ASU the day before the national championship game

I'm not sure where to begin. I'll start with this. I sent an e-mail to Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver this morning asking him about plans for the Jaguars whether they win or lose the national championship game Saturday. Here's his response:

"I have already started thinking about this and we will definitely do something to honor our hometown heroes!!!!! Go Jags!!!!!"

Augusta State fever seems to be running rampant throughout the city. It's hard to tell here in Springfield, Mass., just how excited everyone is in the Augusta area. If you want to share your thoughts, e-mail me at: chris.gay@augustachronicle.com

The Jaguars are scheduled to return to Augusta Regional Airport (the artist formerly known as Bush Field) at 11:34 Sunday morning. I hear there may be some sort of celebration at Forest Hills Golf Club that afternoon. Details to come.

This morning, Augusta State's players went over to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to tape some things like dribbling the ball, spinning the ball on their fingers, close-ups, etc., for the CBS opening segment.

Well, I just got through with a couple of coaches-only press conferences sanctioned by the NCAA. Augusta State's Dip Metress and Winona State's Mike Leaf discussed the upcoming game.

These are the two obvious matchups:

1) Augusta State center Garret Siler v. Winona State center John Smith: Siler has advantages in height (two inches) and weight (89 pounds). Siler has been the offensive catalyst for Augusta State the past two games. He will face his biggest challenge in Smith, the reigning two-time Division II Player of the Year. Smith averages 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds with 106 blocks.

2) Augusta State forward Tyrekus "A.J." Bowman v. Winona State guard Jonte Flowers. These players are about the same size. Bowman averages 19.6 points and 7.6 boards a game. Flowers posts 17.6 points and 5.4 boards with 117 steals. Bowman is 14-for-30 from the field with 40 points in the past two games. Metress said his All-American has plenty left in the tank.

"He has not played his best game yet," Metress said. "He's capable of having a great night."

As for Augusta State guard Ben Madgen, both coaches said they believe he'll get back on track. Madgen went without a field goal last night and is shooting 5-for-21 from the field, many of those shots off-balance.

"He'll bounce back," Metress said. "I hope he takes a lot of shots off two feet tomorrow, because he took a lot off one foot yesterday."

According to legendary sports information director Roy Pickerill pf Kentucky Wesleyan, the minimum national audience watching the game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS will be 3.6 million people, or about 3.597 million more people than the Jaguars had at their biggest home game this season at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Also, CBS is using the Division II national championship game as a lead-in for the Division I Tournament Regional Finals, which could add an even greater viewership.

Quick weather update: It's currently 38 degrees. We're expecting snow this evening. Who needs pollen, anyway?

Back to the game stuff:

Augusta State, as Metress acknowledged, goes into this game as the definitive underdog. Winona State (37-1) is one of the great Division II dynasties. The third-ranked Warriors, making their third consecutive trip to the national championship game, entered the Elite Eight with a 95-5 record in their past 100 games. Then, they just knocked off the two teams (Grand Valley State and Bentley) tied atop the Division II rankings.

"We've lost more games in one month than they've lost in three years," said Metress, whose team enters Saturday with a 27-6 record. "I think everybody expected them to be here. Not many people expected us to be here.

"We're the JV team. They're the varsity team."

But in saying that, Metress wanted to let everyone know Augusta State will not be in awe of Winona State.

"They've been there, but on the flip side, we've played some good people," he said. "Are we going to be star-struck a little bit with CBS and the people in the stands? Maybe."

Just one quick note to leave you with: the last Peach Belt Conference team to advance to the national championship game (Kennesaw State, 2004) won it.