Put on your boogy shoes, Trojans of Troy. You’re Big Dancing!
Neither the Bobcats nor the Trojans (of Troy) was supposed to be playing for a Sun Belt tournament title. Troy was predicted to finish 9th in the conference. The Bobcats, dead last. But the Bobcats were secretly maestros of defense, limiting opponents to 63.5 points per game, the 23rd stingiest in the nation. Troy’s offense was better than expected, pouring in 79 per game, 49th best in the nation. The paring was unlikely, but perhaps it was destined.
Today, fate was on the side of the 6-seed, with the Troy Trojans mastering the tough Texas State defense and earning a 59-53 victory.
Scoring was tight to start the game, with both teams locked at 2 points 8 minutes into the game. But Troy began to take control when the Bobcat’s all-star shooter Kavin Gilder-Tilbury committed his second foul, sending the senior forward to the bench. The Trojans held a 27-21 advantage at the half.
Gilder-Tilbury (19 points, 6 rebounds) came out blazing in the second half, erasing the Trojan lead with an avalanche of threes and inspiring what might be the worst tweet in human history:
Gilder-Tillbury is lighting up the Trojans (of Troy) right now. Dropping threes the way Engelbert Humperdinck dropped panties.
— A-State Fan Rules (@AStateFanRules) March 12, 2017
But the Trojans, defined by relentless determination throughout the tournament, refused to yield, even with Trojan sharpshooter Wesley Person limited to 16 points on 4/12 shooting. Sophomore forward Jordon Varnado was brilliant, however, matching Gilder-Tilbury with 18 points and punishing the Bobcats inside with 12 boards.
Statistically, the Bobcats were superior to the Trojans in almost every way, leading in rebounds, field goal percentage and three pointers. But turnovers proved to be the Bobcats’ undoing, with Texas State losing the ball 17 times and the Trojans only five. In the end, it was the Trojan defense that out-gamed the Bobcats.
Heading into the Madness
The Trojans haven’t seen an NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament since 2003, and the stay was brief – a round one loss to Xavier. But this Trojan team is laser hot, winners of its last six and thriving on its inside/outside combo of Person and Varnado. If the Trojans can maintain a defense that created 17 turnovers on the Bobcats, Troy could easily survive the first round of March Madness.