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After an illustrious nine-year stint as the head coach at Winthrop, Pat Kelsey accepted a well-deserved promotion last week. As the leader of the Winthrop program, Kelsey guided the Eagles to eight winning seasons in nine years. Kelsey compiled a 185-95 record and qualified for three NCAA tournaments in the process.
Last week, Kelsey accepted a new gig, and it is one that won’t even be taking him out of the Palmetto State. The College of Charleston pounced on Kelsey after Earl Grant left to become the head coach at Boston College. Grant leaves the program after an impressive seven-year run where he compiled a record of 127-89, including a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2018.
Conference: Big 12. Bid: At-Large. Region: South. Seed: No. 1. Tournament History: 14-12, 2 Final Fours in 12 appearances. Last appearance: 2019, lost to Gonzaga in the Second Round. Season Stats Top Scorers: Jared Butler 17.1; MaCio Teague 16.2; Davion Mitchell 14.1. Rebounds: Mark Vital 6.8; Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua 5.3; Avg team margin (plus-4.4). Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.37): Mitchell (5.4/2.6), 130 assists. Last 10 Games: 8-2. Worst Loss: 74-83 vs. Oklahoma St. on Mar. 12. The Skinny: Second-ranked Baylor won its first regular-season league championship since 1950, but the Bears have never won a conference tournament title. Theyll remain 0-3 in the Big 12 title game after losing in the semifinals to Oklahoma State and star freshman Cade Cunningham. Baylor has been through a tough late-season stretch after its COVID-19 pause as it tried to squeeze in as many makeup games as possible. The Cowboys were their sixth ranked opponent in the last six games.
Indianapolis, IN â Winthrop men’s basketball earned a 12-seed in the South Region of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will face 5
th-seeded Villanova on Friday, Mar. 19. Tip-off is set for 9:57 p.m. on TNT inside Farmers Coliseum.
The Eagles are coming off a historical season, posting a 23-1 overall record and winning a second-consecutive Big South Championship title. The Eagles 17 Big South Conference wins is a conference record. The Eagles opened the season 16-0, winning 21 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 27, 2020, which a one time was the longest active streak in the NCAA DI.
Several Eagles took home hardware at the conclusion of the regular season.Â
The Eagles pushed their lead to eight points again afterÂ
Camels answered with an 8-2 run as Whitfield scored four of the points including a layup off a steal as he jumped a passing lane in the back court and scored to make it a two point game
It was a two point game with 1:23 left but the Eagles scored the final four points for a 32-26 lead t the break as all four points came off jumpers by Burns Jr.
Winthrop shot 48 percent in the half while Campbell shot 37 percent
SECOND HALF
Winthrop opened the second half on a 12-5 run over the first five minutes for a 44-31 lead