Nt Daily Selection Sunday Article

MeanGreen61 · March 13, 2007

Fans show up for Selection Sunday

Adam Rosenfield

Issue date: 3/13/07 Section: SPORTS

A packed crowd of students, alumni, fans, administrators and future students in the athletics center listened as the NT men's basketball team's seeding in the NCAA Tournament was announced on ESPN.

The Mean Green enters the tournament for the first time since 1988 as the No. 15 seed and plays the University of Memphis Tigers, the Conference USA champion and the No. 2 seed in the South Region, 11:30 a.m. Friday in New Orleans on CBS.

"It was always a dream of mine to take over a program," said head coach Johnny Jones. "You want to find a group of young men who will believe in your system, and this team has done it to its fullest potential. Mean Green basketball is alive and well."

Jones said he was concerned about where to have the Selection Sunday party for attendance reasons, but didn't expect a turnout of more than 300 people.

"I wasn't going to have it at my house," Jones said.

New Orleans is a familiar place for Mean Green fans because the football team made it to four-straight New Orleans Bowls from 2001-2004. The football team also played Memphis in the 2003 New Orleans Bowl, losing 27-17.

Fans held their breath as each of the 16 seeds were announced.

"I was definitely feeling the mood of the crowd," said Josh Ness, Highland Village junior and Student Government Association presidential candidate. "I'm happy we don't have to play any of the No. 1 seeds, and I think we stand a really good chance at beating Memphis."

The overall No. 1 seed is the University of Florida in the Midwest Region, followed by the University of North Carolina in the East Region, Ohio State University in the South Region (NT's region) and the University of Kansas in the West Region.

Five Texas teams qualified for the tournament, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University at College station and Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi.

The Selection Sunday party began at 4 p.m., as Athletics Director Rick Villarreal went through some administrative items and fans watched the conclusion of the Texas-Kansas Big 12 Championship game. The basketball team was then introduced to a rousing ovation.

"It's lovely to get some support from fans," said junior forward Keith Wooden. "Out of all the spots we could play at, this is the best spot, as it gives our friends and family a chance to come."

NT received an allotment of 550 tickets at $50 a ticket. Plans for student packages were also in the works.

"Every kid grows up wishing they could play on this level," said sophomore forward Harold Stewart. "We're happy we're here, but we're not done yet."

Plans were made to leave Thursday morning, with no return date set. If the Mean Green wins Friday, it will play its second-round game Sunday against the winner of the University of Nevada at Reno-Creighton University game.

"This is a great way to start off Spring Break," said NT President Gretchen Bataille. "This is an incredible group of young men, and the great chemistry led to an excellent year. We gotta go all the way."