DAYTON, Ohio — Austin Witter shrugged when the North Carolina A&T forward was told last night that a No. 16 seed has never knocked out a No. 1 seed.
Witter had just helped his Aggies cling to a nail-biting 73-72 victory over Liberty in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament at University of Dayton Arena. The First Four win means NC A&T will face Rick Pitino and top-seeded Louisville in a Midwest Region game tomorrow in Lexington.
And Witter, who scored eight points, did not take the fact a 16th seed never has beaten a No. 1 seed as a death sentence.
“That’s just a statistic,” he said. “We’re still going to go out there and play hard, play our game and no matter what, we’re going to try to get the win.”
The Aggies nearly blew their opportunity in the closing minutes. Trailing 73-67 with 1:33 left, Liberty stormed back, cutting the margin to 73-72 with 11 seconds left. After North Carolina A&T’s Lamont Middleton clanged a one-and-one, Flames guard John Caleb Sanders missed the potential game-winner with one second left — a driving layup that was contested by Witter, the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year.
On replay, it appeared as if there was contact on the play but unclear if a foul was merited.
Sanders (21 points) lay face down on the court after, and his eyes were red in postgame.
The junior declined to blame the referees when asked if he was fouled.
“I don’t know,” he said. “They didn’t call it, so it wasn’t a foul.”
Said Witter, “I believe I got a little piece of it, but I’m not really sure. I think I did just enough to get it off.”
Before last night, North Carolina A&T had an 0-9 record in its NCAA Tournament history.
Now, the Aggies try to make more history against the Cardinals.
“We told the players don’t worry about Louisville tonight,” coach Cy Alexander said. “Just relax and enjoy some basketball on TV.
“We’ll let them worry about Louisville when we get to Lexington tomorrow.”
Saint Mary’s 67, Middle Tenn. St. 54
In the First Four nightcap, St. Mary’s took the battle of 11-seeds, beating Middle Tennessee.
Senior Matthew Dellavedova, one of five Bob Cousy Award finalists (best point guard in college hoops), poured in a game-high 22 points, along with six rebounds and four assists.
The Gaels, who lost to Purdue by three points in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament, will face No. 6 Memphis tomorrow in the second round of the Midwest Region.