NCAA 2010 Bracket
Bear Shots
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Morgan State (27-9), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champs, was made the 15th seed in the East Region and will play No. 2 West Virginia (27-6) on Friday, March 19 in Buffalo, N.Y. Tip time will be at 12:15 p.m. EST, followed by the No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Missouri contest which will begin at 2:35 p.m., EST.
The No. 15 seeded Bears, making their second consecutive NCAA appearance, will tip off against the No. 2 seeded West Virginia Friday at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. The entire 65-team field was announced on CBS, which will televise Morgan State's game live on Friday.
This will be the second meeting between the two school's with the Mountaineers holding a 1-0 series lead, following a 108-80 victory on Dec. 22, 1995 in Morgantown, W.Va.
"We are dancing," said 4th year MSU coach Todd Bozeman. "Once you drink from that cup, you want more," said Bozeman, who will make his fifth NCAA appearance in eight years as a Division I coach (he was 3-for-4 at Cal previously).
The winner of the MSU-WVU game will face the winner of the game between seventh-seeded Clemson and 10th-seeded Missouri on Saturday.
The team watched Sunday night's bracket unveiling at a theatre inside the Morgan State New Student Center with an estimated under 200 of MSU faithful, including the Pep band and cheerleaders, who were also celebrating Morgan State's second consecutive MEAC Championship with a win over South Carolina State.
Morgan State is currently on a 7-game winning streak and has won 19 of their last 21 games as they prepare to make their second NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.
The Bears are led by three players. Senior guard Reggie Holmes (21.9 ppg.), an All-MEAC first team selection and ranks among the nation's scoring leaders. Sophomore forward Kevin Thompson, who averages 12.9 points and 12 rebounds (ranked No. 4), was the MEAC's Defensive Player of the Year and was selected Most Outstanding Player of the MEAC Tournament. Freshman swingman DeWayne Jackson was the MEAC's Rookie of the Year and led the conference in 3-point shooting percentage and averaged 10.1 points and 4.3 rebounds and played a huge role in helping the Bears capture back-to-back-back regular season titles and its second consecutive conference championship.
The Mountaineers feature senior forward Da'Sean Butler (17.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg.), an All-Big East First Team selection. West Virginia also has sophomore forward Kevin Jones (13.5 ppg., 7.1 rpg.), a third-team All-Big East selection. The Mountaineers are ranked fifth in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll as of March 14th and sixth in the AP Poll as of March 8th.
Bob Huggins enters his 3rd year as head coach of the Mountaineers and has led his alma mater ('77) to a 27-6 overall record and finished 13-5 in the Big East. Da'Sean Butler's running jumper with four seconds left lifted 6th-ranked West Virginia to a 60-58 victory over Georgetown to help the Mountaineers capture the Big East title. Huggins has compiled a 666-241 record in his 28 seasons as a head coach. His teams have participated in postseason play in 25 of his 28 seasons, including 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. Huggins has guided his Mountaineers to 76 victories and back-to-back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in his first three seasons.
NOTES
MSU's Todd Bozeman will be making his fifth NCAA berth in eight years as a head coach…Senior Reggie Holmes has already broke single season records for most three-pointers, most three pointers in a career, and ranks as the all-time leading scorer in school history (2,049 pts)…Morgan State has won 27 games this season; marking its highest win total at the DI level,and its most wins since finishing 28-5 during the 1973-74 season in which the Bears won the NCA Division II National Championship... The Bears are ranked No. 18 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll as of March 8.
