3 Local Teams Still Dancing In March
BOSTON (CBS) - Three teams from the area are continuing their seasons in pursuit of an NCAA Tournament title in this year's big dance.
Northeastern, Harvard, and Providence all received bids on Selection Sunday. And while each team calls the New England area home, their journey to the tourney and path to basketball immortality is much different.
Northeastern:
The NU Huskies earned a spot in the field of 68 by beating William & Mary 72-61 in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Championship. This is their first tournament bid since 1991.
NU features a trio of double-digit scorers to lead their balanced attack, as senior forward Scott Eatherton leads the team with 14.6 points per game while junior guard David Walker averages 13.4 points per game to go along with 3.5 assists per game. Northeastern finished the regular season and conference tournament with a 23-11 record to give them a #14 seed and first round game versus #3 Notre Dame in the Midwest Region.
The road to the Final Four in Indianapolis will be an improbable feat for the Huskies, as the #3 seeded Irish are coming off a convincing beat down of North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Championship. If they pull a Cinderella run this March, they will have to go through #1 overall seeded Kentucky to make it to the Final Four. Northeastern plays their first round game Thursday, March 19th at 12:15 pm on CBS.
Providence:
The Providence College Friars narrowly lost to Villanova in the Big East Conference semifinal, 63-61, but still earned a #6 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament. The Friars enter the tournament with an impressive 22-11 record, including wins against Notre Dame and Georgetown en route to a first round matchup against either Boise State or Dayton, who compete in one of the four play-in games on Wednesday, March 18.
Providence is led by senior forward LaDontae Henton, who averaged 19.7 points and 6.4 rebounds a game this season. Should the Friars win their first round game, they would face either #3 Oklahoma or #14 Albany in the second round. PC takes the court in the first round Friday, March 20th at 9:57 pm on truTV.
Harvard:
The Ivy League Champion Harvard Crimson are heading to Jacksonville, Florida for their fourth straight NCAA Tournament to face #4 seeded North Carolina as the #13 seed in the West Region. The Crimson enter the Big Dance with a 22-7 record, including an impressive 11-3 record in the Ivy League.
Harvard is led by senior swingman Wesley Saunders, who can stretch defenses with his deep ball and get into the lane with silky smooth driving ability. Saunders, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, averaged 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in his senior campaign. Harvard is going to need contributions from the whole team if they want to take down a battle-tested North Carolina team coming off wins against Louisville and Virginia before falling to Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game. Harvard tips off against UNC Thursday, March 19th at 7:20 pm on TNT.
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Does Northeastern, Providence or Harvard have a shot to advance? On Monday afternoon, 98.5 The Sports Hub's Marc Bertrand and Mike Flynn discussed the local teams in the big dance.
Listen below:
