NCAA Tourney and Harvard

Harvard will make its first appearance since 1946 in the NCAA Tourney very soon, facing off against Vanderbilt (photo credit: Chensiyuan).

Harvard University, which recently secured the automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney, will face off against Vanderbilt University in the Round of 64. Harvard, a university that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tourney since 1946 and hadn’t won an Ivy League title until splitting one last season (they lost a tie-breaker to Princeton with 2.6 seconds left in the game), will be facing off against a university that dubs itself “The Harvard of the South.” Vanderbilt students and alumni should know, though, that there are Duke t-shirts that dub Duke “The Harvard of the South” as well. Vanderbilt, there’s only one Harvard. The school should learn to embrace its own identity! After all, it’s not too shabby!

According to “Boston.com’s” article on the NCAA Tourney and Harvard, “Sitting in a function room in the school’s athletic administration building, with an eight-seat crew shell suspended from the ceiling above them, the players waited as two other regions were announced. During commercials, they tapped away on their cellphones while fans — at least one wearing a Jeremy Lin Harvard jersey — milled around. When they were finally announced, the players jumped into the air and hugged. ‘To make the tournament and see our name come up to make it legit, all the specifics didn’t mean anything to me,’ guard Oliver McNally said. ‘I love the sport of college basketball. I love the tournament; I think it’s the best sporting event. This is one of the dreams I’ve had in my life.'”

We’ll be rooting for Cinderella and when they face off against Vanderbilt, Harvard will certainly be Cinderella. Vanderbilt just upset #1 seed Kentucky University in the SEC title game and are now making their third straight NCAA Tourney (their fifth in six years). But, just as noteworthy, they’ve lost their last three games in the Round of 64! Let’s see if Harvard University can make that four straight and maybe even pull off a run to the Sweet 16…and beyond.

Check out this post on Harvard and March Madness or this one on College Admissions and March Madness.