For the first time in the history of March Madness, a number 15 seed team has reached the Sweet Sixteen plateau of the NCAA National Basketball Tournament taking place all around the country. And they did it with style and grace, beating two very good teams… very handily. Not only that, the Eagles were fun to watch because the players were so obviously having fun themselves.
After two incredible underdog victories against Georgetown and then, only 2 days after, against San Diego State the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles are one of the top stories in sports today. When Cinderella finally arrives at the dance, she gets everyone’s attention.
By the end of the San Diego State game on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles where practically adopted sons there in Philadelphia where the fans are accustomed to cheering for another bunch of Eagles. The sellout crowd was certainly behind FGCU during both games.
The Georgetown Hoyas went into their game in Philadelphia against the little known fifteenth seed team from Fort Meyers, Florida called Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles as 13 point favorites. The Eagles didn’t act at all like underdogs out there in a sold out arena, away from home and facing the famous Georgetown Hoyas. Someone forgot to tell them that they weren’t supposed to win the game. FGCU went on a 21-2 run in the second half and pulled away from Georgetown to take the victory by ten points, 78-68.
“In the second half, we pushed the ball, we got out, we ran, we made shots, got some alley-oop dunks to energize the crowd. I’m very proud of our players,” said Coach Andy Enfield.
Two days later they did it to San Diego State as well. This time the Eagles were only 7.5 point underdogs but, once again, they didn’t seem to notice. At one point the Eagles went on a 17-0 run against the Aztecs and thoroughly dominated the second half of the game. Final score Eagles 81- Aztecs 71… another 10 point victory.
The great thing about this bunch of kids is that they are just as relaxed and fun loving off the court as on. They seem to be just as blown away by their success on the basketball court as everyone else is……they even admit it.
Now the Eagles will go to Arlington, Texas to take on none other than the Florida Gators in the Sweet Sixteen “Big Dance”.
