BLUE DRAGON MEN'S BASKETBALL |
No. 16 Hutchinson (27-6) vs. USC Salkehatchie
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| When: Monday, March 25, 2024 Where: Hutchinson Sports Arena, Hutchinson, KS Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9), Noon - Glen Grunwald (PBP); Dan Naccarato (color) Video: ESPN+ X: @bluedragonsport CLICK FOR GAME NOTES (PDF Format) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team will play USC Salkehatchie in the opening round of the 2024 NJCAA Men's Division I National Tournament.
The 11th-seeded Blue Dragons (27-6) will meet the 22nd-seeded Indians (20-13) at 12:15 p.m. on Monday at the Sports Arena. The Hutchinson-USC Salk winner will play No. 6 Chipola at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) at Noon with Glen Grunwald (play-by-play) and Dan Naccarato (color) calling the action. All NJCAA Tournament games are being streamed on ESPN+.
The Blue Dragons make their 24th all-time NJCAA Tournament appearance and the second in head coach Tommy DeSalme's first three seasons on the Blue Dragon bench. USC Salk, the Region 10 champion, plays in its third tournament in its program history.
The Blue Dragons have an all-time tournament record of 51-27 with national championships in 1988, 1994 and 2017. The Indians are 0-2 in tournament history.
Hutchinson is an at-large selection for the 2024 field after losing the Region 6 Tournament championship game 71-57 to No. 1-ranked Barton on March 16. This appearance marks the sixth-straight tournament appearance as either an at-large or zone qualifier selection.
Hutchinson is 14-5 all-time in tournament opening-round matchups.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Hutchinson and USC Salkehatchie. This will be only the third meeting ever between the Blue Dragons and a Region 10 team, the second in tournament play. The 2018 Blue Dragons opened that tournament with an 84-60 victory over Cape Fear.
Picked to finish sixth in the Jayhawk Conference preseason coaches' poll, the 2023-24 Blue Dragons exceeded those expectations with a third-place showing with a 20-4 KJCCC record. The Blue Dragons defeated Garden City and No. 11 Cowley to reach the Region VI Tournament championship game. Three of the Blue Dragons' six losses this season have come to No. 1-ranked Barton.
The Blue Dragons earned three All-KJCCC selections this season with Kamryn Thomas and Valentino Simon earning first-team honors and point guard J.P. Ricks earning honorable mention honors.
A sub-.500 team in conference play, the Indians have reeled off six-straight wins, including three in the Region 10 Tournament to get to Hutchinson this season. The Indians upset No. 22 Caldwell Tech 69-59 in the Region VI Championship game.
A much-improved defensive team this season, the Blue Dragons, who allow 74.3 points per game, will defend a USC Salt offense that averages 82.9 points per game.