The team with a chip on its shoulder all year long seems to have a little more to prove.
The Emporia State Hornets snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a seven seed after losing five of their last seven games.
Now, Caleb Tegtmeier says the team is ready to show the region — and the nation — that it was deserving of a spot all along.
“We’ve been doubted all year,” Tegtmeier said. “The regional rankings haven’t exactly been in our favor. For us to get in, I think we all have something to prove.
“We see it as a second chance, and there’s some motivation there to show we belong.”
ESU’s opportunity will come against No. 2-seeded and 11th-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma State. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the UCM Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.
The Savage Storm come into the game as the favorite after an impressive regular season in which they won the Lone Star North Division Championship with a 25-4 record overall.
“They’re a really good team,” ESU guard Donta Watson said. “It’s definitely not going to be a cakewalk.”
Much like ESU, Southeastern has relied on a high-octane offense to carry it. The Savage Storm has averaged 83.9 points per game, good for 17th nationally, while also hitting 8.7 3-pointers per game, which ranks 25th.
The team is led by 6-foot-8 senior Eric Babers, who was named the South Central Regional Player of the Year after averaging 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season.
ESU, which is undersized in the post, has had problems this season defending bigger forwards.
“The coaches came up with a gameplan to stop him, and I think we’re all pretty confident with it,” Tegtmeier said. “It’s going to take a lot of teamwork. It’s not necessarily a one-on-one deal, but instead it’s going to be team guarding.”
Three other starters average double figures for Southeastern, including 6-foot guard Jason Stampley, who has posted 17.8 points per contest.
The Hornets, meanwhile, have tried to get back to the basics this week after it seemed they had gotten away from the unselfish offense that helped them to their 16-0 start.
Because of a makeup date with Central Missouri late in the season, ESU didn’t have much practice time to make corrections, playing its last five regular-season games in 11 calendar days.
Tegtmeier said the extra workouts had helped ESU get back to where it needed to be.
“Our offense is completely different than it has been in the last three weeks,” Tegtmeier said. “We’re moving the ball a lot better. We’re a lot more unselfish. We’re taking good shots. We’re waiting on good shots instead of taking average early shots.
“I think if we can carry that over to the game, it’s going to be a completely different story from the last three or four games.”
Though the Hornets come in as the seventh seed, they weren’t too disappointed with the draw they received.
If ESU advances, it is guaranteed to not play an MIAA team until the championship game of Regionals. Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State are all on the opposite side of the bracket.
“I don’t think Southeastern Oklahoma has seen a passing game like ours,” Watson said, “so that’s an advantage for us.”
The Hornets are 16-2 this season when playing a team for the first time. Meanwhile, ESU is 5-5 in rematches this season.
“I don’t think we could have gotten a better spot,” Tegtmeier said. “Even if we were the two seed, I wouldn’t mind being in this spot. None of these teams know us.”
The winner of the SWOSU-ESU game plays the winner of the Midwestern State-West Texas A&M contest at 5 p.m. Sunday.