March Madness comes to the Queen City
The Story
March Madness is here! To me, this is the most fun I have all year in the realm of sports. There is something about college athletics that all ages can enjoy. Whether it be your alma mater or you married into a family of fanatics, Charlotte is bringing the excitement to you this year and it’s going to be awesome baby (Dick Vitale voice).
The Facts
- Teams arrive Thursday for 40-min practice sessions that are free and open to the public (YES!).
- First four teams will practice between 12pm and 2:55pm.
- Second four teams will practice between 4:25pm and 7:20pm.
- The second and third round games will take place at the Time Warner arena Friday and Sunday, respectively.
- Friday games
- 12:40pm – Michigan State v. Georgia; Virginia v. Belmont
- 7:10pm – Duke v. the winner of North Florida and Robert Morris (that first round game will take place on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio); San Diego State v. St. John’s
- Sunday’s games start at 12:00pm and match-ups are TBD.
- Duke has had NCAA tournament success in Charlotte before (the Blue Devils played in the Final Four at the old Charlotte Coliseum in 1994, but lost to Arkansas in the National Championship game).
- John’s Chris Obekpa, (top shot blocker) will not be playing. He was suspended by coach Steve Lavin for two weeks on Sunday due to breaking team rules. Obekpa will return March 29th.
- San Diego’s coach Steve Fisher is ready for his tournament luck to turn around. In 1989, his Michigan team played in the National Championship. He was also responsible for the Wolverines’ “FabFive” in the early 90s, playing in the NCAA championship twice; losing both games to Duke in 1992 and UNC in 1993.
- Michigan State’s coach, Lourawls Nairn Jr has a super cool nickname – Tum Tum – after the youngest brother character in the “3 Ninja” movies.
- Watch out for the Bruins! Don’t forget that they beat North Carolina 73-70 at the Smith Center in 2013.
- Belmont’s coach Rick Byrd has a career record of 711-366, with 619 of those wins with the Bruins. He is one of 11 coaches to have at least 600 wins at one school!
- Is anyone throwing Virginia’s Anthony Gill a homecoming party? His family now lives in High Point but he played high school basketball at Charlotte Christian.
- On that note, can it be a joint homecoming party with Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett? He played for the Charlotte Hornets from 1992-1995. He also met his wife Laurel in Charlotte (awww).
- Georgia’s coach Mark Fox is loving March already. He signed a two-year contract extension, through the 2018 season, making him about $1.7 million per year.
Quote
On the free and open practices this Wednesday: “These practices are open to everyone, but mainly to fans who don’t have tickets,” – Tom Whitestone, Associate Athletic Director at UNC Charlotte, the host school.
C5’s Take
It’s so cool that Charlotte gets to be apart of the road to the championship. What makes it even cooler is that there are a lot of teams playing here that have huge fan bases in the Queen City! The only thing more exciting than filling out your bracket (to win a million dollars) is being able to watch the dance play out – live. If you are spending the big bucks on tickets, don’t wait any longer! These games are selling out fast!
Photo: David T. Foster / Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published March 17, 2015 at 12:49 AM with the headline "March Madness comes to the Queen City."