March Madness hits CMU, Mount Pleasant
Lynn WloszekEveryone’s smiles seemed to be bigger, their swagger seemed to have more bounce to it, and school spirit skyrocket.
Students and fans of Central Michigan are ecstatic about the basketball team’s success this season, and with the team going to the big dance, school seems to be the farthest thing from the students’ minds.
“My grades are going to go way down this month,” said Bay City freshman Dave McPeak.
The selection committee kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final pairings were announced, matching CMU with fellow mid-major team Creighton.
However, some students feel as if the Chippewas got pushed around by the committee when the site was announced as Salt Lake City.
“I feel like we got screwed because we are a smaller school who doesn’t have the big name yet. I just wish it was in Indy because I would for sure go then,” said Blissfield senior Vicki Sell.
Other students are just happy to be getting any recognition whatsoever.
“I’m not that big of a basketball fan, but this has obviously gotten my attention,” said St. Ignance junior Sarah Heckman. “It’s definitely cool that CMU is doing so well.”
On the other hand, some students still are a little bitter about the lack of respect CMU received two years ago, when the squad went 20-8 and didn’t get a bid to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
“It’s about time people give us some recognition,” said Dowagiac junior Chris Blair. “Two years ago we should have at least made the NIT, but we got snubbed. Now people are going to get a chance and see what they’ve been missing.”
Blair was excited to see ESPN.com analyst Andy Katz give CMU some time. Katz cited the CMU-Creighton game as the best first round game in the loaded west bracket.
The site of the game didn’t seem to discourage too many fans, as all the tickets provided by the school have sold out. It took less than a day.
