Illinois-Chicago players and coaches were sitting helplessly Sunday as the peculiar form of torture known as the NCAA tournament selection show began playing itself out.
They were at Moretti’s Ultimate Sports Bar near campus, staring at a bank of TV screens as media members watched them watch.
One problem: The television tuned to CBS went out briefly for the team just as the show began. No problem: UIC fans watching screens all over the bar went wild when the Flames received the ninth seed in the East Regional against eighth-seeded North Carolina-Charlotte in Hartford, Conn.
It was a no-look pass into the NCAA tournament for the Flames.
“I heard the roar, I assumed it was good and I went along with it,” guard Anthony Coomes said.
It was good. The 22-5 Flames got the first NCAA tournament bid in school history, overcoming a disappointing loss to unheralded Wright State in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament. If that loss was an upset, it was nothing compared with what happened Sunday. Three MCC teams–UIC, Detroit and conference tournament winner Butler–all received bids. No more than two MCC teams had ever made it in one season before.
The Flames didn’t have to wait long to hear their fate. After CBS announced the top seeds, it went straight to the East Regional pairings. After putting the North Carolina-Navy matchup on the screen, it put up UIC.
Pandemonium. Players jumped up and down on their chairs. They hugged as a group. And despite being packed together, the fans in the bar seemed beside themselves.
“We’re dancing, baby,” guard Jason Ayers said from under his “Big Dance NCAA” hat. “We’re dancing now. Here we come, UNC. See ya, North Carolina. We’re giant-killers now.”
UIC will play UNC-Charlotte on Thursday, with the winner likely playing North Carolina, which beat Duke in the ACC tournament final Sunday.
“We just go one game at a time, but if we go against Carolina, we don’t back down,” forward Bryant Lowe said. “I think that would be a great challenge.”
Despite the loss to Wright State on Feb. 28, UIC had a lot going for it. It had played a competitive non-conference schedule and, more important, had beaten some good teams. The Flames knocked off eventual Big Ten co-champ Michigan State on Nov. 21, then lost three days later by one at Illinois, which ended up being the other Big Ten co-champ.
The Flames’ Ratings Percentage Index stayed in the 20s most of the season and only dropped to 30 with the loss in the MCC tournament.
“It showed that our non-conference schedule was extremely tough,” said coach Jimmy Collins, who woke up at 3 a.m. Sunday and couldn’t get back to sleep. “We’ve been consistent in the RPIs. We played some tough teams. I’m surprised, but I’m happy.”
Still, to say that the Flames were a sure bet to get into the tournament, let alone be a ninth seed, would have been a 40-inch vertical leap of faith. And UIC wasn’t willing to leave anything to chance. In the last few weeks, Athletic Director Jim Schmidt lobbied hard for a bid.
“We talked to the Sun Belt commissioner, who’s on the committee,” he said. We talked to the MEAC commissioner. We sent tapes because a lot of these people don’t see us on a regular basis. We sent them e-mails.
“Everybody I knew who knew a person on the committee, I talked to them and tried to get a word in. There wasn’t a lot we could do because they knew about us because of the RPI. I think the biggest thing was getting them to see us play. We’re not up on the satellite as much as a lot of people are.”
After the loss to Wright State, Schmidt made more calls and received a reassuring response: The Flames wouldn’t be judged on one loss. After that, Schmidt believed UIC was in, even as pessimism seemed to rule in the city.
Schmidt’s outlook had come a long way from the beginning of the season, when he and Collins believed the National Invitation Tournament was a legitimate goal for the Flames.
Look at them now. UIC and the other two MCC teams will get a portion of the $250,000 the conference gets for its tournament bids. But that was sort of beside the point Sunday.
In its 51st season of playing basketball and 17th as a Division I program, UIC finally is in the NCAA tournament.
“It feels good to make history,” guard Mark Miller said.