With the NCAA taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the 2020 NCAA Basketball Championships have been canceled. In lieu of March Madness, UNC Asheville and Big South Conference Hall of Famer Mike Gore will take Bulldog fans down memory lane, recounting each Asheville trip to The Big Dance.
The UNC Asheville men's basketball program is familiar with winning championships. They've won five Big South Tournament titles and have made four trips to the NCAA Tournament where they own two victories.
Every championship is special but the 2015-2016 title might have been the school's best of them all.
Not much was expected from this squad. The previous season had seen Nick McDevitt's club struggle down the stretch and finish with a 15-16 season. The Bulldogs were young in 2014-2015 and had a lot returning, but then a month after the season, one of those talented players, Andrew Rowsey, decided to transfer.
There were a lot of questions marks entering the 2015-2016 season. But what people didn't know was that a lot of young players had gotten valuable experience the previous year and had worked very hard in the offseason to get better. McDevitt and his staff were always known for their good recruiting classes and another one had shown up on the Asheville campus.
But the so-called experts weren't impressed. The Big South Preseason Poll had the Bulldogs finishing eighth. Other magazines had the Dogs ranked from seventh to last.
They would be proven wrong. Very wrong.
The season started with two tough road games over a weekend. Asheville started at Tennessee. The Volunteers were under the direction of new head coach Rick Barnes. A Tennessee newspaper said that Asheville was the perfect "cupcake" opponent for Barnes to open his Volunteer career with.
The cupcake almost spilled all over the Orange party. Asheville and UT battled hard for 40 minutes. The Volunteers could never shake the Dogs as junior Will Weeks was putting on a clinic for inside play and finished with 25 points. Kevin Vannatta finished with 17 points. UT had to hit to two free throws with 10 seconds left to hold off the Dogs, 82-78.
Kevin Vannatta
The Bulldogs followed up with a great effort at Western Carolina before falling in the final minutes, 90-81. Vannatta would lead Asheville with 20 points, while a young freshman named Dwayne Sutton tallied 12 points and collected nine rebounds. We would be hearing more from Sutton as the year progressed.
Veteran WCU coach Larry Hunter was pleased with the win and sent a warning to future Bulldog opponents.
"This is a great win for us because that is one talented team that Nick McDevitt has at UNC Asheville," said Hunter on his radio show. "I'm sure glad to be playing them now. They're good but those young players are only going to get better. The Big South better look out for them."
Asheville earned its first win of the season a few nights later with an easy 84-51 victory over old foe Mars Hill. A game that was never close saw the Bulldogs suffocate the Lions with their defense. Asheville led 71-29 at one point before cruising to the 33-point victory.
With a 1-3 record, Asheville would travel to the 49th state for the Great Alaska Shootout over Thanksgiving weekend. Senior Sam Hughes led the Bulldogs to an 85-66 win over Drexel in the first round before Middle Tennessee slipped past the Dogs, 63-61. The Blue Raiders, who would later win Conference USA and upset Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, led by 19 with 11 minutes left. Asheville tied the game late and just fell short.
The Dogs claimed third place in the tournament with a 59-48 win over Loyola-Chicago. Yes-that Loyola. The Loyola that would go to the Final Four two years later. The core of that championship team was on the roster that night and they would be outscored by Asheville, 37-20 in the second half. Freshman Dylan Smith came off the bench to score 17 points, while Sutton added 13 in the win.
Asheville came home from Alaska more confident and ready to take on a tough December schedule. The Bulldogs opened league play with an 80-60 win over Campbell. The Camels had just come off a big win at Charlotte but Asheville raced to a 40-19 halftime lead. Sophomore Ahmad Thomas led a Bulldog defense that held a talented Camel freshman named Chris Clemmons to just 13 points. Thomas also collected 10 rebounds.
Two days later, Southern Conference power ETSU visited Kimmel Arena for the first time. The Bucs had already won at Georgia Tech earlier in the season. But Asheville was on a roll. Its defense flustered the high-scoring ETSU attack and roared to a 49-27 halftime lead. The Bulldogs crushed the Bucs on the boards, 43-27 as Thomas posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Sutton tallied 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Asheville rolled to an 84-64 victory.
Asheville would journey to the nation's capital for a date with Big East power Georgetown right before Christmas. The Bulldogs were ready. They led for most of the first half and built an eight-point lead midway through the second half and held on for a huge victory over the Hoyas at the Verizon Center, 79-73. Smith riddled the Georgetown defense with clutch three-pointers and finished with 19 points. Thomas went for a double-double against a tall Hoya frontline with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He hit a crucial jumper late in the game that helped seal the upset. Sutton tallied 17 points with eight rebounds. Weeks added 11 points and the long bus ride from Washington, D.C. was a happy one.
