Troy Trojans men's basketball

Troy Trojans
2023–24 Troy Trojans men's basketball team
University	Troy University
First season	1950–51
All-time record	1,093–928 (.541)
Athletic director	Brent Jones
Head coach	Scott Cross (5th season)
Conference	Sun Belt
Location	Troy, Alabama
Arena	Trojan Arena (Capacity: 6,000)
Nickname	Trojans
Student section	The Fortress
Colors	Cardinal, silver, and black [1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament runner-up
1993*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1993*
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1988*, 1993*,
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1988*, 1993*
NCAA tournament second round
1976*, 1977*, 1988*, 1991*, 1992*, 1993*
NCAA tournament appearances
1976*, 1977*, 1988*, 1991*, 1992*, 1993*, 2003, 2017 *at Division II level
NAIA tournaments
1957, 1958, 1959
Conference tournament champions
1966, 2003, 2017
Conference regular season champions
1961, 1962, 1964, 1977, 1991, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2010
Conference division season champions
2003, 2010

The Troy Trojans men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of Troy University. The program is classified in NCAA Division I and the team competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team currently plays their home games in Trojan Arena, which was built in 2012 and replaced the old arena known as Sartain Hall.

History

Troy's first season was in 1950 under then head coach Buddy Brooks.

The Trojans appeared in the 2003 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as a 14-seed after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament and faced 3-seeded Xavier in the first round, losing 71–59. The Trojans were the champions of the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2003 and defeated Central Florida for the conference tournament championship in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 2004, the Trojans were the Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Champions. That year, the Trojans made it all the way to the Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship game, only to lose a heart-breaker in the last minute to UCF by a score of 60–55. As regular season champions, Troy was given an automatic bid to the NIT Tournament where they would face Niagara in Buffalo, New York. Troy would lose to Niagara in the first round, 87–83. They finished with a 24–7 overall record. Following the season, Troy made the move to the Sun Belt Conference for all sports.

From 2005–2008, Troy struggled to find the success that they enjoyed during their time in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Their new home in the Sun Belt Conference proved to be a challenge, with Troy going 51–69 over a stretch of four seasons.

In 2009, after finishing in 3rd place in the Sun Belt Conference, the Trojans would make their first post-season appearance since 2004 in the first annual CBI Tournament, where they would host the College of Charleston, only to lose in a thriller, 93–91. They would finish the season with a 19–13 record.

In 2010, Troy won their first ever Sun Belt Regular Season Title and made it to the Finals of Sun Belt Conference Tournament before losing in the last 30 seconds to North Texas, 66–63. The Trojans received an invite to the NIT Tournament where they would fall to Ole Miss in the first round, 84–65. The Trojans finished the 2010 season with a 20–13 (13–5) record, with big wins over in-state rival Auburn and Valparaiso.

In the inaugural opening game of the newly built Trojan Arena during the 2012 season, Troy had a record-crowd of 5,120 as they hosted Mississippi State, who was coming off of a 20-win season and an NIT appearance. Troy would upset the Bulldogs to open Trojan Arena, defeating them by a score of 56–53.

In 2017, under head coach Phil Cunningham, Troy made their way back to the NCAA tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, defeating Texas State 59–53. The team would be given a 15-seed, playing #2 seed Duke in the first round. Duke defeated Troy in that game by the score of 87–65. Troy finished the season with a 22–15 record.

The Trojan basketball team is recognized in recent Division I Basketball history for leading the nation in 3-pointers for seven different seasons (1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, and 2006), making 1068 3-pointers over the course of 89 games (11.66 per game) during those three seasons.

Before Troy's accession to Division I, Troy was one of the most successful basketball teams in Division II before they transitioned to Division I. In 1988, the team made it to the Elite 8 of the Division II Tournament before falling to Alaska-Anchorage, 77–72. Five years later, the team advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II national championship game against Cal-State Bakersfield, only to finish as runner-up by falling to the Roadrunners, 85–72.

One of Troy's most famous claims to fame, however, is their game against DeVry (when DeVry had athletics) on January 12, 1992 when the Trojans came out victorious by the NCAA-record score of 253–141. This game is the current highest-scoring game in NCAA basketball history.

