Big Dance Invites SMA Six!
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 10:11AM When the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship bracket was revealed on Sunday night, six SMA schools received their "March"-ing orders.
All six SMA schools qualified for the NCAA Championship by winning the tournament championships in their respective conferences/leagues. Butler University (Horizon League), Saint Mary's College (West Coast), Siena College (MAAC), Lehigh University (Patriot League), East Tennessee State University (Atlantic Sun) and University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (SWAC) will begin tourney play this week.
The Butler Bulldogs (28-4) are the No. 5 seed in the West Region. Butler will open the tourney against No. 12 seed UTEP (26-6) at 4:45 p.m. EST Thursday in San Jose.
The Saint Mary's Gaels (26-5) are the No. 10 seed in the South Region. Saint Mary's will open the tourney against No. 7 seed Richmond (26-8) at 2:50 p.m. EST Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Siena Saints (27-6) are the No. 13 seed in the South Region. Siena will open against No. 4 seed Purdue (27-5) at 2:30 p.m. EST Friday in Spokane, Washington.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks (22-10) are the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region. Lehigh will open against No. 1 seed Kansas (32-2) at 9:30 p.m. EST Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers (20-14) are the No. 16 see in the East Region. ETSU will open against No. 1 seed Kentucky (32-2) at 7:15 p.m. EST Thursday in New Orleans.
The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions (16-15) are playing in the Opening Round "play-in" game in the South Region. Arkansas-Pine Bluff opens against Winthrop (19-13) at 7:30 p.m. EST Tuesday in Dayton. The winner will play No. 1 seed Duke (29-5) at 7:25 p.m. EST Thursday in Jacksonville, Florida.
Good luck in the Big Dance!
The SMA Team
