INDIANAPOLIS—Kye Robinson couldn’t help but laugh.
The University of Mary Washington standout guard was taking part in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Division III national championship game when someone brought up the Eagles’ Cinderella run to last year’s Sweet 16.
“We were laughing because we were an 11-14 team in the conference tournament and entering the [NCAA] tournament at 13-14,” Robinson said. “It’s just kinda funny being in the tournament under .500.”
But these Eagles? They’re far from a March Madness punchline.
When UMW (29-3) faces Emory University (27-3) at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, head coach Marcus Kahn’s squad is looking to punctuate what’s already unequivocally the best season in program history.
Tune in
University of Mary Washington (29-3) vs. Emory University (27-3), Sunday, April 5, 4:30 p.m., at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, ESPN+ (subscription required); UMW live stream (audio only)
Stay with the Free Press for a live game blog Sunday from award-winning sports reporter Joey LoMonaco
“We had to get to the Sweet 16 just to get to .500,” said Kahn of last March, “but that catapulted us into this year.”
The teams (both nicknamed Eagles) squared off in last year’s Sweet 16, with Emory eking out a 63-60 victory in Middletown, Conn., to end UMW’s improbable run. But there’s only so much to be gleaned from that matchup, despite both squads returning key players.
“We’re certainly a different team,” Kahn said. “Our principles are the same, but we’re a different and better team, a more poised for this moment team.”
UMW’s roster doesn’t feature a single senior. But don’t confuse the Eagles’ youth with inexperience.
“They don’t have any seniors, but they have dudes who have played a lot of minutes,” observed Emory head coach Jason Zimmerman. “In basketball age, they’re old.”
Led by Robinson, the Coast 2 Coast Conference Player of the year who averages 24.3 points per game, UMW is anchored by a talented junior class that includes Jay Randall, Kaden Bates and Jadon Burgess.
One matchup to watch pits Robinson, who averages 24.3 points per game, against Emory senior Ben Pearce, the recently-crowned D-III national player of the year. This season, Pearce is averaging 24 points per game and has connected on a team-high 73 3-pointers.
Pearce, “is an amazing player,” Robinson said. “He was my real introducing-me-to-college-basketball moment. I have a lot of respect for him and his family. I’m probably going to go into this game, if I play my best game, no one can compete with that.
“Just containing him and making sure he doesn’t get off too easy of buckets and trying to make him work for everything is going to be the key to us winning.”
By the time tip-off rolls around on Sunday, neither team will have played for 15 days. Kahn said his team is fully healthy entering the championship contest.
“I just think we’re trying to stay locked in at practice and not get distracted by all of the outside variables,” UMW junior Kaden Bates said.
That task became a bit more difficult on Friday, when the Eagles took the floor at Gainbridge, the home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, for a practice.
“We’re all just soaking it in and trying to be present in the moment,” Robinson said.
For his part, Kahn has attended several past Final Fours, participating in coaching clinics, meetings, and, er… networking opportunities.
But this trip? It’s purely business.
“It’s very different,” he said with a laugh. “I’m here working instead of being down at the bar with my buddies. This has been more staying around the hotel and having coffee with friends instead of catching up with them late at night. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
