The ISU club basketball team will attempt to make history at the National Club Basketball Association National Championship tournament. 

This isn’t the first time the club has gotten to experience this stage, but one thing is different this year. The team will actually get to compete at the tournament, which takes place April 10 to 12. Last season, the team had to give up its spot at the tournament due to lack of funds and a small roster.

“Last year we had the chance to go to nationals but we just couldn’t pull it off and then we made it our goal to get back to nationals,” said Da’Zhawn Davis, club president and head coach. “It hurt a lot that we weren’t able to go last year.”

Last year was a shock for most of the players as they weren’t expecting to earn a trip to nationals. The team had a few successful tournaments, but the wins it gained from the several forfeits by other teams is what afforded the team the conference championship and the automatic bid to nationals.

The NCBBA consists of eight conferences. The team resides in the Mid America West, along with Western Illinois, Iowa Black and Iowa Gold. The winner of the four-team conference gets the automatic bid to nationals. The conference winners from the remaining seven conferences also get an automatic bid to round out the eight-team field.

The stiffest competition all year was Western Illinois. The Leathernecks and Cyclones had near identical records and nearly every matchup between the two was close. On the final weekend of the regular season, the two teams met and the Cyclones came out as conference champions.

“The national tournament is just like the NCAA [tournament]. You go one and done or you continue playing,” Davis said. “Our goal is to get past Friday and keep advancing to Sunday.”

The goal of advancing beyond day one is realistic, but in order to do so, the team will have to knock off Virginia Tech. The Hokies enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and the defending national champions. Virginia Tech virtually walked through the competition last year by winning all three games by an average of 11.5 points.

“I believe that we can contend for the title. We just have to come out and play our game,” said Marlon Davis-Cunningham, club vice president. “If we stick to our strengths, then we can succeed.”

Syracuse, Robert Morris, Lewis, East Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky will round out the eight-team field. Syracuse is the top seed and joins West Virginia, Lewis and Virginia Tech in back-to-back appearances during the tournament.

“The structure of the league makes it so we go into the tournament not knowing much about the other teams,” said senior Tyler Hoelting. “As long as we come out strong and play our game, that shouldn’t matter.”

The basketball club’s style of play includes an up-tempo offense and quickness. The team only features a few big guys, but the players believe their quickness will make up for that. The key to winning will be staying calm and getting rebounds.

To win the tournament, the club must win a total of three games. Technically, the tournament is one and done, but if you lose in the first round, you still play a consolation game. The club believes it won’t need that pride game — it feels good enough to go all the way.

“We need to go in with a winning mentality. If we don’t go in with that mentality, then there is no reason for us to go,” Hoelting said.