Other NCAA Tournament Capsules: Gators back in NCAA tournament after 2-year hiatus
EDITOR'S NOTE: For previous coverage of the NCAA men's seclections, click on the tabs at the end of these stories.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida is back in the NCAA tournament after a two-year absence.
The Gators earned the No. 10 seed in the West Region and will play seventh-seeded BYU in the opening round Thursday in Oklahoma City, Okla. Florida has won 12 consecutive games in the NCAA tournament, all coming during back-to-back title runs in 2006 and 2007.
The Gators missed the 65-team field the last two seasons and settled for the NIT. They desperately wanted to get back in the NCAA tournament this year, but struggled to overcome depth issues, poor 3-point shooting and inconsistent frontcourt play.
They could have secured a berth by beating Mississippi State in the second round of the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday, but lost 75-69 and had to wait 48 hours to learn their postseason fate.
This time, it was good news.
"It was a stressful 48 hours not knowing it we were in or out," forward Chandler Parsons said. "We're really excited to be a part of it. For most of us, it's our first experience with the NCAA tournament. We don't just want to go and play one game. We want to prove we're deserving of being there."
Florida (21-12) looked like a lock to end its drought after upending Tennessee on Feb. 23, but lost four of its next five games.
Many believed the Gators had faded from the field Saturday when Houston upset No. 25 UTEP in the Conference USA finals, Minnesota advanced to the Big Ten title game by thumping No. 5 Purdue, and New Mexico State knocked off Utah State in the Western Athletic Conference championship game.
But Florida's body of work was seemingly too strong to overlook. Coach Billy Donovan's squad ranked 53rd in the Ratings Percentage Index and 35th in strength of schedule.
"We're very, very excited, and grateful for the opportunity," Donovan said. "I'm most excited for our players having a chance to experience this. For most of them, this is something they haven't been through yet. They've worked so hard from day one, and it's great to see them rewarded."
After fading down the stretch in 2008 and 2009, and missing the tournament both years, Donovan beefed up Florida's non-conference schedule in hopes of putting together a better postseason resume.
The Gators beat Florida State and Michigan State in November, but also lost to tournament-bound Syracuse, Richmond and Xavier. Throw in getting swept by SEC foes Kentucky and Vanderbilt, and Florida finished just 3-8 against teams in the RPI's top 50.
Nonetheless, those big wins overshadowed the late-season collapse. Despite the slide, many called this Donovan's best coaching job in his 14 years at Florida.
Leading scorer Nick Calathes left school early to play professionally, incoming freshman guard DeShawn Painter was granted his release before he stepped foot on campus, and center Kenny Kadji (back) and forward Adam Allen (knee) missed most of the season with injuries.
Although depth was an issue, Donovan got his guys to play their best defense in three years. But guard Kenny Boynton struggled from 3-point range (28.5 percent), senior forward Dan Werner regressed offensively, and big men Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin were mostly inconsistent.
Getting in the tournament, though, will squash talk about the program's decline and maybe even whispers about Donovan's job security.
"We're all excited to be in the NCAA tournament; it's such a great feeling," said Werner, the team's only player with NCAA tournament experience. "That being said, now we need to turn our focus to BYU and need to come with the right mindset and take full advantage of this opportunity."
Buckeyes seeded 2nd, play UCSB in NCAA first round
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evan Turner had a hard time being heard on the bus headed home on Sunday night.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were making some noise, just like they did in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Hours after easily winning the Big Ten tournament title on Sunday, the Buckeyes received a No. 2 seed and a trip to Milwaukee to play UC Santa Barbara in the NCAA tournament on Friday.
"I'm just really excited," Turner said while being shouted down by happy teammates. "Before the season started, our team goal was to try to win the Big Ten tournament title. And we did it. It really hasn't sunk in right now. But now we'll change our focus to winning the NCAA tournament."
Ohio State (27-7), winner of 15 of 17 while taking a share of the Big Ten's regular-season title, will be making its 22nd trip to the big tournament.
"You've got to shift your mind to, 'OK, we've got Santa Barbara. Where do we go from there?'" coach Thad Matta said of the short turnaround. "I don't think there's any easy way. I just hope we're playing our best basketball right now as we move forward."
The Buckeyes stood at 1-3 in the Big Ten as Turner was coming back from a month layoff after breaking two bones in his back. They emerged as one of the hottest teams in the nation, winning 13 of their final 14 conference games before sweeping through the Big Ten tournament.
The 15th-seeded Gauchos (20-9) won a share of the Big West regular-season title and took the conference's automatic berth by winning the tournament.
"They're a good team," Turner said. "We definitely have to come out to try to take care of business, be ready and be prepared. We definitely can't overlook any team."
The winner of UCSB-Ohio State advances to meet the winner of seventh-seeded Oklahoma State and 10th-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round.
