Blue Hens step into March Madness

March Madness will begin at 12:25 p.m. this Friday for the University of Delaware men's basketball team as the Blue Hens' fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament will take them to the Charlotte Coliseum to take on No. 18 Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA East Regionals. The game will be broadcast on WDEL radio 1150 AM and televised on CBS.

The Blue Hens (25-5), who won their 13th straight game Saturday with an 86-67 win over Drexel to claim the America East title, will take on Tennessee (20-8) out of the Southeastern Conference. Delaware's 13-game win streak is the fifth longest current streak in the NCAA.

Delaware, led by head coach Mike Brey, is the No. 13 seed, taking on the No. 4 seed Volunteers, coached by Jerry Green. In the other three first-round games at Charlotte, No. 1 seed and No. 1 ranked Duke will take on No. 16 seed Florida A&M, No. 8 seed College of Charleston meets No. 9 Tulsa, and No. 5 Wisconsin takes on No. 12 seed Southwest Missouri State. The winner of the Wisconsin-Southwest Missouri State game will meet the Delaware-Tennessee winner on Sunday.

"We are excited to be back in the NCAA Tournament," Brey said. "Certainly we'd like to make a better showing than a year ago. Tennessee is not huge, but they are a very athletic team and very quick. They have been a very good team in possibly one of the strongest leagues in the country. I've watched them play a few times and been impressed. Tony Harris is an outstanding point guard. He's quick and he's a great shooter. C.J. Black is a strong, physical player around the basket and Vincent Yarbrough is one of the top freshmen in the county. They can take away the passing lanes, but I think we can have some success offensively."

The Blue Hens also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1992, 1993 and last year when No. 15 seed Delaware fell to No. 2 seed Purdue 95-56 in Chicago.

The Hens are led by 6-5 junior forward Mike Pegues, the America East Player of the Year who averages 21.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and 5-10 junior guard John Gordon, the America East Tournament Most Valuable Player, who averages 15.9 points per game while hitting on 47 percent (85 of 181) from three-point range.

Tennessee, which lost to Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament Friday to snap a six-game winning streak, is making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, including last year's 82-81 overtime loss to Illinois State. Tennessee won the SEC Eastern Division title this season.

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