For Oakland University, Selection Sunday was a dream. The Golden Grizzlies heard their name called on the CBS Selection Show for the first time since 2011.
But for Michigan State, things were a lot more tense. As the bracket progressed to the fourth and final region, MSU’s name had not been called.
And after Saturday’s conference tournament mayhem that saw four “bid stealers,” shrinking the bubble significantly, that was a bit of a concern for fans of the green and white.
But alas, Tom Izzo’s team is indeed going dancing. The Spartans are the No. 9 seed in the West Region, facing No. 8 Mississippi State on Thursday in Charlotte. The winner will advance to likely take on No. 1 seed North Carolina, who faces the winner of the play-in game between Howard and Wagner.
Exhale, Spartan fans.
The Selection Sunday drama comes after a 19-14 regular season that ended with a 67-62 loss to Purdue, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, which will be hosted at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
MSU fans won't have to wait long to see the Spartans in action, as MSU is the first game of the day, tipping off the Thursday hoops marathon at 12:15 on CBS.
Oakland, meanwhile, drew No. 3 seed Kentucky, also to be played Thursday, out in Pittsburgh. The Golden Grizzlies march into March having won their first-ever Horizon League Tournament, guided by conference player of the year Trey Townsend.
Head coach Greg Kampe, in his 40th season at the helm at Oakland, and his team celebrated the announcement at the O'rena in Rochester.
Oakland will be on CBS in primetime Thursday, tipping off at 7:15 p.m. -- the perks of playing a blue blood like Kentucky.
The Golden Grizzlies might have the tools to pull off a shocker against UK. We all know a key to tournament success is 3-point shooting and OU is capable of heating up from distance -- especially Jack Gohlke and Blake Lampman.
Gohlke went a combined 12-for 26 in the Golden Grizzlies' Horizon League semifinal and final. He hit a season-high 10 three-pointers against IUPUI, one of six games with six or more from distance.
He's tied for second in the country with 3.6 3PM per game. Lampman ranks 15th with 3.2 per game.