NCAA tournaments still have local connections

The season has ended for the East Tennessee State men's and women's basketball teams, but there are other local connections in the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Tennessee (22-11) is the No. 6 seed in the Midwest and the Vols are led by Greeneville alumnus Ja'Kobi Gillespie. The senior point guard has made a huge impact since transferring from Maryland. Gillespie leads the team in scoring at 18 points per game and assists at 5.5 per game. The Vols were on a four-game winning streak after a 69-65 win at Vanderbilt on Feb. 21. Since then, they've lost four of six games, including two to the Commodores. Tennessee is slated to face the winner of Wednesday's play-in game between Miami (Ohio) and SMU. The Miami (Ohio) story has been well documented with the Redhawks having a perfect regular-season record. There was some debate whether they'd get in the NCAA tournament. At 31-1, they were one of the "last four in." If SMU (20-13) emerges with the win, the Vols will see a familiar face. B.J. Edwards, a Tennessee transfer who grew up in Johnson City before transferring to Knox Catholic in high school. His father is former ETSU running back Brian Edwards. The younger Edwards, a senior guard, averaged 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 28 games before an ankle injury. He is expected to return to the Mustangs lineup for the tournament. Billy Bales, a former Unaka High School star, is an assistant coach on Ryan Odom's staff at Virginia. The Cavaliers (29-5) are the No. 3 seed in the Midwest and a potential Round of 32 matchup for the Vols. Virginia, which faces Wright State in the first round, is coming off a 74-70 loss to No. 1 ranked Duke in the ACC Championship game. Bales' handprints also extend to other schools, previously an assistant at Utah State (28-6) and VCU. The Aggies (28-6) were the Mountain West Conference regular-season champions. They enter the tournament as the No. 9 seed in the West and face Villanova in the first round. If they get by those Wildcats, another set of Wildcats in No. 1 seed Arizona is likely their next game. VCU (27-7), the Atlantic Sun regular-season and tournament champion, is the No. 11 seed in the South. The red-hot Rams have won 16 of their last 17 games. AThey will face off with one of the sport's blue bloods, No. 6 North Carolina, in the first round at Greenville, S.C. Furman (22-12), which defeated ETSU in the Southern Conference championship game, is the No. 15 seed in the East. The Paladins have the unenviable task of facing No. 2 UConn, winners of two of the last three national championships, in the first round. High Point swept men's and women's Big South Conference tournaments in Johnson City. The Panthers (30-4) have the nation's longest win streak at 14 games and are the first Big South team in history to win 30 games in a single season. They are a No. 12 seed in the West and face Wisconsin in the first round. On the women's side, the Lady Panthers (27-5) are the No. 15 seed in the Fort Worth Region. They have won six of their last seven games heading into a matchup at No. 2 seed Vanderbilt. Samford (16-18) beat all three top-seeds — Chattanooga, ETSU, and Wofford — to win the Southern Conference women's tournament. The Bulldogs, coached by former ETSU men's assistant Matt Wise, will face Southern in a Thursday play-in game with the winner to take on No. 1 seed South Carolina. Chattanooga received the invite to the WBIT tournament where the Lady Mocs will face North Dakota State in the opening round. Wake Forest (17-16), led by former ETSU coach Steve Forbes, is a No. 1 seed in the NIT tournament. The Demon Deacons host Navy in a first-round matchup. It's the third NIT appearance under Forbes with previous bids in 2022 and 2024. Karon Boyd, the Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year for ETSU for the 2024-25 season, is the second-leading scorer for Wichita State, which takes on Wyoming in the opening round of the NIT.