The Towson men’s basketball team enjoyed a dominant regular season, finishing 24-7 overall and 15-3 in the CAA en route to capturing a regular-season championship for the first time since 1994. The Tigers shared the CAA title with UNC Wilmington.
But after a successful regular season, the Tigers still have their eyes on the NCAA Tournament. The only way to get there is to win the CAA tournament, which begins Saturday, March. 5. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed and will play their first game Sunday, March 6, against the winner of No. 8 William & Mary and No. 9 Northeastern.
Towson started off the season 6-3 and then went into Columbus, Ohio, to take on the Buckeyes Dec. 8. While the Tigers lost that game, 85-74, they still put up a great fight. After that game against Ohio State, Towson won 18 of their final 21 regular-season games, including a six-game winning streak to end the regular season.
Senior guard Antonio Rizzuto says the Ohio State game was the moment when things clicked for the Tigers.
“We fell short that game, but the composure that we had and the talks that we had at halftime and throughout the game, we really thought we could’ve gotten that one,” Rizzuto said on Glenn Clark Radio March 2. “I think from that point, we really realized what we’re capable of and we’ve just been rolling since.”
Rizzuto transferred to Towson last offseason. He was a three-year starter and team captain at UAlbany. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound guard scored 660 points during his three seasons for the Great Danes and earned second-team All-America East and All-Defensive Team honors in 2020-21. But after his three seasons, Rizzuto wanted a better chance to win. Towson was the perfect fit for him.
This season, Rizzuto is averaging 23.5 minutes and 8.1 points per game. The York, Pa., native also has made the third-most threes on the team (44) and is shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc. When Rizzuto came to Towson, he knew this team could win, and he has certainly been contributing to the Tigers’ success.
“I had a vision and so did the coaches and some of the guys that committed before me, plus the returning guys,” Rizzuto said. “… We were excited to get it going after talking to them. Our vision from Day 1, we wanted to win. I wanted to go to a school where we could get that done and right now, we’re just living a dream.”
Rizzuto’s vision certainly came to fruition, as the Tigers have had a historic season. All of this winning has been possible because of the group of guys Towson has, according to Rizzuto. The senior guard said he and his teammates have been trying to “be where [their] feet are,” meaning to stay in the present and take it one game at a time.
That saying will be extremely important for the Tigers if they want to make it to the NCAA Tournament. Towson has made the NCAA Tournament twice in program history (1990 and 1991). This team has a chance to break the drought, but it will take three wins in three days in the conference tournament.
“The biggest thing is to focus on Northeastern or William & Mary these next few days, focus on both of them and whichever one we get, we’ve got to capitalize on that and take it one game at a time,” Rizzuto said. “The biggest one is the first one and then you just cruise from there. We’re going to take this week seriously and work hard and trust ourselves.”
Towson split the season series against Northeastern and beat William & Mary twice. But in reality, none of what happened in the regular season matters anyway. It all comes down to the conference tournament. It is difficult to win three games in three days, but Rizzuto believes if the Tigers stick to what they’ve done all year, they can get it done.
“We have to be sharp and we have to keep our focus,” Rizzuto said. “We’ve really got trust each other, like we’ve been [doing] this whole season. We’ve got a group of great guys and we all love each other, man. Trust, be where our feet [are] and take it one game at a time.”
For more from Rizzuto, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: ENP Photography