Ohio State couldn't have asked for a much better geographic draw. The Buckeyes always carry a large fan base when they hit the road, whether it is to an NCAA tournament or a football bowl game, and Milwaukee is an easy drive from Columbus. Should the Buckeyes make it out of the first weekend, they would play in St. Louis — also a manageable trip for Buckeyes followers.
Kansas, the No. 1-ranked team and top overall seed, also is in the Midwest Region. That didn't seem to bother Turner.
"Kansas is a really great team," he said. "In order to win a championship, you have to beat the best teams — teams like Kansas. What's a tournament for if you don't go head to head with the best teams?"
Junior standout David Lighty was a freshman defensive stalwart on the Ohio State team that went to the title game three years ago. He was a defensive stopper as a freshman coming off the bench on a squad that featured Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.
"If we come ready to play every game and our minds are right, our mentality is right and we take no prisoners, hopefully we can make it to the Final Four," said Lighty, the only current Buckeye who played on the 2007 finalists.
Ohio State, on a seven-game winning streak, beat Minnesota 90-61 in the Big Ten finale earlier on Sunday behind Turner and Lighty.
Turner, the Big Ten's player of the year and tournament MVP, sat out just 2:27 of a possible 130 minutes of the Buckeyes' three grueling games in Indianapolis. Lighty and fellow starters William Buford and Jon Diebler also seldom left the court.
But Turner said the unit that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo referred to as the "iron five" would be fine next week in the first round.
"Right now, I'm tired. But with a day off and we'll all be great," he said. "We'll have time to rest up and then we'll be ready to go back into a new game and hit on all cylinders."
-- Rusty Miller
Wisconsin earns No. 4 seed, Marquette gets a 6
MILWAUKEE — In what was widely expected to be a rebuilding year, even making the NCAA tournament was a significant accomplishment for Marquette.
So imagine the Golden Eagles' surprise on Sunday, when a late-season run that included plenty of close victories in the Big East was rewarded with a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament.
That's better than most people in the program expected, including leading scorer Lazar Hayward.
"Way, way better," Hayward said. "Far better. I definitely thought it was going to be something way lower."
Wisconsin, meanwhile, saw its recent run of success in the Big Ten come to an ugly early ending in the conference tournament with a loss to Illinois that might have been its worst outing of the season.
Still, the Badgers' overall season was strong enough to make them a No. 4 seed.
"These guys played well enough over a four-month period to be in a pretty good position in the NCAA tournament," Badgers coach Bo Ryan said. "And that's how it's judged — it's judged on your entire body of work. So I'm very proud of these guys and extremely excited about the fact that they get a chance to play again. And I'm sure they're pretty excited to play again, too."
Marquette will play No. 11 seed Washington on Thursday in San Jose, Calif.
Wisconsin faces No. 13 seed Wofford on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.
That game can't come soon enough for the Badgers, who were on the verge of being blown out by Illinois in their first game in the Big Ten tournament Friday. A late flurry of 3-pointers made the game close, but the Badgers still lost.
"You know, we are just excited to get out on the floor again," Jason Bohannon said. "The last game kind of left a sour taste in our mouth with how we performed and luckily, we prepared ourselves and played well enough during the season to put ourselves in a position to get another game."
Wisconsin was rolling before that, winning four straight to end the regular season — a streak that included dominant victories over Indiana, Iowa and their regular season finale at Illinois.
Trevon Hughes said it didn't matter who the Badgers drew in the tournament.
"We're guaranteed 40 minutes and what are we going to make of that 40 minutes," Hughes said. "Our last performance wasn't as great as we wanted it to be so we have a chance to go out there and prove what we have on this team."
Wisconsin has some familiarity with Wofford, having beaten them 70-43 in December 2007.
"It was awhile ago and it's a totally different team, I'm sure," Bohannon said. "They're playing very good basketball now, so we really can't look back on that game to see how we performed against them because that was years ago. They're playing really well right now and we have to be ready to play."
Marquette isn't as familiar with Washington. Coach Buzz Williams praised the character of coach Lorenzo Romar and called forward Quincy Pondexter a first-round NBA draft pick — but that was about the extent of his scouting report as of early Sunday evening.
"Other than that, I really don't know a lot about them, so I've got to get to the office and get to work," Williams said.
Hayward and Pondexter were teammates on the USA Basketball World University Games team.
"He's a really, really good player," Hayward said. "He's about 6-8, he can do it all."
Hayward will relish the matchup with the Huskies, especially given what most people expected from the Golden Eagles this season.
"A lot of people said we'd be in the NIT and finish last in the Big East," Hayward said. "I think we've shown that we're definitely a hungry team."
