Back for more, GCU gets another shining moment at NCAAs

Friday, March 21 \| 1:35 p.m.\| NCAA tournaent first round Climate Pledge Arena \| Seattle, Washington

	(13) GRAND CANYON LOPES (26-7)	at	(4) MARYLAND TERRAPINS (25-8)

WATCH: TBS \| LISTEN: The Fanatic 1580 \| STATS: View

SEATTLE – Before Grand Canyon left Phoenix for its third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the Lopes players halted like a jump stop on their home court and listened before head coach Bryce Drew even had spoken a word of preparation for playing Maryland at 1:35 p.m. Friday.

Practice was opening with the drumbeats of "One Shining Moment" directing all eyes to for the Global Credit Union Arena video board, where CBS' iconic NCAA tournament wrap-up video was showing senior guard Collin Moore's exuberant starting introduction entrance, the GCU band and two shots of the Havocs were shown before Luther Vandross even dropped, "The ball is tipped."

GCU has woven into the fabric of March Madness with four visits in the five-year Drew era and a team that is as familiar with the stage and stature as they are with its offense. One day removed from the one-year anniversary of upsetting St. Mary's, four returning starters and a key reserve from that team are back to attempt to repeat the feat as No. 13 seed GCU (26-7) plays No. 4 seed Maryland (25-8) at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena on TBS.

GCU practices in Seattle in preparation for its NCAA tournament first-round game against Maryland.

GCU practices in Seattle in preparation for its NCAA tournament first-round game against Maryland.

"Being here for the first time, it was kind of shocking, alarming almost," said Lopes senior guard Ray Harrison, who has started for GCU on three consecutive NCAA tournament teams. "I'm just really thankful to be here. The second year was sort of similar, but this year, I definitely feel more comfortable than I ever have."

Drew believes it was last season's NCAA tournament experience of first-round success against Saint Mary's, leading Alabama late in the second round and the remarkable road fan support that pulled off the rarity of returning every key eligible player for another defensively driven team.

"They're probably the most connected defensive team that we're going to play all year," Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. "Bryce Drew is one of the best coaches in this country. This is the third year in row he's gone (to NCAAs). He's got a great group. They're talented. They've got big guys inside that can score. Their guards are dynamic. They post you up. They can go off the dribble."

The long-term goal of returning to the Big Dance to make this era's program stamp more indelible intensified the team's March focus after a season with new setbacks, particularly with All-WAC first-team honoree Tyon Grant-Foster missing eight games and only starting 16.

GCU practices in Seattle in preparation for its NCAA tournament first-round game against Maryland.

The 6-foot-7 swingman returned from a four-week injury for last week's WAC Tournament, a run of three wins in four nights that Drew called GCU's best basketball of the season.

"I feel like my rhythm got a lot better, just from being back in those games," said Grant-Foster, who averaged 14 points in 25.7 minutes per tourney game. "I felt good at practice (Wednesday) when we played live. So I feel like my rhythm is getting back to where it was before I went down ."

Drew said his veterans' focus heightened in postseason, and facing a team like Maryland intensifies that.

The Terrapins, ranked 11th in the nation, boast the nation's highest-scoring starting five. The "Crab Five" average 70 points per game and feature 6-foot-10, 246-pound freshman center Derik Queen, who is coming off a 31-point game against Michigan.

"The more you watch, the worse it gets when you're the opposing coach," Drew said of Queen. "You watch a couple clips, and you think 'OK, well, maybe we can try this or do this.' The more film you watch, it's 'Well, they tried it and didn't work. They tried this and didn't work.' He's just an excellent player. That's why he's a (NBA draft) lottery pick.

"He has great feet. He has great hands. He has great feel. He sets great screens. He looks like a great teammate out there. So I don't know if he's the type of player that you stop. He's just that talented and that good, but obviously we're going to do our best and throw some different things."

It is more challenge because Queen averages 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds with a more experience power forward next to him. Julian Reese, the 6-9, 230-pound brother of WNBA star Angel Reese, is averaging 13 points and 9 rebounds for a second consecutive year.

GCU practices in Seattle in preparation for its NCAA tournament first-round game against Maryland.

GCU counters in the middle with junior 6-10, 250-pound center Duke Brennan, who ranks 22nd nationally with 9.2 rebounds per game and has posted 10 of his 12 career double-doubles this season. He posted eight points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes of last season's NCAA tournament second-round loss to Alabama.

"It's a crazy environment," Brennan said of the NCAA tournament. "The lights are too big for people sometimes, The last two years have allowed me to ease into the moment and understand how to get a win and what to do on and off the court."

To go from 16-17 to 25-8 in a year, Maryland also added 6-1 junior point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie, who averages 14.7 points and 5.1 assists with 41% 3-point shooting.

"We've got great confidence," GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles said. "This is what we've wanted for ourselves the beginning of the year. We were prepared for this. We're looking to not come in and get just one win, but a couple."

Lope tracks

GCU is one of 28 programs to reach the NCAA tournament four times in the past five years. The Lopes are tied for the fifth-most wins (120) during that timespan that Drew has been their head coach.
The Lopes have not faced a top-25 opponent since last season, when they were 2-1 against ranked teams.
GCU last played at Climate Pledge Arena (then Key Arena before a $1.15 billion redevelopment) in January 2018, when Oscar Frayer scored 18 to help beat Seattle U 73-57.
Harrison needs seven points to pass Duane Gagnon (1965-69, 1,490 points) for fourth place on the all-time GCU scoring list. With two seasons at Presbyterian, Harrison ranks ninth nationally among active Division I players with 2,375 career points.
Last week, Harrison recorded his 500th assist to become the only active D-I player besides North Carolina's R.J. Davis, Arizona's Caleb Love and Alabama's Mark Sears with at least 2,000 points and 500 assists.
Harrison also ranks second among active D-I players with 619 made free throws in his career.
GCU ranks fifth in the nation for defensive rating since Dec. 17. The Lopes are allowing 40.9% shooting on the season, ranking 40th nationally.
The Lopes are 18-1 when they shooting 45% or better from the field this season.
GCU ranks fifth for free throws made per game (19.0), 11th nationally in steals per game (9.4) and 16th in blocked shots per game (5.1).
The TBS broadcast crew will be play-by-play announcer Lisa Byington, analysts Robbie Hummel and Jalen Rose and sideline reporter Andy Katz.