The MVP Arena sounded like a UConn home game Friday afternoon when the Huskies defeated Iona. And it’s expected to be the same when the four-seed Huskies take the floor Sunday night to face five-seed St. Mary’s in the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Not only is UConn the closest geographic team to Albany, but they also have Amsterdam native and Albany Academy graduate Andre Jackson extending his stay in his old stomping ground.
That will likely draw some extra fans. Jackson is not sure how many will return for Sunday’s game after having about 300 family and friends attend the first-round matchup against Iona.
“Just trying to stay within my team,” Jackson said on Saturday. “Honestly, just trying to avoid all the distractions, limit all distractions, and just focus on what really matters, which is we came here to win basketball games. It’s awesome to be home. But I’m here all the time. So I can always come here once the tournament is over, so that’s always good.”
And then there are the St. Mary's Gaels, the furthest team from Albany for this tournament -- traveling nearly 3,000 miles. But fifth-year St. Mary’s guard Logan Johnson says playing on the road, and as underdogs, is nothing new to them.
“We’re not worried about it,” Johnson said. “It’s a road game and we’re happy with our fan base that travels with us. And they’re going too loud in there. And we’re going to make sure UConn knows who we are for sure.”
Meanwhile in the Midwest region, four-seed Indiana will face five-seed Miami.
The Canes made a late run to avoid the upset against Drake, while the Hoosiers were in control the entire way in their matchup with Kent State Friday night in Albany.
“I thought our guys’ defense stepped up, and that’s what we kind of shared with them all season long. The offense will take care of itself, but we have to defend, we have to rebound,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said ahead of Sunday’s game. “If we do those two things at the defensive end of the floor, we should be competitive. But if we don’t defend, if we don’t rebound, we’re in trouble.”
This is the first time Miami and Indiana have played each in more than 20 years, which the Canes won in their only meeting ever.
“As a coach, I didn’t come back to IU just to coach Indiana basketball,” said Indiana head coach Mike Woodson, who played for the Hoosiers from 1976 to 1980. “I want to win some Big Ten titles and a national title. And we got a chance just like all the teams that are left in this tournament. I’m not selling them on anything less than that. We’ll see what happens. Only time will tell.”
The battle for these two Sweet 16 spots gets underway with St. Mary’s and UConn at 6:10 p.m. Sunday. Indiana and Miami will follow right afterward at about 8:40 p.m.