DAYTON, Ohio — A pair of No. 16 seeds will square off Tuesday night for the right to take on the top overall seed of the NCAA Tournament when Saint Francis (Pa.) battles Alabama State in the opener of the First Four.
The winner will play No. 1 Auburn on Thursday in a first-round South Region game in Lexington, Ky.
Saint Francis (16-17) is headed to the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history and the first time in 34 years. The Red Flash won their final six games, including three games by three points apiece in the Northeast Conference tournament.
Alabama State (19-15) is participating in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth time, and the first time since 2011. The Hornets have been a 16-seed in their four previous visits to the NCAA Tournament, all losses.
Saint Francis upset top-seeded Central Connecticut 46-43 in the NEC tournament championship game, on their opponents’ home floor at New Britain, Conn., to earn the automatic bid, despite a losing record overall.
In its only other NCAA Tournament appearance, Saint Francis fell to No. 2 Arizona 93-80 on March 14, 1991. That year, the Red Flash defeated Fordham in a play-in game, but that does not count as an official NCAA Tournament win.
Red Flash head coach Rob Krimmel has been with the program since 1996, first as a player and then as a coach.
“I’m excited for our guys,” Krimmel said. “You see the reaction when you watch that Selection Sunday. Those are the things that they’ll be able to remember for the rest of their lives.”
Riley Parker leads the Red Flash with 13.4 points per game and 3.4 assists. Valentino Pinedo averages 6.5 rebounds with 0.7 blocks on the season and is second in scoring at 10.0 points, tied with Juan Cranford Jr.
Alabama State advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament with a 60-56 win over Jackson State on Saturday.
“These guys have been doing what we expected them to do all season,” Hornets coach Tony Madlock said.
CJ Hines leads Alabama State with 14.4 points while TJ Madlock, the coach’s son, leads the team with 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists, and is third in scoring at 12.6 points. Amarr Knox is second in scoring at 14.3 points and leads the team in steals (1.7). Jasteven Walker is the team-leader in blocks at 0.8 per game.
The Hornets won their final six games, including three in the SWAC tournament. They won seven of their last eight games in the regular season, including one at top seed and regular-season champ Southern on March 6.
“We got hot at the right time, and we started playing our best basketball in February,” Tony Madlock said. “We got into March and tournament time, and it was one game at a time. When we got that first one, we thought we had a good chance.”
–By Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
