NCAA Basketball: North Alabama, Cal Baptist succeeding as D-I newcomers
It’s supposed to be difficult for new D-I teams to succeed in their first year. But for Cal Baptist and North Alabama, the transition has looked easy.
When the 2018-19 college basketball season started, there were many intriguing storylines to look at. One of them was going to be how good the newest additions to Division-1 (North Alabama and Cal Baptist) were going to do in their respective conferences (ASUN and WAC).
Both of them were projected to struggle this season against elevated competition in both the non-conference and league play. That happened to the Lions of North Alabama, going winless versus D-I opponents. The Lancers of Cal Baptist fared better but still had their own learning curve.
But at the start of the new year and the start of conference play, both teams have made great early impressions. Cal Baptist had an incredible inaugural WAC game, beating powerhouse New Mexico State. The Aggies have made the NCAA Tournament six of the last eight years and were the favorite to do so again. Then the Lancers had another first, getting a conference road win at Chicago State. At 2-2 in the league, the new guy in the WAC has become anything but an easy win.
The big reason for the Lancers 10-7 overall record has been the play of WAC Player of the Year contender Milan Acquaah. The former Washington State guard is leading the conference with 21.6 ppg and 3.1 apg, including a career-high 36 points to beat New Mexico State.
On the Atlantic Sun side, North Alabama is currently sitting at 2-1 after a pair of upsets against Florida Gulf Coast and NJIT. FGCU has been one of the standard bearers of the conference in recent years, while NJIT came into the game with a 13-3 record.
The Lions have a good future going forward, with two of the team’s three leading scorers being freshmen. Jamari Blackmon leads the team with 15.7 ppg and 2.8 apg and already has 13 games of 15+ points. With teams such as NJIT, FGCU and Lipscomb all being led by seniors, North Alabama may not have to wait long to become contenders in the ASUN.
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Due to NCAA rules regarding teams transitioning into D-I athletics, both North Alabama and Cal Baptist won’t be able to participate in the postseason until the 2022-23 season. But based on how things are looking early on, each program will be in great position to go dancing once they’re eligible.