-- Chris Jenkins
Xavier plays Minnesota in NCAA first round
CINCINNATI — Jordan Crawford's only experience in the NCAA tournament was so bad that he pretends it never happened.
Crawford was one of the happiest Musketeers when Xavier got a No. 6 seed and a first-round NCAA tournament game against Minnesota on Friday in Milwaukee. The Atlantic 10's leading scorer played at Indiana as a freshman and had some of his worst moments in his final game for the Hoosiers.
Indiana made the tournament as a No. 8 seed and lost to Arkansas 86-72 in the first round in 2008. Crawford was 0 for 5 from the field and failed to score in 21 minutes.
"I'm very excited just to get back out on the court and play in the NCAA tournament because last time was not a good one," Crawford said Sunday. "It was real quick, and it wasn't good. That was my last game for two years. There was so much going on, I didn't really get to experience the NCAA tournament like that. It's going to be new to me."
Crawford transferred to Xavier, sat out a year and led the Musketeers (24-8) to a share of their fourth straight A-10 regular season title. They lost to Richmond in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
"This is the reason I transferred to Xavier — to play in the NCAA tournament," said Crawford, who averages 19.7 points per game. "And I think we have a nice chance of advancing."
Xavier reached the tournament for the fifth straight year and the ninth time in the last 10 years. The Musketeers have won at least one game each of the last three years, and have advanced to the round of 16 the last two years.
Crawford's return will come against a Big Ten team, one that's very unfamiliar to the rest of the Musketeers. Minnesota and Xavier haven't played since the 1950s, when the Golden Gophers won the three games between the schools.
The Golden Gophers (21-13) reached the NCAA tournament with a strong finish, knocking off Michigan State and Purdue before losing to Ohio State 90-61 in the Big Ten tournament title game on Sunday. Even then, Minnesota wasn't sure it was in.
Xavier had no such worries. The Musketeers were upbeat as they watched the NCAA selection show at a local restaurant.
"We were as excited as anybody," junior guard Dante Jackson said. "Before we went there, we knew we were in, we just didn't know who we were playing and what team it would be."
Their biggest surprise didn't involve them. The Atlantic 10 got three teams into the tournament — Xavier, Temple and Richmond. Temple was the regular season co-champion with Xavier and won the conference tournament, then got a No. 5 seed.
"I thought Temple was going to get a 3 or a 4 (seed)," Jackson said. "I was kind of shocked that they got a 5. But I think our conference is well-represented in the tournament, and that's all you can ask for."
Xavier reached the regional semifinals last season before losing to Pittsburgh 60-55. The Panthers are in Xavier's bracket again, setting up a possible second-round rematch. Pitt plays Oakland in its opener.
"Yeah, we saw Pitt and as a team, we're excited that they're in our bracket," junior forward Jamel McLean said. "It's not about looking forward. I think Minnesota is our prime objective right now. We hope we see Pittsburgh and then we'll take that game from where we left off last year. I think we have a lot of motivation."
-- Joe Kay
Saint Mary's gets No. 10 seed, will face Richmond
MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett and the Gaels finally got to relax and enjoy an NCAA tournament selection show.
After winning the West Coast Conference tournament and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Saint Mary's, a perennial bubble team, knew it was in. So the Gaels and their fans started celebrating early at McKeon Pavilion as they awaited word of their seed and first-round opponent.
"We're glad to be a part of it," Bennett said. "I like doing it the way we did it this year so you're not in suspense. It's been a fun week, an enjoyable week."
Saint Mary's (26-5) received the No. 10 seed in the South Regional and will face Richmond in a first-round game Thursday at Providence, R.I.
This is Saint Mary's sixth NCAA tournament berth and third under Bennett, who is in his ninth season at the school.
Richmond (25-8), the No. 7 seed in the South, finished third in the Atlantic 10 and is making its seventh trip to the tournament.
Last year, the Gaels opened the season 18-1 but wound up heartbroken and out of the tournament field. In 2005 and 2008, Saint Mary's earned at-large bids and No. 10 seeds but had to sweat before hearing the good news. This year, the Gaels, enjoyed the moment with around 1,000 of their fans.
"It's about 100 times easier," Gaels guard Mickey McConnell said. "Just even in practice you don't have it linger in the back of your mind, 'Are we going to play?' We can just focus on getting ready for whoever we're going to play. Sitting here you're relaxed. It's still pretty nerve-racking to find out where you're going to play, but it's definitely not the same type of pressure."
Saint Mary's is 1-5 all-time in NCAA tournament games. The Gaels' only win came in 1959, their first NCAA trip. They opened with a victory over Idaho State before falling to California, which went on to win the tournament.
Saint Mary's has lost first-round games to Clemson in 1989, Wake Forest in 1997, Southern Illinois in 2005 and Miami in 2008. The Gaels had first-half leads against Clemson and Miami before fading in the second half.