"Trey State"

Under head coach Don Maestri, Troy State led the nation in three-point shots attempted and three-point shots made for many years during the program's time in the NCAA's Division II. Maestri's run-and-gun style of play was very effective, even after Troy State transitioned to the NCAA's Division I. Because of this style of play, Troy State amassed 141 games where they scored 100 or more points, with a record of 122–19 when scoring more than 100 points during Maestri's tenure as head coach from 1982–2013.

When Troy State began their first season in Division I in 1994, the program came in with a bang, ranking #2 in the nation in 3-pointers attempted and #5 in the nation in three-pointers made. Maestri and his Trojan teams never looked back from there. From 1994–2006, the Trojans finished #1 in the nation four times in 3-pointers attempted and 3-pointers made. Troy State also placed in the top five nationally of those same statistical categories eight times from 1994 to 2008. This led some newspaper and media outlets to give the basketball program the moniker "Trey State."

Troy currently holds the all-time NCAA record across all divisions for three-pointers attempted in a season, shooting 1,303 three-pointers during the 1991–1992 season.

Highest scoring game in NCAA history

Main article: 1992 Troy State vs. DeVry men's basketball game

On January 12, 1992, Troy State shattered a plethora of records during a match-up against the DeVry University Hoyas of the NAIA. The Trojans sported a 12–3 record while the DeVry Hoyas had a 3–15 record. After tip-off, Troy State scored their first basket after 54 seconds. The Trojans only had 15 points after the first three minutes. ^[2] As the game settled into its soon-to-be record breaking groove, points came steadily; with 3:14 remaining in the first half, Troy eclipsed the 100-point mark. ^[2]

Within the first three minutes of the second half, the Trojans scored 26 points and had already accumulated 149 overall with 17 minutes remaining. ^[2] It was not until 6:35 into the second half that Troy State scored their first points of the half that were not three-pointers or dunks. ^[2] With 10 minutes remaining, Chris Greasham's three-pointer gave Troy 189, eclipsing the previous NCAA single game scoring record of 187. ^[2] Then, with 7:53 to go, Troy State surpassed the 200-point mark, becoming the first (and only) team in college basketball history to surpass the bicentennial threshold. ^{[3] [2]} The scoreboard in Troy's arena was not built to display 200+ points, and so when the moment occurred, it did not display the numbers correctly (their solution was to start over at zero and work their way back up from there). ^[2] During the second half alone, the Trojans scored 135 points, besting their minutes-old record of 123, and the 30 three-pointers in the second stanza broke the NCAA all-time game record of 25 (set previously by Troy). ^[2] Their 51 made three-point field goals more than doubled that record, and the 109 three-point attempts record has never been seriously contested. ^[2]

When the final buzzer sounded, Troy State had won the game by a record-breaking score of 258–141. The score of the game quickly made national headlines across the United States, from The Seattle Times to the Miami Herald, and even into other countries. ^[4]

The game between Troy State and DeVry remains the highest single scoring game in NCAA history. Seven statisticians worked for 57 minutes after the game ended to complete its box score. ^[5] Among records considered unbreakable ^[6] are total points between teams (399), ^[3] points by one team in one half (135), ^[3] and three-pointers made and attempted (51/109) by one team in a single game. ^[3] That season, Troy State compiled a 23–6 overall record while setting many school records along the way, including single season scoring average (121.0), field goals made and attempted (1,274/2,839), three-pointers made and attempted (444/1,303), and steals (460). ^[7] They also set single game records of points (258), points in a half (135), field goals made and attempted (102/190), rebounds (94), assists (65), and total points between teams. ^[7]

Trojan Arena during a "whiteout" game against South Alabama.

Conference titles

Troy has won a total of 14 combined conference regular season and tournament titles. Troy's most successful stretch of conference titles came while being a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, winning the regular season titles four out of five seasons from 2000 to 2004.

Conference Year Title Record Coach Alabama Collegiate Conference 1960–1961 Conference 22–6 (9–1) John Archer 1961–1962 Conference 25–6 (8–4) 1963–1964 Conference 22–8 (7–3) 1965–1966 Tournament 24–9 (5–6) Gulf South Conference 1976–1977 Conference 15–14 (11–5) Wes Bizilia 1990–1991 Conference 22–8 (13–3) Don Maestri East Coast Conference 1993–1994 Conference 13–14 (5–0) Atlantic Sun Conference 1999–2000 Conference 17–11 (13–5) 2001–2002 Conference 18–10 (14–6) 2002–2003 Conference 26–6 (14–2) 2002–2003 Tournament 2003–2004 Conference 24–7 (18–2) Sun Belt Conference 2009–2010 Conference 20–13 (13–5) 2016–2017 Tournament 22–15 (10–8) Phil Cunningham

