Kansas City, Mo. — I’ll keep this post open for anyone who wonders what the Matadors are up to since right now (Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. CT) until it’s time for their NCAA Tournament first round match-up against Memphis.
Wednesday
11:30 p.m. CT: Team meeting adjourned. Everyone to sleep! Can the Matadors actually sleep tonight? Maybe Rodrigue Mels can …
9:20 p.m. CT: The team had practice in a private gym and ate dinner. Assistant Coach Louis Wilson saw his son and nephew’s No. 32 team beat the No. 1 team in the NAIA tournament. The team has a meeting scheduled for 10:30 p.m.
12:50 p.m. CT: Practice finished with a round of half-court shots. There were three mades. The first one beloned to Willie Galick (who’s 1-of-3 for the season). The second went to a surging star, Rodrigue Mels. Lately, Mels has been hitting everything so it wasn’t that surprising. The last three was shot in by a member of the coaching staff, Ryan Dodd.
The Sprint Center staff took a coke can away from me because they said it’d be advertisement for the soft drink. They were kind enough to give me a cup to pour the rest of the content in it. The cup read “Vitamin water.”
The Matadors have now departed to another location for anoher practice, which will end at 4 p.m. CT.
12:20 p.m. CT: The Matadors are on the Sprint Center’s floor conducting a shootaround for about a hundred fans who got tickets to see them – and three other teams – practice. Maryland, California and Memphis are due on this same court later today.
To put the Sprint Center in perspective, let’s say it’s got about 20 times the capacity of the Matadome and five times its lighting. it’s also got 20 entrances more. Well it looks like the Staples Center actually.
Tremaine Townsend, Mark Hill and Kenny Daniels fielded questions from the media in a conference. The camera lights were too bright for Townsend’s liking.
10:40 a.m. CT: The team is on the bus heading to a light practice at the Sprint Center, location of their first round game tomorrow. The venue is about two minutes away from their hotel.
00:20 a.m. CT: Some coaches and players still roaming around the halls.
Tuesday
11:25 p.m. CT: The Matadors got back to the hotel, some holding food leftovers. Head Coach Bobby Braswell said his team had a better workout than the day before, which started after originally scheduled due to Braswell’s late arrival. The coach was attending his son’s preliminary hearing.
8:15 p.m. CT: CSUN just took off on the bus. Destination: practice. Reserve guard Matthew Wallace looked like he was running on two hours of sleep as he took the elevator down to the lobby.
The Matador cheerleaders and the band are here as well. They also went off on an adventure.
“Family Guy” is on tbs.
7:10 p.m. CT: The Matadors were welcomed warmly by the Kansas City Crowne Plaza hotel management. As they entered through the revolving doors, a banner that read “Welcome Northridge Matadors” received them – along with their fight song. Following that, everyone was given an hour to unpack, relax for a bit and get ready for practice.