BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Ferris State men's basketball team is the number 1 seed this week in the NCAA Division II Elite 8 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and that is just fine with the Bulldogs.
"We know we have the target, but we still go in there thinking of ourselves as the underdog," said Zach Hankins, reigning two-time GLIAC Player of the Year. "We know who we are, we know what we want to do, and we can still look at ourselves as the underdog and change the script when we go into a game so we feel like we have a lot to gain rather than everything to lose."
The tournament reseeds when it gets to the Elite 8: Ferris State (35-1) is one of just three number-1 seeds from the eight regions to advance.
The Bulldogs are riding a 23-game winning streak and have beaten their six postseason opponents by an average of 18.6 points per game.
"Around this time, this is when we want to play our best basketball," junior guard DeShaun Thrower said. "Right now, we just want to focus on playing the best that we can and everybody stepping up as much as they can."
Ferris State will play 8th seed Barry University (23-8) Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon.
