For the seventh time since 1968, the ETSU Buccaneers are headed to the Big Dance.
The Bucs find themselves heading to the NCAA championships for the second year in a row. The team is seeded No. 13, up two from 2003, and will play No. 4 Cincinnati on Friday at 3 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio.
The Bucs have a long history with the NCAA, dating back to the late 1960s. In 1968, they played in the Mideast Region and defeated Florida State in the first round, 79-69, and made it to the regional semifinals where the Bucs lost to Ohio State, 79-72. The 1968 team went on to lose to Marquette in the regional consolation, ending the Bucs’ hopes for a NCAA win for 21 years.
In 1989, the Bucs returned to the Big Dance with determination, and as the 16th seed in the South Region, they came closer than any other team in NCAA history to upsetting a No. 1 seeded team. The Bucs played Oklahoma in Nashville on March 16 and lost by one point.
“A win by the Bucs would have been the first in tournament history by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed,” according to www.etsubucs.com.
ETSU was in the lead for the first half of the game against Oklahoma but when the team’s point guard, Keith “Mister” Jennings, was fouled out, the team’s lead disintegrated.
Oklahoma advanced, and, at the end of the game, the scoreboard read, 72-71, a near upset for Oklahoma.
The Bucs went on to three more consecutive NCAA tournaments after 1989.
“I think first of all what a great group of young men we had,” said Les Robinson, then-Buccaneer head basketball coach, now atheletic director at the Citadel.
“It was a very special group. They had a special relationship with each other. We were really truly one big family.
And to this day, it’s the closest a 16th seed has come to winning – down by 1 point and had a shot at the buzzer.”
The Bucs returned to the NCAA tournament the next year as the No. 13 seeded team in the Southeast. They played Georgia Tech on March 15, 1990 and lost 99-83 in the first round.
Although the team lost, some players were still able to make into double digits, including Jennings and Calvin Talford, who scored 17 points each. Greg Dennis scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, as reported on the ETSU Bucs’ web site.
In 1991, the Bucs came back to the NCAA tournament for the third time in as many years.
They played on March 14, 1991 and “dropped a heartbreaking 76-73 decision to Iowa in the … first round,” according to the Bucs’ web site.
The Bucs were in the lead 37-33 at halftime but lost ground during the second half. By the end of the game, Jennings was the apparent star, having led the team with 13 assists and 11 points of his own. Rodney English, now a women’s basketball coach at ETSU, scored 25 points during the game and grabbed 10 boards, a team-high says etsubucs.com.
“Seeded No. 10 in the Midwest, the Bucs lost to Iowa 76-73, but were without Calvin Talford, an acrobatic scorer and one of their best players and Greg Dennis, a center who finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer,” says Chris Dortch, editor of the Blue-Ribbon Basketball Yearbook.
For the last time until 2003 the Bucs played in the NCAA tournament on March 20, 1992. As the No. 14 seed in the Southeast, the Bucs played Arizona in the first round and won an upset with 87 points to Arizona’s 80.
ETSU led the entire game, never giving No. 3 Arizona a chance to get ahead. Rodney English scored 21 points and 5 assists. Calvin Talford, Jason Niblett and Trazel Silvers each scored in the double digits, helping the Bucs win at the NCAA for the first time in almost a quarter century, and for the last time in the team’s history.
During the second round, ETSU went up against Michigan and fought hard, says the Bucs’ Web site. On March 22, ETSU faced the Fab Five Michigan squad and lost 102-90.
In 2003, the Bucs came close to an upset – almost as close as in 1989 – but to no avail. Seeded No. 15 in the East, ETSU played Wake Forest and lost 76-73 on March 21. Tim Smith and Zakee Wadood, who scored 22 and 20 points respectively, led the Bucs in points.
Smith, known for his short stature as much as for his unorthodox playing style, almost tied the game in the final minute but missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, says Dortch, yet Smith did help bring ETSU from a 72-64 deficit with a three-pointer and two free throws.
With a 2-7 overall record at the NCAA tournaments, the Bucs will soon head in for their seventh attempt at a NCAA title.
With members of the 2003 squad still playing, including Wadood and Smith, the team has high hopes for the upcoming weeks.
“We’re never going to be scared,” Smith says. “Like last year, we almost beat Wake Forest. This year I think we can do a couple of people. I’d love to win some games in the tournament.”
The team is just glad to be in the tournament, Smith said, adding that in the first round, they will have to play better than they have all year.
Murry Bartow, head coach for the Bucs, has strong feelings about his team and their chances in the NCAA.
“We’re happy to be in the tournament…. Obviously, the first game will be very very difficult, whomever we play. I’m sure out guys will be excited and very much ready to play,” he said.
Confidences abound as the Bucs head to the Big Dance for the second time this millennium on March 19.

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