Alabama State earned the NCAA Tournament automatic bid with a SWAC Tournament championship win over Jackson State on Saturday in Atlanta
The Hornets (19-15) will play in the First Four round in Dayton on Tuesday against Northeast Conference champion St. Francis. Tip-off has been announced for 5:40 p.m. CDT. The game will be broadcast on TruTV.
If the Hornets win against St. Francis, they will face No. 1 overall seed Auburn in Lexington on Thursday at approximately 1:50 p.m. on CBS.
The Tigers won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship and have spent much of the year as the top-rated team in the major polls, entering the field with a 28-5 record.
“We are ready, whoever we had to play first, but we knew we would be ready (Saturday),” said guard C.J. Hines. “This has been crazy. My phone has been blowing up. But it’s a quick turn (around).”
The Hornets saved their best for last this season, winning their last six games including three in the SWAC Tournament. They won seven of their last eight games in the regular season, including a road win at top-seed and regular-season champ Southern on March 6.
“We got hot at the right time and we started playing our best basketball in February. We got into March and tournament time, and it was one game at a time. When we got that first one, we thought we had a good chance,” coach Tony Madlock said.
Alabama State’s last appearance in the NCAA Tournament came in 2011. The Hornets were in the NCAA play-in game that year, losing to Texas-San Antonio.
This will be the fifth trip to the tournament dating back to 2001, the program’s first-ever appearance. That year, the Hornets faced defending national champion Michigan State in the first round of the South Regional in Memphis. The Hornets briefly led the game before falling 69-35.
ASU made the NCAAs again in 2004 but was eliminated by Duke in the first round.
In 2009, the Hornets were SWAC champions and played Morehead State in the First Four round, losing 58-43.
On Monday, ASU will travel to Dayton, a 600-mile drive directly up I-65.
“We have the best fans in the world, and they will be with us when we play in the tournament. They made the trip from Montgomery (to Atlanta) and we expect it (later this) week,” Madlock said.
Courtesy: Alabama State Athletics