Coaches

Years	Coach	Record
1950–1951	Buddy Brooks	3–15
1951–1956	Leonard Serfustini	75–52
1956–1973	John Archer	302–186
1973–1982	Wes Bizilia	103–128
1982–2013	Don Maestri	501–403
2013–2019	Phil Cunningham	80–111
2019–Present	Scott Cross	20–39

All-Americans

• Paul Word (Small College All-American) – 1962
• Darryl Thomas (NABC Third Team All-American) – 1989 ^[8]
• Anthony Reed (NCAA Division II First Team All-American) – 1990
• Terry McCord (NABC First Team All-American) – 1993 ^[9]
• Greg Davis (ESPN All-America Team, AP Honorable Mention) – 2004
• O'Darien Bassett (Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major All-America Team) – 2008

Facilities

View of Trojan Arena from the main rotunda entrance.

View on the main court in Trojan Arena.

Sartain Hall (1962–2012)

Sartain Hall is a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Troy, Alabama. It was home to the Troy University Trojans basketball team until Trojan Arena opened in 2012. It opened in 1962.

The building was built as a new Physical Education Building in 1962, with its major facility being a 2,500-seat basketball gymnasium which was ready for the first basketball game that fall.

Before Sartain Hall, the university never previously had an adequate gymnasium, and the college administration had the foresight at the time to make it available for high school basketball tournaments as well as college games and tournaments. The building is named in honor of the late Professor Auxford Sartain.

In 2012, Sartain Hall was no longer used for basketball activities since the newly built Trojan Arena had opened. It was used as a multi-purpose student recreation facility until its demolition in 2018.

Trojan Arena (2012–present)

Trojan Arena is a 6,000 seat arena that is home to the Troy men's and women's basketball, volleyball and track programs. The arena is also used for the university's commencement ceremonies and special events. Trojan Arena replaces the university's longtime basketball and events facility, Sartain Hall, which opened in 1962.

The facility was constructed with architectural direction by Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood and design support by venue specialists Populous, noted for its designs of such sporting venues as Yankee Stadium in New York City, the main stadium for the 2012 London Olympic Games and Nanjing Sports Park in China.

Trojan Arena seating features 5,200 chair-back seats, seven upper-level suites and an exclusive Stadium Club area for donors, while also having floor seating for students. The arena features an LED ribbon board that circles around the entire arena, one of only two of its kind in the Sun Belt Conference. Daktronics designed, manufactured, and installed two 767-square-foot LED video/scoring system boards, the largest end-wall boards produced by Daktronics for an indoor college facility. ^[10]

Under the main playing court sits a 10,000 sq ft area of basketball practice courts. These facilities are shared by both the men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the indoor women's volley team.

Among the other features of the new arena are a three-tiered rotunda at the main entrance, an interior concourse with concession stands and a food court-styled dining center with specialty food items. ^[11]

Postseason results

Troy currently possesses an all-time record of 11–14 in postseason tournaments.

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Trojans have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2003	First Round	Xavier	L 59–71
2017	First Round	Duke	L 65–87

NIT results

The Trojans have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2004	First Round	Niagara	L 83–87
2010	First Round	Mississippi	L 65–84

CBI results

The Trojans have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) two times. Their record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2009	First Round	Charleston	L 91–93
2022	First Round	Abilene Christian	L 70–82

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Trojans have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament five times. Their combined record is 10–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1976	First Round Second Round	Jacksonville State UAH	W 88–85 L 69–74
1977	First Round Second Round	Lincoln North Alabama	W 81–75 L 70–77
1988	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Consolation round	Virginia Union NC Central Gannon Alaska-Anchorage Florida Southern	W 75–71 W 66–65 W 100–79 L 72–77 L 84–94
1991	First Round Second Round	Florida Southern North Alabama	W 78–73 L 86–93
1992	First Round Consolation round	Jacksonville State Rollins	L 91–96 W 110–92
1993	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship Game	Florida Southern Delta State Washburn Southern New Hampshire Cal State-Bakersfield	W 75–72 W 110–93 W 94–82 W 126–123 L 72–85

