American U. made the NCAA tournament last week with a 15-point win over Holy Cross. That means they get to play Villanova in what amounts to a home game for the suburban Philadelphia-based school on Thursday.
Morehead State won its play-in game against Alabama State on Tuesday, guaranteeing my undergrad alma mater a chance to play the tournament's No. 1 seed, Louisville, on Friday.
Incidentally, one Alabama State player has what may be the most wonderful name of all time -- Grienntys Chief Kickingstallionsims ..... (wait for it) ... Jr.
But wait, it gets better. According to the St. Pete Times, his last name is pronounced:
KIK' -een-stal' -yun-sy-ems
SIX syllables for the price of five! How cool is that?
Back to the game. I'll grant you, things don't look promising for either flock of Eagles at the moment. Villanova's a powerhouse, playing 20 miles from their home campus (whose bright idea was THAT?) Louisville may well be the best team in the country this year. So the odds favor Eagle wings being clipped by Friday night.
But I can't help remembering another tournament matchup that didn't look promising either. It was expected to be a walkover, a coronation of the defending champions. To win, the underdogs would have to play a nearly perfect game.
And that's what they did, shooting 78.6 percent for the game, 90 percent in the second half. They won 66-64, in one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
That team was Villanova, in the 1985 championship game against Georgetown.
So at this point, anything is possible. Keep the faith, Eagles fans. Right now, we're still soaring.
GO EAGLES!
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