Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Let the madness begin. It’ll start with the NCAA tournament Selection Show, which will break with tradition tonight and announce all 68 teams upfront. No suspenseful bracket reveals. Too bad. If it ain’t broke …
We were reminded again last week of the beauty of college sports. As Wright State put the finishing touches on its win over Cleveland State in the Horizon League championship game, Raiders senior star Grant Benzinger was subbed out and headed to the bench to a standing ovation. The TV cameras caught his dad, Todd, getting emotional. Is there anything better than watching your kid succeed in sports, or any other competitive venture? Those weren’t participation trophies they handed out in Detroit.
It was fun watching the Raiders win a conference tourney, even if the play-by-play guy couldn’t figure out Cole Gentry’s name. I attended the 2007 Horizon League final at the Nutter Center when the Raiders took down mighty Butler. The place was packed. WSU went on to lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney. That’ll probably happen again, but it won’t ruin the Raiders’ great season.
Wright State is no fan of the First Four. The annual get-together this week at UD Arena includes four No. 16 seeds playing for two spots on the 64-team bracket. That means fewer 16 seeds to feed to the blue bloods as appetizers in the NCAA tourney. The domino effect could mean the Raiders are a 15 seed, even though they play like a 14 or 13.
