March Madness 2013: North Carolina A&T Aggies are in the NCAA Tournament
By Jason Lisk
Conference/Record: MEAC (19-16)
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Famous Alums/Attendees: Former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson learned how to read “Green Eggs and Ham” with enthusiasm while attending NC A&T. NFL Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea is a graduate. One of the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion, Ronald McNair also went to A&T.
Social Media: @ncatsuaggies is the official account for the athletic department.
Random Fun Fact: The school was originally named the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race when it was established by the North Carolina Assembly in 1891.
Tournament History/Most Recent: North Carolina A&T is 0-9 in previous NCAA appearances. They dominated the MEAC in the 1980’s, making the NCAA field seven straight years from 1982-1988. The last two appearances were in 1994 and 1995, the former coming in the only season that Jeff Caple was head coach.
Good Wins/Bad Losses: Not many good wins to speak of in terms of tournament teams. They beat 24-9 Eastern Kentucky. Lost to Cincinnati by 54 and Iowa State by 29. Went 8-8 in the MEAC before winning the tournament without having to face regular season powers Norfolk State and North Carolina Central. In Cy Alexander’s first season, just getting this far was a result few could have expected.
Notable Player(s): Lamont Middleton is one of the leaders in the nation at getting to the line, taking 220 foul shots on the year.
All-Important Rankings: 213 (RPI), 226 (Pomeroy), 198 (Seven Overtimes)
Outlook/Seed: North Carolina A&T has drawn a first round game against Liberty (who we previously profiled) as a 16 seed. It would appear to be a pretty close matchup. The Aggies are pretty decent on the defensive end, but really struggle at times to score, rating in the bottom 50 in the Division I in both turnover rate and shooting percentage. If they win tonight, it will be with their defense, and getting Liberty in foul trouble. If they win, then they can always tell their kids they played Louisville in the tournament.
Other Tournament Profiles:
James Madison
Florida Gulf Coast
Harvard
Liberty
Creighton
Belmont
Bucknell
Gonzaga
Saint Louis
Albany
Pacific