March Madness 2009 First Timers

Each year, a number of teams make it into the Big Dance for the first time every for their university. Below, is a look at the the teams who have made March Madness 2009 the banner year for the basketball program at their school.

Stephen F. Austin - Stephen F. Austin took the Southland Conference title to snag their first entry into the NCAA Tournament. They managed to sneak in as a 14 seed and will face off against #3 Syracuse. While Syracuse should win, they did prove to be a vulnerable team mid-season. However, 'Cuse's momentum from a strong showing in the Big East tournament should be enought to make it an in and out appearance for Stephen F. Austin University.

Binghamton Univeristy - Binghamton University skated through the America East Conference tournament to grab their first March Madness berth. Binghamton U.'s head coach Kevin Broadus has proven to be the turnaround that BU needed, taking the team from a sappy .500 performance last year, and resurrecting them to be a conference super-power. Binghamton should prove to be a strong team in the coming years due to only 2 seniors graduating, however their NCAA tournament appearance looks to be a bit less promising. The #15 seeded Bearcats face a #2 seed Duke team coming off an ACC tournament win, and hungry for another NCAA tournament championship coming off of a few years of drought.

North Dakota State University - NDSU has managed grab their first tournament appearance in their first year of postseason eligibility, and is the first team from North Dakota to make it into March Madness. Talk about a team of firsts. However, getting their first NCAA tournament win looks a bit less promising. NDSU took a #14 spot and will play the #3 seeded defending champion Kansas Jayhawks. NDSU will most likely round out their week of firsts with their first March Madness loss. Such is life.

Morgan State - Morgan State University is the fastest growing college in Maryland, and a March Madness debut should help gain the university even more exposure. Morgan State took the MEAC title and earned a berth into March Madness 2009. Unfortunately, like the rest of the first timers, Morgan State has quite a hurdle to overcome before they can make it on to the next round. Morgan managed a #15 seed and is paired with #2 seeded Oklahoma.

With any amount of luck, and perhaps a bit of March Madness Magic one of the first timers may be able to squeeze into the second round. I doubt it will happen, but I would love to be wrong.