The Emporia State Hornets have no doubt heard that a victory over Truman in the opening round of the MIAA tournament would more than likely propel them into an NCAA Tournament berth.
Thing is, they’re not listening anymore.
“If you think like that, that’s how you start losing games,” ESU guard Donta Watson said, “because you’re not focused on the task at hand and you’re not enjoying the process.”
After losing their last two and four of their last six, the Hornets will face Truman at 8:15 p.m. Thursday with a chance to re-capture what made them successful early in the season.
They’ll also have the opportunity to help salvage a season that looked destined for great things after a 16-0 start.
“We’re trying to find our own foundation,” ESU guard DeAndre Townsend said. “We want to go back into the past and find what was working.”
One particular mindset that was working was ESU’s tendency to play motivated after being picked preseason ninth in the conference.
The Hornets lost that edge somewhat after gaining a national ranking and having results expected of them.
“We were the hunters, and lately, since we won 20 games and had some success, we became the hunted,” Watson said. “When we look at other teams and feel like we have something to prove to them, that’s when we feel like we’re at our best.”
The pressure might have also hit ESU down the stretch, as players knew they just needed a win or two more to secure the team’s second postseason trip in school history.
Instead of focusing on their play, the Hornets focused on attaining an outcome.
The results weren’t so kind.
“We can’t control the NCAA tournament. We can’t control the South Central rankings. We can’t control what other coaches think about us,” Watson said. “What we can control is our performance against Truman and what that means for us.
“That game against Truman simply means if we win that game, we go to the conference tournament semifinals. We’re not worried about saying, ‘Oh, this win will put us into the NCAA Tournament.’”
Truman enters as perhaps the toughest conference matchup for the fast-paced, high-scoring Hornets.
The Bulldogs (15-12, 9-9 MIAA) utilize a patient offense that forces the opposition to play defense for 30 seconds nearly every possession.
ESU trailed by 10 in the second half of the teams’ first matchup before rallying for a 63-60 victory in Kirksville, Mo., on Jan. 10.
The Bulldogs dominated the last meeting at White Auditorium, making 12 of 25 3-pointers in an 88-78 triumph one week ago.
“We’re used to how they play. We know how they run things,” Townsend said. “I think we’re more mature now, and we’re ready for them.”
Truman has all five starters average in double figures, led by Nick Certa’s 13.9 points per game. He hit 7 of 9 3-pointers and scored 25 points against ESU last Wednesday.
Interestingly, the Hornets picked up their first-ever MIAA Tournament victory last year in a 96-90 victory over Truman. In that game, Truman was the No. 3 seed and ESU was the No. 6 seed.
The Hornets are 1-9 all-time in the MIAA Postseason Tournament.
Watson, Townsend happy with honor
Emporia State guards Donta Watson and DeAndre Townsend said they were both honored to be first-team All-MIAA selections.
It was the first time ever that two Hornets have been named to the first team in the same season.
“I think it brings a lot of confidence to me and Donta.” Townsend said. “We can use it throughout the tournament in helping our team to a victory.”
Watson, who lives with Townsend, said he wouldn’t have wanted to share the honor with anyone else.
“I think me and Bear (DeAndre) did a great job of feeding off each other,” Watson said. “We both kind of had the same mindset coming into every game that we think we can beat the other team. Even if we were about to play the Dallas Mavericks, we’d come in thinking, ‘Hey, we’ve got a chance to beat these guys.’”