Image courtesy of Sun Belt Communications

By Bennett Conlin

Xavier Brown played his role to perfection all season. For most games, that meant being a spark plug at point guard by directing the offense and playing good on-ball defense.

Monday, Brown’s role was to give his best Steph Curry impression and send JMU to the NCAA Tournament.

The Dukes’ eighth-leading scorer entering the game, Brown caught fire in Monday’s conference championship game. He went for 21 first-half points, going 8-10 from the field. Brown wasn’t just making 3-pointers, either. He was splashing 3-pointers from the Sun Belt logo well outside the 3-point line.

It was an incredible shot-making display from a player not known for his shooting this season. Brown paced the Dukes on Monday with his 21 points, leading them to a 91-71 win over No. 4 seed Arkansas State.

Elite offense

Brown’s hot start stood out, but he was hardly the only Duke to play well offensively Monday. As a team, JMU shot 62.5% and an absurd 57.9% from 3-point range.

Terrence Edwards played an impressive game, living up to his billing as Sun Belt Player of the Year. He finished with 19 points and four rebounds.

Jaylen Carey was a monster, going for 13 points on 6-7 shooting. Noah Freidel added 12 points, and several other Dukes chipped in with efficient showings.

JMU put on a clinic on the offensive end, overwhelming a red-hot Arkansas State team.

Up next

JMU heads to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. The Dukes are dancing, and they’ll likely earn something in the neighborhood of an 11 or 12 seed.

JMU has a team that’s good enough to win an NCAA Tournament game, and the Dukes’ seeding will give them a winnable opening round game.

The Dukes will learn their NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday evening.

Editor’s note: Thanks to Christopher William Jewelers for their advertising support.