Last year, Saint Mary's beat Washington State and Davidson in the NIT before falling to San Diego State.
The Gaels earned their automatic bid to this year's NCAA tournament by crushing nemesis Gonzaga 81-62 in the West Coast Conference tournament title game. McConnell scored 26 points, tying his career high, and Ben Allen scored a career-high 20.
"I think we're going to make a run in the tournament," center Omar Samhan said. "That's what we're planning on. I think beating Gonzaga helped build confidence. This is the year we can do it."
"I definitely think this team's capable of winning some games in the tournament," McConnell said. "We just have to focus on play and focus on what we can control, and I think we can get it done."
Neither Bennett nor his players know much about Richmond, but Gaels assistant coach Kyle Smith and Richmond coach Chris Mooney were assistants together in the 2000-01 season at Air Force.
"They had some good wins," Bennett said of Richmond. "Top 25 team a number of weeks."
Three of the Spiders' wins came against Missouri, Mississippi State and Xavier. Guard Kevin Anderson leads Richmond in scoring at 17.9 points per game. Two other Spiders are averaging in double figures, guard David Gonzalvez (14.7) and forward Justin Harper (10.7).
Bobcats draw Georgetown in NCAA first round
ATHENS, Ohio — Georgetown coach John Thompson III is already preaching to his players to not look past first-round NCAA tournament opponent Ohio.
"You can't get to this part of the year and overlook anyone," Thompson said Sunday after his third-seeded Hoyas drew the Mid-American Conference champion Bobcats for a Thursday game in Providence, R.I. "The teams are too well-coached, too poised. They won their league or they're playing well and got an at-large bid — that's what makes (the NCAA tournament) so special."
The Bobcats (21-14) exploded in celebration when the school's name was announced during the televised NCAA selection show on Sunday.
They're thrilled to play a team with Georgetown's postseason resume.
"It's exciting and you can't really describe it," freshman guard D.J. Cooper said. "I posted on my Twitter that I had to pinch myself because I still couldn't believe it. We get the opportunity to play against a really good team like Georgetown now in the first round. We're ready to go."
A surprise winner of the MAC tournament championship on Saturday, the Bobcats were seeded ninth yet earned their first NCAA tournament berth since 2005 with an 81-75 overtime victory over Akron.
It'll be their 12th trip to the big dance, where they have a 4-12 record.
The 14th-seeded Bobcats are led by Armon Bassett, an Indiana transfer who was the MVP of the MAC tournament. He had 25 points in the title game.
Ohio and Georgetown have never played. The team that advances meets the winner of sixth-seeded Tennessee and 11th-seeded San Diego State.
"It's going to be a challenge for us but it's one we're really looking forward to," Ohio coach John Groce said.
The Hoyas (23-10), an at-large qualifier and Big East power, have a storied tournament tradition. They will be making their 26th NCAA appearance and have a 45-23 all-time record. In 1984, led by center Patrick Ewing, they won the national championship by beating explosive Houston 84-75 in the final.
The current Hoyas are led by junior guard Austin Freeman, who leads the team in scoring with 16.7 points per game. Chris Wright and Greg Monroe were at their best in the Big East tournament, averaging 19.3 points and 16.3 points, respectively.
"They run a variation of the Princeton offense but they've played some games this year where they're more up-tempo," said Groce, in just his second season with the Bobcats after serving as an assistant to Thad Matta at Ohio State. "Chris Wright is a great point guard, Austin Freeman is a terrific shooter. They're well-coached, very disciplined, take great shots and execute very well."
The Hoyas are coming off a difficult 60-58 loss to West Virginia in the Big East title game on Saturday night — a last-minute defeat that left Georgetown hurting.
"It's March. And we are extremely disappointed, but this too shall pass," said Thompson, namesake of the legendary Hoyas coach. "We need to move on and get ready for next week. It's hard. Whenever we are scheduled to play, we're going to be there and we're going to be ready to roll."
Georgetown played very well at Madison Square Garden, leaving Thompson confident of how far his team can go.
"I like where we are going into the NCAA tournament," he said.
Hundreds of students joined the Hoyas at Leo J. O'Donovan Hall to find out where the team would be seeded and where it was headed in the tournament.
UNI to face UNLV in NCAA tourney
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Northern Iowa couldn't have asked for a better NCAA tournament selection show party.
The Panthers warmed up by watching the UNI women's basketball team clinch its first-ever NCAA bid, then quickly got word of their own destination. Northern Iowa earned a No. 9 seed for the NCAA tournament's Midwest Region and will face No. 8 UNLV on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Northern Iowa hasn't played in a week, not since beating Wichita State to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title last Sunday. It's been a long week of waiting before their matchup was the second game announced on the CBS-TV selection show.
