INDIANAPOLIS – If you’re the head coach of a Div. 1 college basketball team that just came back from a big deficit to win a conference tournament semi-final game, what do you tell the team?
“Go to sleep,” said UW-Milwaukee Panthers head coach Bart Lundy.
The Panthers are one win away from making the NCAA Tournament, after clawing back to beat Northern Kentucky Monday night. But there’s no time for celebrating. The team will be back on the court for the Horizon League Championship Tuesday night.
“I don’t have to do a lot of motivating (for the game),” Lundy told WTMJ’s Wis. Morning News on Tuesday. “Sometimes keeping the players level is just as important. (After the win Monday), I told them to take a deep breath, get your emotions in check, and then go to sleep.”
The 6th-seeded Panthers will play the 1st-seeded Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the Horizon League Tournament Championship. The winner gets an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The game will be broadcast on 101.7 The Truth, 6pm tip-off (5:30pm pregame coverage).
Lundy urged UWM fans to make the trip to Indianapolis.
“As many as we can get,” he said. “Our Milwaukee fans are louder than everyone else.”
When asked about how it would feel to make the Big Dance, Lundy joked, “I’m a terrible dancer.”
TOP STORIES FROM THE WTMJ NEWSROOM:
- Group attempting to recall Robin Vos to turn in signatures Monday
- An Apple Watch alert helps find woman in Racine County crash
- Wisconsin Lottery, Council on Problem Gambling raise awareness of dangerous habits
- Clark County: 9 dead after crash in Town of Dewhurst
- Bill that could eliminate Tiktok in the U.S. sees bipartisan support
LISTEN: Decision Wisconsin: The Intersection of Politics and Healthcare
