Experience Is on Their Side

When North Carolina Wilmington qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2000, it was the first time in school history that the wallflower Seahawks had been invited to the Big Dance.

It didn’t matter that they were the 15th-seeded team in the South Regional. Nor did it upset them that they were scheduled for early elimination by facing powerful Cincinnati in a first-round game.

The Seahawks were just happy to be in Nashville.

“The first year we went as tourists,” Seahawk junior guard Brett Blizzard said Monday afternoon. “This year is different. We’re not going just to take pictures or see the sights.”

Granted, there may be more to see and do in Nashville than in Sacramento, site of the 13th-seeded Seahawks’ first-round game Thursday against fourth-seeded USC.

But they’d probably have just as much time to explore the California state capital as they did the Grand Ole Opry two years ago if they are bounced from the tournament, as expected, by the Trojans.

Still, North Carolina Wilmington is not conceding the 4:45 p.m. game at Arco Arena. The Seahawks, who begin the tournament having won 10 of 12 games, believe they have a legitimate shot at wrecking USC’s hopes of making at least a repeat trip to the Elite Eight.

“We’re going to play hard and try to win,” Blizzard said, “and hopefully stick around a little bit, play like we’ve been there before.”

Despite traveling cross-country to a western city for a game that’s in the South Regional bracket, North Carolina Wilmington will be rested, having won the Colonial Athletic Assn. tournament on March 4, winning three games by an average of 15.3 points.

The Seahawks, who also won the regular-season title with a record of 14-4, set a school record for victories in going 22-9, the same as USC.

But three days before tipping off, that’s about all the schools claimed to know about each other.

USC does have tape of the Seahawks because they were Miami of Ohio’s opponent on a game film the Trojans used to prepare for the RedHawks in December.

The Seahawks, meanwhile, joke that they know of USC only because their coach has a sleeping disorder.

“The only thing I know about USC is what I’ve seen on television,” Jerry Wainwright said. “I’m a classic insomniac ... that’s why I’ve seen them play. I have not seen them in person.

“The [Pacific 10] is one of the power conferences and they play excellent basketball. I’ve met [USC Coach] Henry Bibby once, but I don’t know him very well at all. They will present a challenge.”

Few figure the Seahawks to present much of a challenge for the Trojans. North Carolina Wilmington runs a motion offense that thrives in slow-down, half-court sets.

Blizzard, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound shooting guard, isn’t shy about letting it fly, taking 213 shots from beyond the three-point arc, making 39% of them.

The CAA player of the year’s 17.5-point average leads the Seahawks as do his 92 assists and 64 steals.

“People think that we’re just a one-dimensional team with me as the only option,” Blizzard said. “But we’ve got some guys in the post that can score and some outside shooters.

“We’re not one-dimensional. We’re more than that.”

The Seahawks have an undersized center in 6-8, 250-pound junior Craig Callahan, North Carolina Wilmington’s second-leading scorer (13.1) and rebounder (5.2).

But Callahan likes to take opposing post players outside, making 39.1% of his three-point shots (36 of 92).

As a team, the Seahawks are shooting 37.7% from three-point territory.

But their niche is on the defensive end. The Seahawks are giving up an average of 60.3 points, 11th-best in the nation.

USC figures to try to force its will on North Carolina Wilmington by speeding up the game with its various press defenses.

“We’re expecting some scramble-type defenses to be thrown at us,” Blizzard said. “They think they’ve got better athletes than we do and can force us into some turnovers. We just have to play smart and stay within ourselves. Be calm.”

The Seahawks, whose biggest victory this season was a 58-50 upset at Minnesota that was their first-ever win against a Big Ten school, haven’t seen the variations of pressing defenses that await them.

“We will have to compress our preparation time,” Wainwright said. “We didn’t win 22 games by tricking people.

“We’ll be ready.”

But they might want to bring a camera, just in case.