NAIA Tournament results

The Trojans have appeared in the NAIA Tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1957	First Round	Ball State	L 70–98
1958	First Round	Indiana State (Pa.)	L 73–90
1959	First Round	Illinois State	L 50–98

Yearly results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Troy State (NAIA Independent)(1950–1960)
1950–1951	Buddy Brooks	3–15			—
Buddy Brooks:		3–15
1951–1952	Leonard Serfustini	5–20			—
1952–1953	Leonard Serfustini	18–7			NAIA District
1953–1954	Leonard Serfustini	22–6			NAIA District
1954–1955	Leonard Serfustini	12–10			—
1955–1956	Leonard Serfustini	18–9			NAIA District
Leonard Serfustini:		75–52
1956–1957	John Archer	19–8			NAIA First Round
1957–1958	John Archer	19–6			NAIA First Round
1958–1959	John Archer	19–11			NAIA First Round
1959–1960	John Archer	18–9			NAIA District
Troy State (Alabama Collegiate Conference)(1960–1971)
1960–1961	John Archer	22–6	9–1		NAIA District
1961–1962	John Archer	25–6	8–4		NAIA District
1962–1963	John Archer	20–10	7–3		—
1963–1964	John Archer	22–8	7–3	1st	NAIA District
1964–1965	John Archer	22–8	8–4		NAIA District
1965–1966	John Archer	24–9	5–6		—
1966–1967	John Archer	26–7	8–4		—
1967–1968	John Archer	18–8	8–4		—
1968–1969	John Archer	10–18	1–10		—
1969–1970	John Archer	8–20	1–11
1970–1971	John Archer	11–17	6–6
Troy State (Gulf South Conference)(1971–1991)
1971–1972	John Archer	14–15	4–6		—
1972–1973	John Archer	5–20	3–11	8th	—
1973–1974	John Archer	9–16	6–7	T-6th	—
John Archer:		302–186	85–86
1974–1975	Wes Bizilia	18–8	8–5	3rd	—
1975–1976	Wes Bizilia	16–10	8–5	T-4th	NCAA Second Round
1976–1977	Wes Bizilia	15–14	11–5	T-1st	NCAA Second Round
1977–1978	Wes Bizilia	1–23	1–13	9th	—
1978–1979	Wes Bizilia	10–16	7–9	T-5th	—
1979–1980	Wes Bizilia	10–15	4–8	T-5th	—
1980–1981	Wes Bizilia	13–13	3–9	7th	—
1981–1982	Wes Bizilia	11–13	3–9	6th	—
Wes Bizilia:		94–112	45–63
1982–1983	Don Maestri	15–13	7–7	T-4th	—
1983–1984	Don Maestri	18–11	8–6	T-3rd	—
1984–1985	Don Maestri	14–13	5–11	T-6th	—
1985–1986	Don Maestri	14–13	8–8	T-6th	—
1986–1987	Don Maestri	12–14	5–11	9th	—
1987–1988	Don Maestri	24–10	10–6	3rd	NCAA Elite Eight
1988–1989	Don Maestri	19–8	11–5	2nd	—
1989–1990	Don Maestri	22–6	11–5	3rd	—
1990–1991	Don Maestri	22–8	13–3	1st	NCAA Second Round
Troy State (Division II Independent)(1991–1993)
1991–1992	Don Maestri	23–6			NCAA First Round
1992–1993	Don Maestri	27–5			NCAA Finals
Troy State (East Coast Conference)(1993–1994)
1993–1994	Don Maestri	13–14	5–0	1st	—
Troy State (Mid-Continent Conference)(1994–1997)
1994–1995	Don Maestri	11–16	10–8	T-4th	—
1995–1996	Don Maestri	11–16	8–10	8th	—
1996–1997	Don Maestri	16–11	10–6	4th	—
Troy State (Atlantic Sun Conference)(1997–2005)
1997–1998	Don Maestri	7–20	5–11	5th (West)	—
1998–1999	Don Maestri	9–18	6–10	T-7th	—
1999–2000	Don Maestri	17–11	13–5	T-1st	—
2000–2001	Don Maestri	19–12	12–6	2nd	—
2001–2002	Don Maestri	18–10	14–6	T-1st	—
2002–2003	Don Maestri	26–6	14–2	T-1st (South)	NCAA First Round
2003–2004	Don Maestri	24–7	18–2	1st	NIT First Round
2004–2005	Don Maestri	12–18	10–10	T-8th	—
Troy (Sun Belt Conference)(2005–Present)
2005–2006	Don Maestri	14–15	6–9	T-4th (West)	—
2006–2007	Don Maestri	13–17	8–10	T-4th (East)	—
2007–2008	Don Maestri	12–19	4–14	6th (East)	—
2008–2009	Don Maestri	19–13	14–4	2nd (East)	CBI First Round
2009–2010	Don Maestri	20–13	13–5	T-1st (East)	NIT First Round
2010–2011	Don Maestri	8–21	6–10	T-4th (East)
2011–2012	Don Maestri	10–18	5–11	T-5th (East)
2012–2013	Don Maestri	12–21	6–14	6th (East)
Don Maestri:		501–403	265–215
2013–2014	Phil Cunningham	11–20	6–12	8th
2014–2015	Phil Cunningham	10–19	5–15	11th
2015–2016	Phil Cunningham	9–22	4–16	11th
2016–2017	Phil Cunningham	22–15	10–8	T-6th	NCAA First Round
2017–2018	Phil Cunningham	16–17	9–9	T-5th
2018–2019	Phil Cunningham	12–18	5–13	T–12th
Phil Cunningham:		80–111	34–61
2019–2020	Scott Cross	9–22	5–15	T–11th
2020–2021	Scott Cross	11–17	4–12	6th (East)
2021–2022	Scott Cross	20–12	10–6	4th	CBI First Round
2022–2023	Scott Cross	20–13	11–7	T-5th
2023–2024	Scott Cross	20–11	13–5	3rd
Scott Cross:		80–75	43–45
Total:		1,145–954
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Final rankings