"It was just a relief that we got called early," point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe.
Northern Iowa was given a No. 9 seed despite a school-record 28 wins, but Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said he wasn't surprised by that because he expected the Panthers to be seeded somewhere in that range.
"I told the guys, most likely a seven or an eight seed, but it could be a six and it could be a nine. Those things are for the selection committee to decide," Jacobson said.
The Panthers (28-4), who won the Missouri Valley's regular season championship, will be making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in seven years and their second in a row.
The Panthers lost their last four NCAA tourney games, though, including a 61-56 loss to Purdue as a 12th seed in 2009. Northern Iowa fell behind big in the first half against the Boilermakers and saw its second-half rally fall short.
"What we found out last year was that the way in which we played a year ago was certainly good enough. It's just that we didn't start playing that way until the second half," Jacobson said. "Our guys really learned a lot about that, so they've been focused."
If Northern Iowa advances, they would likely face top-seeded and No. 1 Kansas in the second round on Saturday. Ohio State is the second seed in the Midwest, followed by Georgetown and Maryland.
"We've got to win the first one," Ahelegbe said when asked about a potential matchup with Kansas. "We just take it one game at a time."
UNLV (25-8) earned at at-large bid after falling to San Diego State 55-45 in the Mountain West title game, snapping a six-game winning streak. Jacobson said he hasn't seen the Rebels play much this season, but he was planning to start watching film Sunday night.
"I do know that they've had a very good year. I do know that their league is very good," Jacobson said. "Coach (Lon) Kruger has been doing this for a long time and won a lot of basketball games."
-- Luke Meredith
Siena College men's basketball team seeded No. 13
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. — The Siena College men's basketball team has been seeded No. 13 in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, as the Saints look to advance past the first round for the third straight year when they meet fourth-seeded Purdue.
The game will be held Friday in Spokane, Wash. Game times were not immediately announced.
"They're a very impressive team. A lot of talent," said Siena coach Fran McCaffery, who watched the seeding announcement at an on-campus rally. "They really defend."
It's the second straight year the Saints (27-6) will face a team out of the Big Ten. Siena is 2-4 all-time against teams from that conference, but has never faced Purdue.
As a nine seed, the Saints defeated eighth-seeded Ohio State 74-72 in a double-overtime thriller in last year's first round before falling 79-72 to top-seeded Louisville in the second round.
"They play a tough man-to-man defense, and they're a great team," said senior forward Alex Franklin, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year, who averages 16.3 points per game. "Its going to be a good matchup for us."
Purdue (27-5), which fell 69-42 to Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinals, is ranked sixth in the most recent AP poll. But the Boilermakers, who opened the season 14-0, are without second-leading scorer Robbie Hummel, lost for the year with a torn ACL.
They still earned one of 34 at-large bids.
"What we'll see is a team that's ready to play with the players they have," McCaffery said.
Purdue has won 12 straight first-round NCAA matchups (one of which was later vacated). E�’Twaun Moore leads the team with 16.6 points per game.
"We're definitely confident," said Siena forward Ryan Rossiter, who averages 13.9 points and 11 rebounds per game. "It's crazy. It was a long wait to find out who we're playing, but it's definitely very exciting."
Siena, which won its third straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title to claim the automatic bid to the NCAAs, has also had success as a No. 13 seed in recent years.
In 2008, the Saints shocked Vanderbilt 83-62 in the first round as a 13-seed.
"I guess 13�’s our lucky number," Franklin said.
Morgan State to face West Virginia in NCAA tourney
BALTIMORE— The Morgan State men's basketball team is taking a more businesslike approach to its second consecutive berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Bears drew a No. 15 seed in the East Region on Sunday. Morgan State will travel to Buffalo, N.Y., where the Bears will play No. 2 seed West Virginia, the Big East champion, on Friday.
Morgan State was excited to simply go to the tournament last year. But Oklahoma was too big and too strong for the Bears, handing them an 82-54 loss in the first round.
Morgan State is glad to be back, but the Bears want more this year.
"Once you go, you want to drink from the cup again," said Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman, this year's MEAC coach of the year. "The experience does help. I told the guys that being nervous is OK because sometimes it fuels you and gives you motivation."
Morgan State comes into the NCAA competition with a 27-6 record and earned a berth thanks to winning the MEAC tournament for the second straight year.
The Bears' roster includes MEAC player of the year Reggie Holmes, plus the conference's rookie of the year (DeWayne Jackson) and defensive player of the year (Kevin Thompson).
Thompson, who also won the MEAC tournament most valuable player award, averaged 12.8 points per game and 11.9 rebounds. That double-double average made him the most effective big man in the MEAC this season, but Thompson was truly motivated by what happened in last year's NCAA tournament.
