Cellphones blared in unison Wednesday in a postgame interview session throughout the first day of the Atlantic 10 males’s basketball event at PPG Paints Arena.
The disruption occurred in mid-sentence of St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt’s reference to former {golfing} nice Jack Nicklaus whereas Schmidt was making an attempt as an instance a degree after his workforce’s first-round victory over La Salle.
Virtually everybody within the packed room scrambled to mute the shrill.
The dry-humored Schmidt, who’s retiring at season’s finish after 25 years as a head coach — six at Robert Morris and 19 at St. Bonaventure — acquired a kick out of the scene.
“Is that Jack?” the outgoing Bonnies coach joked, barely cracking a smile whereas managing to interrupt a little bit of tenseness that hovered within the air not lengthy after the opening recreation of the event was over.
Turns out all that buzz was as a result of the National Weather Service had declared a twister warning for the realm.
But for the greater than 4,600 followers who helped to get the event rolling, it was basketball — not the weather — that was on their minds.
In the opener, No. 12 seed St. Bonaventure prolonged Schmidt’s teaching profession for at the very least one other day with a 99-80 victory over No. 13 La Salle in one in all two first-round video games.
No. 14 Loyola Chicago then upset No. 11 Richmond, 75-67, becoming a member of the Bonnies in advancing to Thursday’s second spherical of the 14-team occasion.
Day 2 will likely be highlighted when host Duquesne, the No. 7 seed, faces No. 10 Rhode Island at 5 p.m. The second spherical suggestions off at 11:30 a.m. with No. 8 Fordham towards No. 9 George Washington. St. Bonaventure meets No. 5 George Mason at 2 p.m., and Loyola Chicago takes on No. 5 Davidson at 7:30 p.m. within the nightcap.
The event, again in Pittsburgh for the primary time in seven years, runs by Sunday’s championship recreation. Attendance was anticipated to select up with Thursday’s expanded slate of video games. As the rounds progress, the stakes change into larger.
It’s nothing new for P.J. Boggs and Brian Shevitz, two pals who made the journey from Mercer, 65 miles north of Pittsburgh. Boggs stated they’ll doubtless be round for Friday’s quarterfinals, when high-seeded groups who loved a double bye will start play.
(*2*) Boggs stated.
Back within the media room, after order was restored for that early postgame session, Schmidt went on to make his level.
“Everybody knows who Jack Nicklaus is,” he stated, including that “I’m an enormous golfer, although I’m not an excellent golfer.
“Jack Nicklaus once said — and it’s stuck with me for a long time — ‘You learn how to win by winning.’ You’ve got to put yourself in a position to win, and you’ve got to win. You can practice all you want, but you’ve got to be able to pull one out. And once you pull one out, it’s confidence.”
It was only one small component of the primary day of a five-day extravaganza that may draw followers of the league’s 14-teams and basketball followers from all through the area.
“We’re here because we’re college basketball junkies, particularly with the A-10,” stated Ron Jordan, a VCU fan from Richmond who’s in Pittsburgh along with his spouse, Dianne, and daughter, Merrill, to attend all 5 periods.
“Pittsburgh has some great steakhouses, a lot of them for the size city it is,” he stated. “And this is a great facility. I love this place.”
When the household was reminded that Pittsburgh isn’t an NBA town and its basketball enthusiasm seems to wane on occasion, Ron Jordan recalled a well-recognized identify.
“You’ve got Jeff Capel at Pitt, who used to be (coach) at VCU. We remember him well,” Jordan stated. “We also wanted to see Mark Schmidt because we figured maybe it’d be his last game.”
Not but. Schmidt’s profession on the bench will proceed for at the very least one other day.
