DAYTON, Ohio — Last year was a bit of a travel disaster for the Islanders -- they were about three hours late getting here, they missed the press conference, and they were late on the shootaround.
Well, this year was pretty smooth sailing.
“Hey, knock on wood, right?” said coach Steve Lutz with a smile earlier Monday. “I mean, uh, we’ve gotten through security fairly quickly thus far, everyone seems more prepared, the plane is here on time – so now we just gotta get on it and do our part and win a basketball game.”
The Islanders men's basketball team left Monday for Dayton, Ohio -- the site of their First Four matchup against Southeast Missouri State at 5:40 p.m. CT Tuesday.
Preparedness is a theme this year, as the Islanders also will have had six days’ rest by the time they hit the court against the Redhawks. Last year, the Isles were going on a couple days’ rest.
The only ones who weren’t prepared – the dance team – because it was cold. It was snowing when the team touched down in Dayton, Ohio, and you can tell they were feeling it.
Star point guard Terrion Murdix may have suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Southland Conference tournament, but he traveled with the team to Dayton and will be on the sidelines cheering his teammates when they tip off at 5:40 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday.
The game can be watched on truTV.
Digital director Ana Tamez contributed to this story.