Nijal Pearson is still disappointed he didn’t get to finish this year’s Sun Belt tournament.
The No. 3 seed Bobcats were 8-2 over their last 10 games of the 2019-20 season. They’d just advanced to the semifinals after defeating No. 6 seed Appalachian State on March 11, 85-68. They would have met No. 2 seed South Alabama at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on March 14. Head coach Danny Kaspar said he “never felt more confident about a team” making the NCAA tournament than he did about this one. Pearson felt the same.
All of the team’s potential energy was never converted to kinetic, though, after the NCAA shut down all spring athletic events. It was like riding a roller coaster that stalls out on its highest hill, then being asked to get off the ride for maintenance.
