ETSU back in the Big Dance!
After a 5 year drought my Alma Mater East Tennessee State made it back to the NCAA tournament last night by beating Jacksonville University 85-68 in the Atlantic Sun Championship. Senior Kevin Tiggs earned tournament MVP while teammates Courtney Pigram and Mike Smith made the all tournament team.
The last 2 years have been frustrating for ETSU as they have been knocked out of the tournament by conference rival Belmont. They were looking for redemption and they surely got it. ETSU won their last 5 games by an average margin of over 20 points and led by as many as 30 points last night in the championship as they knocked out Jacksonville in convincing fashion.
Now the question is what kind of seed will East Tennessee State receive in the NCAA tournament. I believe they will probably get a 14 or 15th seed. If you remember last year, conference rival Belmont recieved a 15th seed and took Duke to the final seconds only to lose 71-70. This will be ETSU’s 8th trip to the big dance in the history of the school. In 2004 they recieved a 13th seed and played Cincinnati in the first round of play. ETSU led a good portion of the game but ended up losing my 3 points thanks to a last second 3 pointer by Cincinnati.
I am hoping ETSU gets to play in nearby Greensboro for the first round. If so I will be there as a proud Alum cheering them on!