearance.
There are three San Jose State players who were first-round NBA draft choices and several who have various forms of basketball notoriety.
First round picks include:
Darnell Hillman, 1971 Golden State Warriors, 8th overall pick
Ricky Berry, 1988 Sacramento Kings, 18th overall pick
Olivier Saint-Jean, 1997 Sacramento Kings, 11th overall pickHillman signed with the Indiana Pacers of the ABA and won the league’s first slam dunk contest. he also was known for having the league’s best Afro hairstyle.
The late Stu Inman played for the Spartans from 1947 through 1950 and was the school’s career scoring leader for 38 years. His claim to fame was he was the director of player personnel for the Portland Trail Blazers and built the team that won an NBA Championship that included center Bill Walton, forwards Bobby Gross and Maurice Lucas, and guards Dave Twardzik and Larry Steele.
WBR: San Jose State has not been to the postseason in some time. What has been the difference this season?
LF: Being able to play more home games during the regular season for the first time in many years, taking care of the basketball averaging just 11.2 turnovers a game, shooting 75.7 percent from the free throw line as a team, and having strong senior leadership from guards Adrian Oliver and Justin Graham.
WBR: Who should Creighton be concerned about stopping from the Spartans? Are they more of an inside or outside team?
LF: Oliver is the nation’s third leading scorer, averaging 24.3 points a game. He was fourth in the nation in 2010. Justin Graham and Keith Shamburger also are averaging in double figures for the 2011 Spartans — the highest scoring team in school history with more than 2,300 points.
WBR: What kind of weaknesses could Creighton exploit that San Jose State has struggled with this season?
LF: San Jose State has to distribute its personal fouls effectively throughout the game. Typically, the starters play more than 150 of the 200 minutes in a standard game.
WBR: As far as matchups, what could be the key player matchup’s in this contest?
LF: Look at the post matchups involving the two teams.
WBR: What is your opinion of these other tournaments outside of the NCAA Tournament and the NIT? Are they beneficial to schools?
LF: The four tournaments have 140 out of the nearly 350 Division I schools. The percentage of schools competing in postseason basketball is less than the percentage of Football Bowl Subdivision schools that are invited to bowl games.
WBR: What is your final prediction? What does San Jose State need to do in order to walk away from Omaha with a win?
LF: San Jose State needs to score steadily throughout the contest, play effective defense, stay out of personal foul difficulties, and enjoy the moment. The Spartans are 6-1 this season in games decided by three points or less.