From the Oakland Press (suburan Detroit newspaper - not Oakland U's student paper).
This was the lead story on front page of print edition...
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/031405/loc_20050314010.shtml
This story was in sports section...
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/031405/col_20050314024.shtml
Oakland pumped about play-in tilt
Web-posted Mar 14, 2005
By PAULA PASCHE
Of The Daily Oakland Press
ROCHESTER HILLS - No one knew for sure except the bracket masters, but the folks at Oakland University had a good feeling they would be in the NCAA play-in game matching the 64th and 65th teams.
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That is exactly what happened when the NCAA tournament brackets were announced Sunday.
The Oakland men's basketball team will make its first NCAA tournament appearance on Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio, against Alabama A&M, Sunday's winner of the SWAC tournament.
The winner will play No. 1 seed North Carolina on Friday night in Charlotte, N.C.
Tuesday's nationally televised game will be the only college basketball on TV that night. The Grizzlies crave the attention and also the proximity to home.
"I'm hoping it's a big advantage," Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. "That's one of the reasons we wanted that game. Our students, we're building a reputation here, we're trying to do something special. Now, it gives them a chance to go. If we had been in Albuquerque or something, it wouldn't have been the same. I know we're going to have student buses.
"It's the best scenario that we could get.''
Plenty of tickets for Tuesday night are still available for $10. Call the University of Dayton ticket office at (937) 229-4433.
While a No. 16 seed never has beaten a No. 1 seed, the Grizzlies are not shy about wanting that matchup.
"I knew it was going to come down to Duke or North Carolina. So that's like jumping in a fire, you don't know which one is going to burn you faster,'' Kampe said. "I like North Carolina or Duke because those are the most storied programs and are going to draw the most attention.
"They also could be the most dangerous. If we get there, we're going to have to play."
But first Oakland has to get by Alabama A&M, which Kampe said will not be easy.
In fact, he could not bear watching A&M's championship game when it beat Alabama State on Sunday.
"When they got up 15 or 16 early in the second half, that's when I saw enough. This was too good of a day to start being nervous,'' Kampe said. "My staff stayed in there, I walked out. That was their job to stay in there and they could throw up. I wasn't going to throw up.''
Senior forward Cortney Scott sat through the whole game.
"We have to go in with a mind-set to slow them down a little bit. They get up and down the floor real well,'' Scott said.
The Grizzlies offer no apologies for being in the tournament with a 12-18 record. They played by the rules and are thrilled to be in this new situation.
In the past, senior Rawle Marshall had one thought about No. 16 seeds going up against No. 1s.
"I wonder how much they're going to get beat by. Now, I know what those other teams were feeling,'' Marshall said. "They probably went into the game knowing if they played good, they'd have a chance to win. And that's what we're going to do.''
Like Scott said, "Anything can happen in March.''
OU's opponent: Alabama A&M
n Location: Huntsville, Ala.
n Coach: L. Vann Pettaway
n Record: 18-13
n NCAA record: 0-0
n Entry to tournament: Southwest Athletic Conference tournament champion.
n Best regular-season win: 96-93 at Alabama State on Feb. 12.
n Key players: G Obie Trotter (14.8 pts., 3.9 steals) G/F Joe Martin (13.3 pts., 7.7 reb.), F Andrew Matthews (6.2 pts., 5.5 reb.).
n Did you know?: Trotter's 3.9 steals per game lead the nation.