After Christmas, Asheville went back to its winning ways with a 67-65 win over SoCon foe Furman. Smith hit the winning shot with one second left.
Conference play would take over after the Furman win and the Bulldogs were ready as they picked up road wins over Longwood (70-61) and Liberty (76-69).
And then came one of the greatest games ever played in Kimmel Arena. An early-season showdown with conference power Winthrop. The Eagles had been in the last two Big South title games and were poised to dominate again that year. Winthrop had beaten Asheville four consecutive times and seemed ready to make it five in a row as it roared to a 55-37 halftime lead.
It looked like finally the young Bulldogs has been exposed a little bit by a veteran Winthrop squad. The Eagles had shot 81 percent (9-of-11) from the three-point line in the first half.
Things weren't much better when the second half started as Winthrop stretched the lead to 64-41 after the first media timeout.
Then things changed. And they changed quickly. Using a ferocious full-court press, the Bulldogs suddenly forced the Eagles into turnovers that Asheville turned into points. A walk-on named Raekwon Miller was quickly making a name for himself. The sophomore from Marion began hitting long three-pointers from everywhere on the court. The Dogs were getting every rebound in sight. And suddenly Winthrop's three-point attack went cold.
Raekwon Miller
Asheville quickly cut the lead to 64-54 and continued to carve into the Eagle lead. A ferocious dunk from Thomas on a fast break narrowed the gap to 75-70. Miller hit another trey from Woodfin to cut the margin to 75-73, igniting the crowd at Kimmel Arena.
Two free throws from Sutton knotted the game at 81-81 before a Sam Hughes stunning layup put the Dogs in front 83-81.
The Eagles used three free throws to sneak back into the lead 84-83 with less than a minute remaining. But Miller came through again, this time with a perfect pass to Thomas who scored to put Asheville in front, 85-84.
The Dogs thought they had sealed the game when Sutton forced a steal and took the ball downcourt but he was called for an offensive foul on an inadvertent elbow with six seconds left.
Winthrop had one more chance to win but Asheville had come too far to let this one get away. Keon Johnson's off-balanced three-pointer was off, Hughes claimed the rebound and the Bulldogs had pulled out the incredible victory.
The amazing thing about the comeback was McDevitt only used seven players. Leading scorer Dylan Smith was held to two points. But everyone contributed. Hughes finished with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Kevin Vannatta contributed 20 points and six assists plus two steals. Thomas and Sutton chipped in 13 points.
But the big hero was Miller. Forced to play due to some injuries, Raekwon was ready. He scored 16 points, knocking down four long three-pointers. While his points were much needed, his pass to Thomas for the winning basket was a perfect pass. Not bad for a guy who hadn't played much during the year.
The Big South was as balanced as it had ever been. Asheville was unbeaten in league play at 5-0 and stayed around first place for the rest of the season. The Bulldogs went into the final week with a chance to possibly finish in first place. Asheville routed Liberty, 73-56 in the next-to-last game of the year.
The regular season would end with a home game vs. Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers were getting ready to leave the league for the Sunbelt Conference and both teams were in play for a regular-season title. The Dogs fell behind by 20 to the two-time defending Big South champs and almost did it again. Asheville roared back behind 24 points from Sutton and had a chance to win the game but a last-second three-pointer just missed.
The loss dropped Asheville to fourth place in the league standings, not bad for a team ticketed to finish in eighth place. McDevitt's club finished just a game out of first place and his team went to Buies Creek believing they could win the tournament.
That year's Big South Tournament would be held at Gore Arena (no relation) at Campbell University. Seeded fourth, the Dogs would take on fifth-seeded Liberty. It had been a good season as well for the Flames who were picked to finish in last place. Head Coach Richie McKay was named Big South Coach of the Year, despite many believing McDevitt deserved the award.
Asheville finished the regular season with a 19-11 overall record but that didn't seem to impress all-conference voters.Sutton and Smith were named to the All-Rookie team. Vannatta made the All-Academic team.
If people voting on the regular-season awards weren't impressed with the Bulldogs, they soon would be. Asheville would face a talented Liberty squad in the quarterfinals. The Flames were anxious to make amends for the losses they had suffered to the Bulldogs during the regular season.
