Hutchinson, KS – The 19th ranked South Georgia Technical College Jets are in Kansas for the 75th anniversary National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) men’s Division 1 basketball tournament and they are among the top 24 teams in the nation who have the opportunity to compete for a national title.
The Jets arrived in Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday, March 13th and had the opportunity to practice at Hutchinson High School on Sunday and Monday to loosen up for their first game on Tuesday, March 15th at 11 a.m. in the historic Hutchinson Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas. The game will be broadcast on WISK-FM and will also be livestreamed (for a fee) here: https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index. The winner of Jets - Texans game will take on the 3rd seeded Kilgore College on Wednesday, March 16th at 6 p.m.
The 19th seeded Jets will be up against the 14th seeded South Plains Texans in the second day of the tournament and the first game for the two similar teams. The Jets are 22 – 11 coming into the tournament as the Southeast District and NJCAA Region 17 representatives while South Plains is 20 – 11 and Southwest District and Region 5 champions.
South Plains College of Levelland, Texas is a two-year college with nearly 9,000 students, and earned a right to the NJCAA Division I men’s National Tournament by knocking off the eight-ranked Odessa College 87 – 83 to capture the Region V title. South Georgia Technical College upset the top-ranked Georgia Highlands Chargers in the GCAA Tournament in overtime to capture the Region XVII title.
“It is an amazing feeling to earn a berth to the national tournament, no matter how many years you have been coaching,” said SGTC Jets head basketball coach Chris Ballauer. “This is extremely hard to do but to do it in what is considered my first season as the head coach is extra special. And to be able to earn the nomination with this group of guys makes it even better. I am proud of this team and the way they have refused to quit this season.”
Coach Ballauer realizes his team is going into the tournament as the underdog against South Plains. “Coach Green of South Plains is a Hall of Famer and has built a national power at South Plains. They are a really good team that has size inside and good guard play. I think we match-up with them pretty good based on our guards and inside presence.”
South Plains is averaging 74.3 points per game, hits 42.9% of their shots from the field and is shooting 32.4% from the three-point line. They hit 70.5% of their free throws and average 37.3 points per game as well as 13.1 assists. South Georgia Tech is averaging 86.2 points per game, hits 47.4% of their field goals and 40% of their three-point attempts. They shoot 72.6% from the foul line, average 40.5 rebound and 16.3 assists.
On the first day of the tournament, there have already been two overtime decisions. The 16th ranked Mobley Area Technical College defeated 17th ranked Pearl River, 95 – 89 in overtime. And 15th ranked Snow took an 83 – 82 overtime win over 18th Lee. In the other complete games, ninth ranked Shelton took a decisive 91 – 74 win over 24th Roan State and 10th seeded Northwest Florida defeated 23rd Trinidad State.
This is only the third time in the 20-year history of the South Georgia Technical College Jets program that the Jets have earned the right to advance to the national tournament. The Jets went twice with former Jets head coach Steven Wright in 2008 – 2009 and again in 2013 – 2014. “I feel good about our chances. This is a big stage but if we play like we are capable of playing, I believe we can do well,” said Ballauer. In their previous two trips to the National Tournament, the Jets won one game and advanced to the NJCAA Elite Eight in 2008 – 2009 but were eliminated in the first round in 2013 – 2014.