That's when Oklahoma center Blake Griffin gave Thompson some painful lessons. Griffin, who became the NBA's No. 1 draft choice, was 11-for-12 from the field and finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
Thompson ended up with only two points and four rebounds. But the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Thompson worked harder through the summer to make himself stronger.
"When I played him and saw how strong he was," Thompson said of Griffin, "I really saw that I had to get my body together and get where he was at."
The whole Morgan State team learned from last year. Now they'll be ready for this year.
"Everybody was so excited about making it last year," Holmes said. "Since we tested the waters last year, we'll be able to prepare better this year."
UAPB revels in first NCAA tournament bid
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — When Allen Smith was growing up, he used to go watch basketball at his local college — but the less said about those Arkansas-Pine Bluff teams, the better.
"I used to go to sleep at the games, actually. I was a little kid," Smith said. "They were getting blown out by 80 points and all that. It was rough."
Now, Smith is preparing to play for UAPB in the NCAA tournament.
The Golden Lions will take on Winthrop in the tournament’s first game Tuesday night, with the winner advancing to play top-seeded Duke. UAPB earned the program’s first NCAA bid by winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament, and the players were decked out in championship hats and shirts Sunday while watching the selection show in a cramped lounge near the school’s football field.
"I’ve always wanted to play Duke, but I wanted to play Duke at Duke, just to see how the atmosphere was. I’ll take it how I can get it," said Smith, a 5-foot-10 junior. "It’s going to be great, we’ve just got to get past this play-in game first. That’s the first thing on the agenda — beat Winthrop."
No matter what happens Tuesday, UAPB has traveled quite a road to reach this point. As recently as 2003-04, the Golden Lions went 1-26. This season, they didn’t play a home game until mid-January and started 0-11.
In the SWAC, however, the Golden Lions were contenders. They earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, beat fifth-seeded Texas Southern in the title game and enter the NCAA tournament with a 17-15 record.
"This is as big as it gets for our community, our alumni and our students," athletic director Skip Perkins said. "I’m still a little numb right now. The turnaround is remarkable. It wasn’t even over 10 years ago we were barely winning one or two games at all."
UAPB improved from those depths, losing in the SWAC tournament title game in 2006 under coach Van Holt. George Ivory took over as coach before the 2008-09 season.
For Perkins, this tournament bid is a bit of vindication after the grueling schedule the school set up for the team. The Golden Lions opened the season with 14 consecutive games away from home, earning an estimated $800,000 for their trouble. At the time, Perkins insisted the schedule wasn’t all about money, saying Ivory wanted to test his team before conference play.
So UAPB played — and lost to — teams like Georgia Tech, Missouri and Kansas State.
"It helped make us a better team. It made us more physical," guard Terrance Calvin said. "I think we were the most physical team in our conference."
There were some groans Sunday after Kansas State was matched up with North Texas; the UAPB players apparently wanted a rematch. Instead, the Golden Lions will have to win Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, just to make it to the round of 64.
"I thought we were going to get an automatic bid into it without a play-in game, but we’ve got to go through Winthrop to get to Duke," Calvin said. "We’ve just got to do what we’ve got to do."
Calvin was still wearing part of the net from Saturday night in his hat, a sign the players and coaches were savoring every moment of their big weekend.
"It’s been kind of hectic. You know, a lot of phone calls, text messages, interviews," Ivory said. "We love it."
-- Noah Trister
Winthrop gets 2nd NCAA tourney opening-round game
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Winthrop can get its shot at one of college basketball's storied programs. The Eagles will just have to win the opening-round game first.
Winthrop will take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday in the opening-round game of the NCAA tournament at Dayton, Ohio. The winner takes on Duke, the top seed in the South region, on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla.
The players danced for the cameras and the crowd of several hundred in Winthrop Coliseum cheered when the pairings were announced Sunday, but it was a little subdued. This is the Eagles' ninth trip to the tournament in 12 years — as many bids to the NCAAs as North Carolina or UCLA in the same span — and the game matching the 64th and 65th teams wasn't what many fans wanted.
But Eagles coach Randy Peele refused to do anything but look at the benefits of opening the tournament. Winthrop gets a nationwide audience to itself and a good chance at picking up its second NCAA win.
"I'm excited," Peele said. "Shoot, this is what you live for right now."
This is the second trip to the opening-round game for Winthrop. The Eagles played in the first one after the tournament expanded to 65 teams in 2001, losing 71-67 to Northwestern State.
Winthrop has been a No. 16 seed four times, but not since 2002, when the Eagles lost 84-37 to Duke.
Senior Mantoris Robinson has been a member of two NCAA tournament teams. He didn't play when Winthrop got its only win, a 74-64 victory over No. 6 seed Notre Dame in 2007. He was on the court a year later, when the 13th-seeded Eagles were beaten 71-40 by Washington State.
