Whoever wins the Summit League tournament will try to do something no other school has done from that conference and that's win a tourney game as a member of the Summit. And no, the play-in doesn't count. Oral Bob actually made an elite 8 in 1974. That was when Oral Bob had a real strong conduit to God.
The Sun Belt has had some NCAA success. Western Kentucky is one of the better historical programs in terms of tourney berths. They've been to the dance 21 times and made the Final 4 back in 1971. They've had a recent history as a Cinderella as well beating Illinois as a 12 seed in 2009 and making the Sweet 16 in 2008 as a 12 seed. Louisiana-Lafyette, then known as SW Louisiana upset the 4 seed Oklahoma in the 1992 tournament.
Brian mentioned Weber State in the Big Sky preview and they're the one program from that conference that has found some W's in the Dance. Damian Lillard is a great player who could produce some great moments like Harold "The Show" Arceneaux did in 1999 when the 14 seeded Wildcats beat the mean Tar Heels. They also knocked off a member of the Axis of Evil, Michigan State in 1995 as a 14 seed led by the unflinching Ruben Nembhard. That was Jud Heathcote's last game. They lost at the buzzer in the 2nd round to Georgetown.
FACT: 1995 produced two 14 over 3 seed's and UWGB lost by a point to Purdue as a 14 seed. The only 14 seed blowout ironically enough was Maryland beating Gonzaga by 24. I also like to point out my bracket prowess by noting I picked Villanova and Michigan State to make the Final Four that year. Hey, at least I got the hard one right by picking UCLA.
No comments:
Post a Comment