Although Troy has never been ranked in the Top 25 since joining Division I, the Trojans were a mainstay in the rankings during their time in Division II. They were typically ranked in the NCAA Top 25 during the regular seasons, but fell out of the rankings toward the end of the season quite a few times. Only twice did the Trojans finish a season ranked in the Top 25 while in Division II.

Year	Record	NCAA Poll
1992	23–6	#14
1993	27–5	#4

Source: ^[12]

Rivalries

Troy vs. South Alabama

Currently, one of Troy's biggest rivals in basketball is with in-state foe South Alabama. The Jaguars currently hold an 11–23 advantage in the all-time series over the Trojans.

Troy vs. Georgia State

Troy and Georgia State have met off and on since 1952. They began to play each other regularly when both programs were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference in the late 1990s, and again when Georgia State joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2013. Both programs have ties because of Charles "Lefty" Driesell, who was head coach of Georgia State from 1997 to 2003. Troy's former head coach, Phil Cunningham, was an assistant under Driesell during his time at Georgia State and James Madison. One of Driesell's grandsons, Michael Moynihan, was also a member of the Troy coaching staff under Phil Cunnungham for a few years.

Troy currently holds a 27–22 edge in the all-time series over the Panthers.

Troy vs. UCF

Now a dormant rivalry, Troy and UCF were once conference rivals and were considered the prominent rivalry during both school's tenure in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Both basketball programs routinely fought for the conference regular season and tournament titles before they both left the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2005. Troy currently leads the series with a 12–8 record.

References

1. "Trojan 2.0 Best Practices and Style Guide" . Retrieved December 1, 2022.
2. Rice, Bill (January 12, 2012). "20 years ago: Troy State 258, DeVry 141". The Messenger. TroyMessenger.com. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
3. Associated Press (January 13, 1992). "Run and Shoot: 258–141: It's Basketball, Not Electronics, as Troy State Shatters Scoring Record Against DeVry Institute". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 5, 2014.
4. "15–141! When Scoring Stopped, the Telephones Started Ringing | the Seattle Times".
5. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game (PDF). ESPN Books. 2009. ISBN   9780345513922 . Retrieved May 5, 2014.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
6. "258–141: Troy St. rips NCAA scoring record", Rome News-Tribune , p. 6, January 13, 1992, retrieved May 5, 2014
7. "Team Records (p. 93)" (Javascript). 2013–14 Troy Men's Basketball Media Guide. ISSUU. 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
8. "NABC Division II All-America Teams".
9. "NABC Division II All-America Teams".
10. "Troy University opens new Trojan Arena with Daktronics integrated video and scoring system". LEDsMagazine.com. January 24, 2013. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
11. "Trojan Arena".
12. "Troy State In the Polls" (PDF). campus.mst.edu.

External links

• Official website