If it had been a prize fight, it would have been stopped in the first half. Asheville went on an incredible 28-4 run in the opening half as the Bulldogs roared to a 44-16 lead. The Bulldogs' pressure defense stymied Liberty at every opportunity and strangled the Flames' offense.
Thomas put on an offensive and defensive clinic by scoring a then career-high 27 points. He scored inside and outside and his defense forced turnovers that turned into easy layups for Asheville. The Dogs cruised to the semifinals with an 80-49 victory.
Ahmad Thomas
Up next was regular-season champion High Point. The Panthers were a little wounded as their top player and Big South Player of the Year, John Brown was out with an injury. However, High Point had beaten the Bulldogs four straight times and was itching to get to its first Big South title game in 12 years.
Asheville seized control of the game midway through the first half with its defense. The Bulldogs forced four straight turnovers and scored off every one of them. Will Weeks gave the Panthers fits inside and scored nine first-half points. Thomas and Sutton scored six points each to give the Dogs a 39-26 halftime lead.
A proud Panther team was not going down without a fight. High Point rallied behind Miles Bowman, Jr. He was starting in place of Brown and doing everything he could to lead the regular-season champs back in the game. Bowman would finish with 27 points and 16 rebounds.
But it was not enough to overcome the Bulldog effort. Dylan Smith scored 18 points and knocked down four crucial three-pointers. He would also go 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Ahmad Thomas was brilliant again, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the second half. His dunk with one minute to go would seal the Bulldog victory. Sutton scored 13 points and collected 11 rebounds. Asheville won 80-69 and was back in the championship game.
Waiting for the Bulldogs was Winthrop. The Eagles had bounced back from their devastating loss to Asheville in January with a great season and just missed winning the regular-season title from High Point. They were in the title game for the third straight year and were anxious to be back in the NCAA Tournament.
The game was close for most of the first half until Asheville hit a dry spell and couldn't score for five minutes. Winthrop went on a 11-0 run and sprinted to a 33-24 halftime lead. It appeared the young Bulldogs' season would come to an end. A nice run but their season would be stopped by a veteran Eagle squad.
Oh, but these young Bulldogs had rallied once before against Winthrop. What was a nine-point deficit? Six minutes into the second half the game was tied at 37-37.
Smith gave the Dogs the lead for good at the 10-minute mark on a long trey, 47-46. Asheville maintained the lead thanks to everybody playing well. Vannatta had a key tip-in basket. Hughes shook off first-half foul trouble to score all 15 of his points in the second half. Thomas scored eight points and had nine rebounds.
But it was a child that was leading the Bulldogs to victory. Dwayne Sutton was simply everywhere. He had a game to remember. The freshman forward scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half. On one possession with three minutes to go, Asheville led 64-61. Smith missed a shot. Sutton grabbed three offensive rebounds before scoring to put the Bulldogs in front 66-61. Hughes would score on the next possession following a monster blocked shot of his. Asheville led 68-61 with two minutes to. The Eagles would get no closer.
As the final seconds crept off the clock, the Bulldogs were Big South champions again. Asheville won 77-68. The celebration began in earnest.
Sutton finished with 27 points and 18 rebounds and was the MVP of the tournament. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Thomas. Sutton was the first ever freshman to win the award.
It was a championship to be savored. Each of the Bulldogs' titles has been special but this one was even more so with such low expectations at the start of the year. A key player leaving from the previous season. McDevitt and his staff had done an incredible job putting a special team on the floor and letting them play.
It was a special title for McDevitt. The third-year coach had helped the Bulldogs win a regular-season title as a player. He had helped win three championships as an assistant coach and now he had one as a head coach.
The Bulldogs would go to the NCAA Tournament and earn a 15 seed. No 16 seed for Asheville in its fourth trip to the dance.
McDevitt's club would be sent to the South Region and would play in Brooklyn against second-seeded Villanova. The Bulldogs would not catch the Wildcats looking ahead. Head Coach Jay Wright and his players were very impressed with the Bulldogs and said so in the day before the teams played.
Asheville battled hard against the eventual national champions for 18 minutes and only trailed 24-22. But a determined Villanova squad was tired of hearing how it never got the job done in the NCAA Tournament. A late run by the Wildcats put them in front 40-26 at halftime and they would go on to win the game, 86-56. That same Villanova team would go to win the national championship, crushing Iowa, Miami and Oklahoma along the way before a Kris Jenkins' three-pointer would knock off North Carolina in the title game.
However, the Bulldogs weren't down for long as they finished with a 22-12 overall record. Not bad for a team picked to finish in eighth place.
