In the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, tonight will be the first time many Americans get to see the squad so many around here are already familiar with, the 29 & 4 Number 1 seed, the Boilermakers from Purdue. AP Player of the Year Zach Edey and his mates take on Grambling State this evening, Grambling becoming the 16th seed in that bracket with a Wednesday overtime win over Montana State. But a word of caution to Boiler fans with a short memory– last year at this time, Purdue was also a Number 1, and lost its NCAA opener to 16th seed Fairleigh Dickinson. That’s the thing about the tournament— you never know until they play.
There’ll be more activity from local teams in the men’s NIT, picking up its action tomorrow. After getting past San Francisco by a single point in overtime, Cincinnati faces Bradley. Also, Ohio State will take on Virginia Tech, and also having ended Butler’s season by one, Minnesota faces the Number 1 seeded Sycamores of Indiana State. The Trees dropped SMU in a Wednesday opener, 101-92.
And it was a tough one Thursday in the new women’s invitational, run by the folks who do the men’s NIT. At Worthen Arena in Muncie, Ball State’s Lady Cards ended their campaign with a 77-59 loss to Belmont of Nashville. Great season for the Cardinals– they finish with 28 wins, and only 6 losses.
In the NCAA women’s tournament today, the 15th-seed Black Bears of Maine visit the second-seeded Ohio State Lady Buckeyes at noon in Columbus. And tomorrow, 13th-seeded Fairfield goes to Assembly Hall in Bloomington, to take on the Number 4 Hoosiers of IU. That game will tip at 1:30.
The Reds got some good strikeout pitching from Nick Martinez over 3 and 2/3 innings Thursday, Spencer Steer and Will Benson hit homers, and Mike Ford put 2 out of the park, but all that wasn’t enough in the Cactus League, as the Mariners still found a way to beat Cincinnati, 7-6. This afternoon it’s the Reds and the A’s, with the broadcast beginning at 3:50, only on the Sports Voice, 103.9 WRBI.
And in the NBA, the Pacers visit the Warriors tonight. Wednesday, Indiana beat the Pistons, 122-103, after losing to the Cavaliers, 108-103, on Monday.