Impact and takeaways from American Eagles Patriot League championship victory

On Wednesday night, in the northwest corner of Washington DC, American University scored on the first possession of the Patriot League Championship game (nineteen seconds in) and never again relented against Navy. After that Elijah Stephens three pointer, the two teams never tied the score again and the Eagles never relinquished the lead.

There were a few seminal moments in the game, largely all of them early. A Colin Smalls three a minute and a half later gave American a 9-0 lead and ignited a crowd that never calmed for the rest of the game. This was right on the heels of Navy's second-leading scorer, Jordan Pennick, being ejected from the game for a flagrant two foul after hitting a player below the belt. Later, with just over three minutes to go in the first half, a late shot clock American three went careening of the backboard, but a tip out found the hands of Wyatt Nausadis, who hit his attempt from deep right before the shot clock buzzer to go up twelve. It was the kind of play that makes you believe that luck is on your side that night.

But for a more in-depth recap, check out Tristan Freeman's summary of the game.

I will instead dive in on a pair of implications stemming from this game in the short-term, along with a wide ranging thought about the state of college basketball, coming out of an electric environment.

American could be fun in the NCAA Tournament... but they better get the right matchup

American's successful season was driven by their stingy, best in the Patriot League defense. That was ever present in this game, and even after struggling all first half to contain Donovan Draper, the Eagles held him to just two points in the second frame. But this displayed the full breadth of their offense, with a hyper-efficient performance all over. A spectacular eleven for twenty-five from three powered an overall 51.9% shooting night, with just nine turnovers and a near impossible eleven second chance points, considering they hauled in just four offensive rebounds. The lone blemish was their typical strength, as the Eagles went nine of thirteen from the foul line.

This was all made possible thanks to a dominant Matt Rogers and his twenty-five points and eight rebounds. But while Rogers can dominate Patriot League bigs with his quickness, many of American's likely first-round opponents in the NCAA Tournament can simply overwhelm him with size. But there is one particular team out of the likely number one or two seeds who can't. Alabama leads the nation in tempo, and while American's defense would face the daunting tasks of having to slow the Crimson Tide, the offense could be empowered to open up like it did against Navy, with Rogers being able to operate in space and open up opportunities for Small and Stephens to get hot.

But even with the wrong opponent, I still expect American to easily topple the point total of their last NCAA Tournament game, thirty-five against Wisconsin in 2014.

For his two hours of fame, Matt Rogers will be embraced as a quintessentially American story. Pun intended.

During a week of game previews, and when American finally takes the court in Round One, Rogers will obviously be the central talking point. Fans always enjoy a dominant smaller conference big man who becomes undersized once compared to best teams in the country. It will be a compelling narrative to see if he can hold up against athletic freaks (i.e. Duke's Khaman Maluach), larger versatile scorers (i.e. Tennessee's Igor Mililic) or all-around dominant centers (i.e. Auburn's Johni Broome).

But more importantly, from a storytelling perspective, Rogers will bring out nostalgia from those who still yearn for the pre-NIL and transfer portal days. Like plenty of other Patriot League players who covet the quality education that the members' schools offer, it's no surprise that Rogers stuck around for four years to collect his degree. But after a pair of all-conference selections, he turned down the chance to jump up and collect some money, instead choosing to remain at American for his extra fifth year and a master's degree. He's on and off the court old school in a way that fans will absolutely love.

We need more conference tournament games in home arenas!!

The environment at Bender Arena for this game was absolutely fantastic. The crowd was really into it from that first made shot. A large group (about a hundred) of women and girls behind the benches were standing, swaying and going crazy all game. The extremely respectful and quite composed (SEC approved) court storm postgame. Those fans refused to move when asked to clear the court later.

It was deserving of an A grade. It was a wonderful experience, but yet, there was nothing that happened on or off the court that I'll be telling my grandkids about one day. And that just hammers home the overall point of this section, that there are dozens or other small schools capable of putting together their own terrific experience in a similar situation.

Take this week's Horizon League tournament for example. In the championship game, Robert Morris defeated Youngstown State in front of an announced attendance of 2,273 in the 6,500 seat Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis. A mere five days earlier, I was witness to a sold-out UMPC Events Center with a rocking crowd as Robert Morris played host to Wright State in the quarterfinals. Imagine the crowd in that building with the stakes of a conference tournament final and add in the fact that it is a mere sixty minute drive from the center of Youngstown State's campus, which would have surely helped to draw some away fans as well.

It's not the only good example though. Look at Sunday's ESPN2 doubleheader, where High Point won the Big South in front of a mild group of fans hours away in Johnson City, Tennessee. After that, Lipscomb won the Atlantic Sun on their home court, as the Bisons' fans were clearly in a noise clash with the North Alabama contingent that had traveled in. The difference was night and day. And now the Atlantic Sun is throwing that all away, for long trips to Jacksonville starting next year.

One of the great winners of the night in Bender Arena was the kid sitting behind me, who, with about eleven minutes left, began to frequently chant, "Start the buses!" For $25 a ticket to go see the local team at home, it's an absolute no brainer to head to the championship and bring the family along. And because of that, a young fan now has one of their first formative sports memories. Put the tournament in a neutral site and add the cost of travel, hotel and full ticket packages, along with the need to take off work, and that family is probably just watching on tv.

These small schools have a chance to create these wonderful memories for future lifelong fans, and that is a uniquely college basketball thing. You don't see sold-out crowds for championship games in the XFL, single-A baseball, or Division III college football conference championship games, but you do in the Patriot League, Atlantic Sun, America East, and NEC. It doesn't make sense for everyone to embrace this, but for conferences that never expect to get at-large bids, it's a no-brainer to have the chance for an environment that creates buzz and, more importantly, gives young fans something to be excited for.