Game #129 of 362 35% complete

I was surprised to see that James Madison came into this game with a 27-3 record. However I was shocked to see the Dukes barely receiving votes in various college basketball rankings. They are currently #62 in the Kenpom rankings. Perhaps the poor strength of schedule ranking at #299 is the main reason. It must be difficult for mid majors to find quality opponents outside their league and also face the fact that a league tournament championship is the only way to get a berth in March Madness.

The stated attendance was around 1500 fans as you can guess from the many empty seats. Coastal Carolina’s record at 8-20 may have something to do with this. I was told before my trip they are known more for their baseball program.

I could not post an outside photo of the arena due to a fierce rain storm. The weather for the first three days of our four day trip to Myrtle Beach was horrible. I take my wife once a year on a basketball trip that are balanced with trips to TJMaxx, Home Goods and Marshalls during our stay. I had a ocean facing room with a balcony that was of little use in the crappy weather. We did see a comedy show at the Comedy Cabana downtown which provided quite a few laughs. I was tempted to visit Top Golf but passed. A bad driving range session would put a damper on the trip for me.

As in most of my trips, finding parking at the arena is a hassle. The college web sites detailing parking instructions are mostly out of date or indecipherable. I usually drive up to the parking attendant at a premium lot and ask where the free lots are. This time, I was given directions to look for the YY lot. In the pouring rain, I drove around lost trying to follow the verbal directions till I noticed the shuttle bus in a parking lot. To my luck, I drove in and discovered that this was the YY lot only designated as far as I can see from the bus shuttle sign, As I have stated before, I love the arenas with a big free parking lot right in front.

The mascot is a chanticleer. I know your next question. This a type of a rooster used as a proper name in medieval fables. The ‘H’ is silent if you attempt to pronounce this.

From Wiki:

Why is Coastal Carolina the Chanticleers?

The Chanticleer is derived from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, specifically “The Nun’s Priest Tale.” In the early 1960s, Coastal’s athletic teams were known as the Trojans until a group of Coastal students and their English professor-basketball coach Cal F. Maddox brought up the idea of a new mascot.

James Madison lead at half time with a score of 43-28 but the Chanticleers played a strong second half to make the score somewhat respectable. The Dukes had a well balanced scoring night led by Terrence Edwards with 18 points and Michael Green III with 16 points. Green a diminutive 6 foot guard from Brooklyn was very impressive off the bench. He is a graduate student transferring over from Robert Morris. His quickness was too much for the Chanticleers defense. The Dukes are a solid team who hopefully will be in the chosen field of 68.

Not sure why the score is not showing. It was there when I took the picture.

Time for a Margarita at Margaritaville!