March 16, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - After winning their first Patriot League Men's Basketball Championship, the American Eagles found out their NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday when they received the No. 15 seed in the East Region and a first-round date with No. 2 seed Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama. The game will tip off at 12:15 p.m.
The Eagles earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship by claiming the League's automatic bid with a 52-46 victory at home against Colgate in the Patriot League Championship on Friday. They previously defeated Holy Cross and Army in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, of the 2008 Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament. The Eagles also won the Patriot League regular-season crown, and were the 14th No. 1 seed in 18 seasons to win the League Championship. They are one of four teams in the field making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
American has a 21-11 record for the year, and finished 10-4 during the Patriot League regular season. They have won four games in a row and 10 of their last 11 heading into the NCAA Tournament. They are led by junior guard Garrison Carr, who received Patriot League Tournament Most Valuable Player honors and tallied 17 points in Friday's victory over Colgate. Carr has a Patriot League record 129 three-pointers this season, and is in the top five nationally in three-pointers per game. He also received First-Team All-Patriot League recognition.
American Head Coach Jeff Jones previously took Virginia to five NCAA appearances during his head coaching tenure from 1990-98, and is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. He has a 6-5 record in NCAA tourney games. He leads an American team that ranks in the NCAA top 50 in scoring defense, free throw percentage and three-point field goal percentage, where they are in the top 10 in the nation.
American will try to become the third Patriot League representative in the last four seasons to win a first-round NCAA Tournament game. Bucknell posted victories in 2005 and 2006, with a 59-55 victory over Arkansas in 2006. That win put the Patriot League at 1-2 in NCAA Tournament matchups against opponents from the SEC, with Holy Cross losing contests to Arkansas in 1993 and Kentucky in 2001. Patriot League teams hold a 2-16 overall mark in NCAA Tournament competition, but have not dropped a first-round game by more than 11 points since 2000.
Tennessee enters the contest with an overall record of 29-4. The Vols won the SEC regular-season title with a conference mark of 14-2. They advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. Tennessee has an 11-16 mark in its NCAA tourney history.
The winner of the American/Tennessee matchup will play the winner of the contest between No. 10 seed South Alabama and No. 7 Butler in the second round on Sunday. North Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the East Region, and received the No. 1 overall seed in the entire 65-team field that was announced on the Selection Sunday show on CBS. The entire Division I Men's Basketball Championship will be shown on CBS.
