Championship week is in full swing and that means that over the course of the next 7 days we are all going to learn half of the NCAA tournament field that gets in the tournament with an autobid. The first of those automatic bids was handed out on Saturday night by way of the Ohio Valley conference. The winner of the Ohio Valley conference always gets the distinct honor of becoming the very first team officially in the NCAA tournament. This year that honor goes to the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars.
Southern Illinois Edwardsville is making its first-ever appearance in the Big Dance. The Cougars officially joined Division 1 in 2008 and like every program have been slowly building towards an appearance. Edwardsville finished with their first-ever winning record in the conference at 13-7 and currently has their third winning season ever with an overall record of 22-11 heading into the tournament. The Cougars are going to be a 16 seed and will likely be headed to Dayton for a first four game.
The Cougars may be making their first appearance in the Big Dance, but they are more than capable of winning a game and qualifying for the round of 64. How can the Cougars win their very first game in the NCAA tournament?
Nothing to Lose
The Cougars were never expected to make the tournament this year. Given their history, they were not expected to finish higher than the middle of the pack in the Ohio Valley, but they finished second and beat the top seed to get to the NCAA tournament. In other words, Southern Illinois Edwardsville is playing with house money; no one expected them to get here, outside of the team and their coaching staff, so they have nothing to lose. That is going to enable them to play free and just relax and go play their brand of basketball. There is a reason that the games between the two 16 seeds in the First Four are always some of the best games of the NCAA tournament.
Best Player on the Floor
Cougar fans know, and when you watch the Cougars play, it is no secret they have the best player on the floor almost every night. This is going to be something they are going to be able to use in the first four game and ride him to a victory. Ray’Sean Taylor has spent all four seasons at Edwardsville, and the Cougars will likely never see another player quite like him. Taylor is the all-time leading scorer for the Cougars and has averaged 16.4 points per game over his career. He is a career 36% shooter from deep, career 82% free throw shooter, and averaged 3.2 assists over his career. He is current Ohio Valley player of the year. Taylor is an excellent player and epitomizes what it means to play for coach Brian Barone. He is going to be the best player on the floor and the Cougars are going to go as far as Taylor takes them.
Favorable Matchup
Southern Illinois Edwardsville isn’t going to be a tough matchup for a top seed in the NCAA tournament because of the overall talent discrepancy, but they will present a tough matchup for their likely opponent in the first four games. There isn’t going to be anyone in those games who has a player who can do what the Cougars star Taylor can do. They rebound well and will protect the rim. This game will likely be a favorable matchup for Edwardsville and one that they can exploit using their different weapons. Head coach Brian Barone is fantastic and finding opponents weaknesses and he now finally has the team to win those games.
It is hard to say when the Cougars will make it back to the NCAA tournament again. The Ohio Valley is a one-bid league and has not had a repeat champion since Murray State and Belmont. The Cougars have earned this, and their fans are excited to go cheer the team on. Enjoy this one Cougars, it may be a once in a lifetime experience.