Break out the brackets! Selection Sunday for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments delivered the usual suspense and drama for the schools reaching both fields of 68 as they learned their respective destinations, foes and seeds.
For Howard University at Burr Gymnasium, it was history: the Bison men and women advanced to the Big Dance in the same year for the first time in school history. Both teams head to the Buckeye State this week, as the women play No. 3 seed Ohio State in the first round Saturday, while the Bison men play UMBC on Tuesday night in Dayton in the First Four.
For a program that had missed the tournament 30 straight years, the Bison men have now advanced to the field of 68 three of the last four seasons.
“I’m so psyched and happy for our university. This brand ‘Howard’ means so much to so many people,” coach Kenneth Blakeney said. “And I hope we made each and every person that loves this university as much as we do proud.”
Howard had to wait for the third region to be announced to learn its postseason path.
What was it like for junior guard Cam Gillus to see his school’s name on the screen?
“It was really a surreal feeling. Kind of been dreaming for that moment for a very long time, and then finally seeing our name on the screen made it all come to life,” Gillus said. “Definitely excited to be playing in the tourney.”
Howard will face a UMBC team that has won 18 of 20 games played since Christmas and took its three America East Tournament games by an average of 17 points. But the Bison are playing at a high level as well, winning their final six regular-season games by an average of 24 points before dominating both their MEAC Tournament games.
When did coach Blakeney know this team was special?
“I knew that all along. But when you go through adversity, we missed Cedric Taylor III, who was the defensive player of the year and newcomer of the year in our conference for our first 11 games, you start to question that a little bit,” Blakeney said.
“And then he comes back and we’re trying to figure out our chemistry. But those guys, to their credit, really sacrificed personal stats and accolades for the good of the team,” Blakeney said.
The madness will come at the Bison fast. They depart for Dayton on Monday ahead of Tuesday night’s game with the Retrievers.
The winner gets Midwest No. 1 seed Michigan, and the rest of that bracket includes Saint Louis and Miami (Ohio), two schools that made their way into the Top 25 before getting bounced ahead of their respective conference tournament championship games.
At least the RedHawks get to play in nearby Dayton for the First Four, 43 miles from the Oxford, Ohio, campus.
Also in the Midwest: No. 3 seed Virginia faces No. 14 seed Wright State in Philadelphia on Friday.
Without further ado, let’s tip off our ‘bold’ (teams that win beyond their seed), ‘fold’ (teams that underperform) and ‘gold’ (Final Four pick) selections for the Midwest bracket. We’ll address a region each day this week.
Bold
A lot of attention was focused on Miami (Ohio)’s unbeaten season, and whether it deserved to make the tournament and where it would be seeded, that you almost forgot there were other teams in their Mid-American Conference.
One of those teams is Akron, which is 19-1 since Jan. 3. Seniors often make the difference in March, and the Zips have a senior sharpshooter in Tavari Johnson, averaging 20 points per game.
Fold
Alabama is talented. At its best, coach Nate Oats’ team can beat ranked opponents Illinois and Arkansas, while at their worst the Crimson Tide can tumble to sub-.500 teams such as Ole Miss.
In a turnover setting, and while they rank third nationally in scoring, they are last in SEC defense (allowing 83.5 points per game), which will likely come back to haunt them.
If not against Hofstra in the first round, then perhaps in the Round of 32.
Gold
Michigan doesn’t wear gold, it’s called “maize.” Although the football team sometimes goes out of its way to irritate me by wearing blue pants with blue jerseys — but that’s not important right now.
The most talented team in the Big Ten may have its tournament championship game, but the Wolverines are the class of the region and should find their way to Indianapolis.
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