Fairfield will sink or swim this weekend.
After a season-opening victory over Sacred Heart, the Stags have lost three straight games, and now they face No. 3 Louisville on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., in the opening round of the Naismith Memorial Tip-Off Classic.
Fairfield, picked to finish sixth in the 11-team MAAC, will play either North Carolina or Richmond on Sunday.
“Its going to be a helluva challenge, but I think the guys will enjoy the experience,” Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson said of the tournament. “Sometimes [playing a top team] can be great, sometimes it can set you back, when you’re struggling. What I do know is they will remember these games Saturday and Sunday for 30 or 40 years down the road. We’re giving them an experience that maybe another mid-major team can’t get. It will be an NCAA Tournament-type environment.”
The championship likely will feature a star-studded matchup between Louisville and North Carolina, a game that has lost its luster somewhat because of the Tar Heels’ slow start and diminished roster.
North Carolina is without P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald for the time being, as the NCAA and the school is looking into the possibility the talented duo received improper benefits. Hairston and McDonald haven’t played yet this season, and neither is traveling with the team for the tournament, head coach Roy Williams told reporters on Thursday.
The ACC powerhouse Tar Heels were upset by Belmont, which will play in the Springfield bracket, and nearly lost to Holy Cross of the Patriot League. Louisville, meanwhile, has flown under the radar despite its lofty ranking, overshadowed by the elite freshmen of Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and Arizona.
Yet, the Cardinals are the defending champions, and their backcourt of Brooklyn product Russ Smith and elite JUCO transfer Chris Jones looks to be one of the quickest and most potent in the nation, averaging a combined 31.8 points and 8.6 assists per game.
Moreover, forward Chane Behanan (suspension) and sharpshooter Luke Hancock, last year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player, returned recently, and Louisville has won all four of its games by at least 22 points.
Hofstra will take part in the Naismith Memorial Tip-Off Classic at Mohegan Sun, but will do so in the Springfield bracket, which consists of Belmont, Hartford and Holy Cross. The Pride open against Hartford on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
“I love tournaments. It feels like a mini-season. Sunday night, somebody’s going to be 2-0, somebody’s going to be 0-2 and a few teams are going to be 1-1,” Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich said. “You get a chance to feel like a champion.”
While Hofstra is just 1-3, one bright spot has been Zeke Upshaw, a graduate transfer from Illinois State coming off a career-high 37-point outing, the most points scored by a Hofstra player since Charles Jenkins went for 40 on Dec. 8, 2010, against Binghamton. Upshaw scored a total of 100 points in his 62-game career at Illinois State.