The Titans in Omaha - Day Two

The second day from Omaha brought Friday evening's match-up with Kansas that much closer. With the first day of games on all day and into the evening, the Madness of March is now in full swing.

Today the team had its first practice since arriving in Omaha. It was closed to the public and was held at nearby Creighton University giving Coach McCallum and his staff a chance to further prepare the team for Kansas and the team an opportunity to keep loose.

The second practice of the day came later in the afternoon. At about 5:15 local time, the team left the hotel with a police escort. The 15 or so minute drive from the hotel to CenturyLink Center had the Titan bus completely surrounded by police cars and motorcycles. More of the same is scheduled for the commute when game day arrives. At the arena, the team was able to find its locker room, get somewhat acclimated to the (very large) lay of the land and a few athletes were also asked to speak at a press conference on the big NCAA stage.

Chase Simon, Ray McCallum and Eli Holman

After the press conference, the team had a chance to hit the floor. It was largely an opportunity to play on the floor and take in the new environment as best possible, but it was also a chance for local and national media to watch the Titans. The spirit groups were on hand and welcomed the Titans to the floor and even brought a little Calihan cheer while the team was shooting free throws as P-U-T-I-T-I-N could be heard from the stands. The TV talent for the game, Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Craig Sager were all on hand as they were trying to get their tidbits on all the Titans.

The end of practice came and Doug Anderson threw down a vicious, acrobat 360' dunk to the delight of everyone in the arena. Some individuals seeing Anderson for the first time, were definitely able to enjoy a little bit of what the University of Detroit Mercy basketball fans have experienced all year. Anderson actually dunked it so hard a few bolts came off the backboard and arena maintenance had to be called in to fix it. See video below for a video recap of the day and also check out the photo gallery.




Be sure to tune into Friday night's game at 9:57 Eastern on truTV. The Titans will practice tomorrow morning as game day will have officially arrived.