"I don't mind being in this game," Robinson said. "It'll give us a chance to get into the flow. We're used to playing several games in a short time."
After winning the Big South title last week, Robinson said the Eagles (19-13) aren't afraid to play anyone at any time. He said the play-in game didn't dampen the team's enthusiasm.
"It's another game. It's an NCAA tournament game," Robinson said. "We'll be ready."
Tuesday's game looks to be a grinder. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-15) held its three opponents in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament to an average of 47 points, beating Texas Southern 50-38 in the final. Winthrop's opponents averaged 57 points a game in the Big South tournament, and the Eagles held Coastal Carolina to 53 points in the final on the Chanticleers' home court, nearly 22 points under their season average.
Peele watched the Golden Lions in the SWAC final Saturday night and has two more DVDs of games to digest in the 48 hours before tip-off.
"We're a lot alike. We both rebound and play very tough defense. Neither team is going to be easy to beat," Peele said.
Peele also started scouting other possible No. 1 seeds just in case.
"I watched some tape of Kansas," Peele said. "I'm not going to lie to you. There was a little relief when our name didn't pop up across from them."
-- Jeffrey McMurray
Bucs' reward for 2nd straight A-Sun title? UK Cats
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — The East Tennessee State Buccaneers have waited for more than a week to learn who and where they play in the NCAA tournament. Well, the two-time Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champs earned a doozy.
Second-ranked Kentucky with a No. 16 seed in the East Region on Thursday in New Orleans.
"We obviously expected to face one of the top four or five teams in the country, and Kentucky certainly fits that description," ETSU coach Murry Bartow.
"They have two of the best big men around, and arguably the best player in the country in John Wall. To say we will have our work cut out for us would be an understatement, but we are going to scrap and compete. It's a special opportunity anytime you play in the NCAA tournament."
This is the Bucs' ninth all-time trip to the NCAA tournament after a challenging season.
Bartow had to deal with the death of rising sophomore Seth Coy in a car accident last July. The 6-foot-11 Coy, 19, was killed when his car hydroplaned on a wet highway and flipped. He played in 24 games as a freshman, averaging 2.9 points. Mike Smith hurt his knee and his last game was Dec. 4. He had been averaging 9.3 points a game. The Bucs still went 20-14.
About 1,000 people gathered to watch the bracket announcement.
Missing Out
Tigers miss NCAA tournament 1st time since 2005
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For the first time since 2005 and in Memphis’ first year without coach John Calipari, the Tigers will not be in the NCAA tournament.
They did not hear their names called Sunday when the NCAA bracket was announced, but a couple of hours later learned that they will host St. John’s (17-15) in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night.
"It’s a tough field, there’s no question about it," Memphis coach Josh Pastner said after the brackets were announced. "Obviously, we wanted to be in the NCAA tournament. But to be able to play in the postseason is a really good thing for us. You look at these NIT games, some are tougher than some of the matchups in the NCAA tournament. I really believe that."
This will be Memphis’ first NIT berth since 2005 when the Tigers reached the Final Four, where they lost in the national semifinals 70-58 to St. Joseph’s. Overall, Memphis is 19-15 in the NIT, including winning the 2002 championship.
St. John’s, coached by Norm Roberts, finished 6-12 in the Big East. The Red Storm defeated Connecticut 73-51 in the opening round of the Big East tournament, before losing to Marquette 57-55 last week.
"We’ve got a tough game," Pastner said. "It’s going to be a fun game against a Big East team....As much as I know right now, looking at their stats, they’re a good rebounding team. They’re in the Big East, so they’re a physical team. They’re going to play tough. They’re going to be hardnosed."
A year ago, the Tigers sat in Calipari’s living room and heard themselves announced as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA tournament. This year in Pastner’s first year, they didn’t gather together with reporters watching just to be snubbed. Calipari watched this year with his new team and picked up another No. 1 seed with Kentucky.
Memphis (23-9) had appeared in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including a pair of eliminations in the regional finals and a trip to the national finals in 2008.
Some bad road losses to teams like Massachusetts and SMU this season, coupled with falling to Houston in the second round of the Conference USA tournament — the Tigers’ second loss to the Cougars in about two weeks — doomed Memphis’ chances to anxiously await Selection Sunday.
The Tigers were a couple minutes away from the national championship in 2008. Memphis held a 60-51 lead over Kansas but let it slip away in regulation, eventually losing 75-68 in overtime.
Memphis’ run last year ended when Missouri defeated the Tigers 102-91 in the regional semifinals.
Within days of that loss, Calipari, who took the team to the NCAA tournament in six of his nine seasons at Memphis, left for Kentucky, taking the bulk of the coaching staff and several of Memphis’ prize recruits.
