Parity is a word often thrown around to expound on how much the game is growing, and rarely can parity describe the No. 3 seed’s ascendency to national prominence.
Yet, here is James Madison, the squad that has won 20 games this season with a single loss to the nation’s top squad, Maryland.
James Madison will make its long awaited return to the national semifinals on Friday night when it faces second-seeded North Carolina. It’s been an 18-year absence, but this year’s body of work certifies the Dukes’ excellence.
“For us, we’re really excited,” JMU coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcome said. “We validated our ability to play against [North Carolina] the last time, so our confidence is high. We also had to beat teams like [Virginia] and Towson twice … so we understand what it takes in getting here.”
Despite JMU’s No. 3 seed, the Dukes represent a recent trend over the past three years of some relatively fresh blood to championship weekend.
In 2016, Penn State returned to the semifinals for the first time in 17 years, while Boston College and Navy made their inaugural appearances last year. The difference is those three teams were all unseeded.
This three-year stretch featuring new teams (or at least ones with long absences) is in contrast of a nine-year stretch that featured just eight different teams occupying the possible 36 entries to the semifinals.
Since 2015, the ACC and Big Ten have dominated the field by yielding just two spots to teams from other conferences: Navy of the Patriot League and James Madison of the CAA.
The CAA has steadily sharpened its acumen on the national level after a five-year stint of only sending its automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament. The CAA has sent at least two teams in each of the past three tournaments, including a record-setting three in 2017 along with two national seeds in this tournament (Towson was the No. 8 seed).
“That is one of the beautiful things about the final four,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “You have been able to get your program to a certain level. It’s about results and performance to get you to that level.”
The Dukes’ ride started in high gear with a thrilling 15-14 double-overtime win over North Carolina on opening day, February 10.
Regardless of that major victory, there was still a feeling that respect was lacking.
“JMU is not one of those teams that automatically gets put into the Top 10,” said Klaes-Bawcombe. “Every year, we have to earn our way into the rankings. The situation where we beat UNC in the first game of the year, it took four or five weeks to be considered at that level.”
Nevertheless, by mid-March, the Dukes rose to No. 3, garnering the respect of the voting public. After that close loss to Maryland, JMU rattled off 12 straight wins to glide into the semifinals against the Tar Heels.
Now, JMU gets to focus on its biggest game in nearly two decades.
Much has changed in the sport from that 2000 appearance. Back then, only 12 teams made the national tournament and the semifinal setting was much different. The games were held at Lions Stadium in Trenton, New Jersey, home of NCAA Division III’s College of New Jersey.
What hasn’t changed is that JMU is a three seed once again and had to beat Virginia on its journey to the semifinal.
“We’ve been able to anchor the 2000 team and celebrate them,” said Klaes-Bawcombe, “and we’re excited to do it again in 2018.”
When asked what it means to represent those that have played before them, Klaes-Bawcombe noted the excitement and nostalgia her current team creates for the alums on that team 18 years ago.
“I think it’s been just giving everyone a great sense of pride,” she said. “To see JMU winning in the limelight with programs from the ACC and the Big Ten, it makes [the alumnae] feel really good about the times they spent at JMU, that the program keeps getting better and that their time mattered.”
And 18 years later, the only non-ACC or Big Ten squad remaining carries the hopes of its conference and its alums to LaValle Stadium. The Dukes will be just 60 minutes away from playing for a national title.