On Feb. 17, the men’s and women’s basketball teams wrapped up their seasons against the St. Andrews University Knights from North Carolina. After the games finished, both Milligan teams came out on top of their rivals.
The Lady Buffs were up first and battled hard in their win against the Knights. The final score was 81-50, helping to secure a sixth place spot in the regular season American Athletic Conference standings heading into the conference tournament. A tough season for the Lady Buffs led them to end the regular season with a 14-10 record.
After automatically qualifying for the national tournament the past two years, this year the Lady Buffs will have to win the conference tournament to make it to nationals. Although head coach Rich Aubrey is disappointed about their current standings, he plans on using the tournament to alter his team’s outcome.
“On the one hand, I wish we had found our identity sooner. It took me too long to determine the most effective paths for strategy and for personnel,” Aubrey said. “On the other hand, I am extremely happy for this team and the lessons we have learned together on our journey. We have learned about dealing with adversity and how to help those around us grow.”
Heading into the conference tournament, Aubrey plans to prepare the team in the same way he has all season. He expects the team will continue to play well and change their fate about the national tournament.
The men’s basketball team also fought hard and ended their season on a high with a 92-65 win over the Knights. This high scoring game helped the men secure a second place finish in the regular season AAC standings. After starting the season with a 2-9 record, the men went on to win 13 of their last 16 games to end the season with a final record of 13-7.
“I am very happy about the end of the season,” men’s basketball head coach Bill Robinson said. “The guys are having fun! And we are playing our best basketball at the right time of year.”
Robinson could not be happier with how his team finished the season. With the tournament coming up, Robinson plans on preparing his team for the competition they will face.
“The overall game plan will remain the same for the tournament, but we may add and subtract a few of the offensive sets that we have run,” Robinson said. “It’s always nice to have a few new things in at tournament time. New sets and new (Out-of-Bounds) plays can be very beneficial late in the year.”
On Thursday in Kingsport, Tenn., the men’s team fell 83-75 to Truett-McConnell University and ended their AAC tournament run. Even though the men’s team lost in the first round, they will be heading to the national tournament over spring break in South Dakota. The women’s season also ended in the first round of the conference tournament to Bryan College, losing 69-64.