Pastner eventually was pulled from Calipari’s staff of assistant coaches and put in charge of the Tigers. With the graduation of seniors Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier, the departure of freshman guard Tyreke Evans to the NBA and the loss of potential recruits like John Wall and Xavier Henry, there wasn’t much optimism for the young Pastner and the Tigers.
They had much less talent than in the previous years when Memphis not only was expected to reach the NCAA, but high seeds were the norm. Memphis was a No. 1 seed in 2006 and 2008, and seeded second in 2006 and 2009.
The Tigers exceeded the hopes of even the more optimistic Memphis fans by being in the NCAA conversation. Pastner started talking about the success, noting that if he had predicted that record and finishing second in the C-USA regular season, fans would have promised to join him doing flips and handstands along Beale Street.
But the loss to Houston last week — and the Cougars eventually winning the C-USA tournament — made it clear the Tigers postseason would be in the NIT. Still, Pastner didn’t seem disappointed at the result.
"If you told me 11 months ago, we would be in the NIT, I would have told you no way," Pastner said Sunday night. "Let’s just try to finish .500 and finish in the top half of the league. That would have been a good goal because of what we lost.
"That’s a direct credit to the players. The players did such a good job this year. They gave their hearts out every game."
For Pastner and the Tigers, playing in the NIT is not a whole lot different than the 2000-01 season, Calipari’s first as Memphis coach. The Tigers went to the NIT that year, reaching the tournament’s Final Four. Memphis returned to the NIT the next season and defeated South Carolina 72-62 to win the championship.
The future might be a bit brighter for Pastner’s second season. His first full recruiting class has been ranked No. 1 nationally for weeks.
If Memphis wins its opening round game against St. John’s, the Tigers would face the winner of Mississippi and Troy.
Illini left out of NCAA tournament
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois got a rude reminder Sunday night that life outside the NCAA tournament is nothing like life in it.
The Illini missed the NCAA tournament for the second time three seasons and, even with a top seed in the NIT, they won't be able to open the consolation tournament at home.
Assembly Hall in Champaign is booked Wednesday night for a performance by Cirque du Soleil. The Illini will open the NIT on Wednesday at America East Conference regular season champion Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y.
Disappointing doesn't quite capture the feeling Sunday night for Illini players and coach Bruce Weber.
"I think it would be an understatement to say it's been a tough day," Weber said. "I don't think we have anyone to blame except ourselves, when it comes down to it."
The Illini (19-14) opened the season at No. 23. With promising young freshmen D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul joining established third-year starters Mike Davis, Demetri McCamey and Mike Tisdale, they looked like a team that could challenge for one of the top spots in the Big Ten.
But losses to Utah and Bradley at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament cost Illinois its ranking. And the Illini struggled until a month into the Big Ten season, when it won five straight and beat Wisconsin and then Michigan State.
That, though, was followed by the 1-5 regular season finish. Illinois lost to tough teams down that stretch — Ohio State twice, Purdue and Wisconsin, all ranked — as well as Minnesota.
Richardson has had a strong freshman year, starting all but a handful of games, scoring just over 10 points a game and often drawing the toughest defensive assignment.
And McCamey, in spite of a late-season sideline run-in with head coach Bruce Weber, had a good junior season. He has averaged 15.1 points a game and 6.8 assists, best in the conference.
But Davis lost his shooting touch and his starting spot for much of the conference season, and Tisdale, a 7-1 center with a slim build, struggled against the Big Ten's beefier big men.
Minnesota, despite finishing behind the Illini in the Big Ten, was one of five conference teams to make the NCAAs. The 62-60 loss to the Gophers was probably the single biggest reason Illinois didn't make the NCAAs, Weber and some of his players said.
"It's tough to say, 'Hey, we're better that that team' when they beat us at home," Illinois forward Bill Cole said.
Weber declined to criticize the NCAA selection committee, but said he believes Illinois is one of the 40 or so best teams in the country. And, while calling for expansion of the NCAA tournament to 96 teams, said his team shouldn't be penalized for all those late season losses, since four were to ranked teams.
"No one had a tougher finish to the season," he said.
The Illini are just five seasons removed from a trip to the NCAA final — in Weber's first season — where they lost to North Carolina. They've been to the NCAAs eight times in the past 10 seasons,
On Wednesday, Illinois will face Stony Brook (22-9) in an arena on Long Island that seats about 1,700 people.
Neither Weber nor Cole or McCamey knew anything about the Seawolves. And none of them seemed sure the Illini will shake Sunday night's blues.
"We'll see," Cole said. "The guys were extremely disappointed in the locker room. It'll be tough to get out of the mind set of disappointment."
Illinois' last trip to the NIT was in 1996, Lou Henson's last season as head coach, and ended with a first-round loss to Alabama.
-- Davie Mercer
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