Madlock’s Hornets won the Southwest Athletic Conference to earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2011, and they are excited for the stage that affords them even if it means having to win a game over Saint Francis (Pa.) to get into the field of 64.
“I’ve thought about that a lot of times,” said Madlock, who is in his third season at ASU and noted he made the Elite Eight as a player at Memphis in 1992. “It means so much.
“Now to have my own program and to get Alabama State back to the dance, it means so much, but that’s what we do. That’s the reason why I got in this business, is to try to keep advancing. Hopefully it keeps following in the right direction.”
His opponent is equally proud to represent the Northeast Conference, but the Red Flash could have a bit of an advantage when the ball goes in the air at 6:40 p.m.
Saint Frances has not been in the NCAA Tournament since 1991, but the Red Flash played Dayton in an exhibition game at UD Arena in November.
That night produced an 87-57 loss for his squad, but coach Rob Krimmel hopes the experience will have some carryover Tuesday night.
“I told our guys when we came to Dayton I think about four months ago now that it would be one of the best atmospheres that they’d ever play in,” Krimmel said. “The people that make up this community – and we’ve had the fortune to play here twice – the passion here is unbelievable, and I don’t expect anything different tomorrow night. There’s no secret why they haven’t moved the First Four, the opening round out of Dayton – because the people here love college basketball.
“So I think the atmosphere and the environment won’t be new to them, and I think that’ll be a big part of allowing them just to settle in. It’s a basketball game. It’s a big basketball game, but we don’t have to worry about our surroundings because we’ve been here before.”
The Red Flash also have three players will be playing close to home, none more so than freshman guard Juan Cranford Jr.
Cranford was a standout at Wayne High School while junior KJ Swain Jr. graduated from Cincinnati Christian in Fairfield, and freshman Zachary Jones went to Indian Hill in Cincinnati.
“Ohio has got such a rich tradition with basketball,” Krimmel said, crediting former assistant coach Eric Taylor of Cincinnati with helping the program establish an identity in Southwest Ohio.
