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March Madness taps the first four in Dayton

No. 16 Seeds American (22-12) and Mount St. Mary's (22-12) meet in Dayton on Wednesday evening, with the winner earning a date with the seed No. 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday.


The American striker Matt Rogers celebrates after making a three -point basket in Washington in the second half of a NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Patriot League tournament against Navy on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams) (AP/Terrance Williams)

Dayton, Ohio (AP) – North Carolina was a controversial selection for the NCAA tournament, but the Tar Heels can silence some skeptics with a victory against the state of San Diego on Tuesday evening.

The winner will compete in Milwaukee against No. 6 seeds Mississippi on Friday.

The Tar Heels (22-13) seemed to be a long shot to make the tournament with a 1-12 record in Quadrant 1 games, but were selected on Sunday thanks to a strong non-conference plan and other metrics.

“I haven't heard bracketology,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis on Monday. “I didn't listen after our name was selected on CBS.

The inclusion of UNC has heated up some conspiracy theories, with sports director Bubba Cunningham being chairman of the selection committee.

Rules state that Cunningham could not take part in the debate about his team, so that the deputy chairman, Keith Gill, Commissioner of Sun Belt Conference, led discussions about the Tar -Heels.

The blow against North Carolina was a lack of quad -1 victories. But the Tar Heels played the fifth schedule for non-conferences in the country, the games against NCAA tournaments No. 1, Auburn and Florida, the No. 2 Sama Alabama and the state of Michigan as well as a trip to Kansas, which brought a seed No. 7.

And the Tar Heels had higher rankings on the net (36th), Kenpom (33.) and BPI (25th) as West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and Boise State, the first four teams that were not left out of the field.

In addition, they ended the mountaineers in this group slightly in front of the climber in the victories over Bubble (WAB).

Regardless of this, San Diego State (21-9) will not make the Tar Heels easy.

The Aztecs conduct the nation in the percentage defense of the field goals (.378) and take the 13th place in defensive efficiency.

“I think our identity lies in our defense and efforts,” said striker Jared Coleman-Jones. “I think if we play really good defense and play with difficulty and play with brag, I think that everything else will deal with yourself.”

RJ Davis wears the load for the Tar Heels with an average of 17 points and 3.7 templates per game.

The seed No. 11 is the lowest for North Carolina, which appears its 54th NCAA tournament, the second effectively for Kentuckys 62.

Despite the questions about their curriculum vitae, the Tar Heels practiced on Sunday and prepared for playing.

“I think we all have the hatred, the disagreement and all of this,” said Wachmann Seth Trimble. “We just run with it.

Trademarked enemies

When No. 11 played in Dayton on Wednesday evening on Wednesday evening, the teams will be met the NCAA tournament for the fourth time since 1990.

The Longhorns (19-15) defeated the Musketeers 83-71 in 2023 Sweet 16. In 2004, Xavier Texas 79-71 defeated to reach the elite before losing against the first-class Duke 66-63.

Zach Freemantle returned from an injury and scored an average of 19.8 points during a winning streak with seven games to close the regular season, and helped the Musketers (21-11) to return to the tournament after packaging last year.

The first four are expanding the outstanding new season for the Longhorns Guard Tre Johnson, who led the SEC with 19.8 points per game.

The longhorns and musketers were firmly in the bladder that were selected on Sunday. The winner will compete against Illinois in Milwaukee on Friday evening.

“It is so difficult to make the tournament,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller. “There is so much invested.

Unbelievable dancers

Saint Francis (PA) returned to the Arena of the University of Dayton after being the 19th team that the NCAA tournament reached with a loss of record.

The red lightning (16-17) lost its 87-57 season to the Dayton Flyers on November 4, and only a few would have predicted that they would return to the same building in March.

“We are obviously very excited that we have already played here,” said Saint Francis Guard, Riley Parker. “The first game we played here did not develop in our way, so let's just try to return here and do it right.”

Saint Francis performed his second NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

The red flashes face each other on Tuesday evening in a matchup with No. 16 seeds against Alabama State (19-15). The last tournament appearance of the Hornets was in 2011. The winner will be against the overall seed Auburn on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.

Teams with the loss of records that enter the NCAA tournament went 0-18.

Deep threat

No. 16 Seeds American (22-12) and Mount St. Mary's (22-12) meet in Dayton on Wednesday evening, with the winner earning a date with the seed No. 1 in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday.

The player who pays attention to Americans is 6-foot 9-Matt Rogers, who heads the team with 59 3-converter. His 1.7 made 3S per game in the Patriot League 12th place.

Dola Adebayo leads Mount St. Mary with 13.2 points per game. The mountaineers scored an average of more than 70 points per game and shot 34% compared to 3-point range this season.

The two programs in Washington DC have a long history. This will be the 71st meeting between schools. American leads the 37-33 series, including four victories in a row on Wednesday.

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