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East Tennessee State University, my alma mater, is in the NCAA tournament for the ninth time. We are, unfortunately, a 16 seed, and it's a certainty that we'll extend the #16 seed 0-100 streak when we play Kentucky.
There have been a few close calls from #16 seeds, and the funny thing is, ETSU has been in on 2 of them. The first one was in 1989, when we led #1 Oklahoma by double digits in the second half. Our point guard, Keith "Mister" Jennings, ate Mookie Blaylock's lunch all game long, and it was a real shame that Jennings fouled out; Oklahoma didn't take the lead until he did. We had a last desperation shot miss in a 72-71 loss. 20 years later, with less than three minutes to play, ETSU trailed #1 seed Pitt by just three points. We've also had some other almost-upsets. As a #15 seed in 2003, we lost to #2 seed and ACC champ Wake Forest 76-73. As a #13 seed, we lost to #4 seed Cincinnati 80-77. And in case you think they've all been losses... as a #14 seed, we took down #3 seed Arizona 87-80 in 1992.
It'd be nice to think that we could be the first #16 seed to beat a #1 seed, but we'll be lucky to stay within 40.
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