Written by Brandon Clearwaters
Spokane, WA- Four teams will take the court to battle for a chance to advance to the NCAA Final Four in Columbus, Ohio. On Saturday the top-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the fourth-seeded Texas A&M in game one of the Spokane Regionals. This will be the seventh appearance for the Aggies in the sweet sixteen, first time since 2012. The Aggies are ranked fourteenth in the AP top twenty-five as well as the USA Today and Coaches' poll. The Aggies have appeared in the NCAA tournament fifteen times and won the 2010-2011 National Championship.
For the Fighting Irish head coach, Muffet McGraw is in her thirty-first season at the helm of the Irish, with an impressive 796-230 record. As a head coach, Mcgraw ranks ninth all-time in career victories among Division 1 coaches and is currently on pace to become the second-fastest coach to 900 career wins. Entering Saturday's game, the Fighting Irish are coming off an impressive 98-72 win over Villanova. The Fighting Irish have appeared in eight elite eight, including six in the past seven years. They look to continue this streak Saturday in the Spokane Regionals.
The second matchup on Saturday will see eleventh-seeded Central Michigan face second-seeded Oregon. The Ducks entered the NCAA tournament hot after capturing the 2018 Pac-12 conference championship. Oregon’s two seed is the best in program history and they also have a school record 32 wins this season. They rank eighth in the NCAA in scoring with 82.6 points per game and first in three-point percentage 40.6%. Head coach Kelly Graves is no stranger to Spokane, having coached Gonzaga from 2000-2014 where he had two sweet 16 appearances as well as one elite eight appearances. In 2017 Graves led the Ducks to its first-ever sweet 16 and elite appearance. He looks to advance to the elite eight on Saturday.
Eleventh-seeded Central Michigan is coming off an impressive 30-4 season record and captured the Mid-American Conference Championship with an impressive 96-91 win over Buffalo. Just like Oregon, the Chippewas entire starting lineup is averaging ten points per game. Head Coach Sue Guevara was named the MAC coach of the year and is the all-time winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 206-146. In 2018 Sue lead the Chippewas to their second MAC Tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013.
All four of these teams will take to the court Saturday, looking for that one shining moment to advance to the Final Four in Ohio.
All games can be seen on ESPN starting Saturday starting at 1 pm PST/4pm EST
For the Fighting Irish head coach, Muffet McGraw is in her thirty-first season at the helm of the Irish, with an impressive 796-230 record. As a head coach, Mcgraw ranks ninth all-time in career victories among Division 1 coaches and is currently on pace to become the second-fastest coach to 900 career wins. Entering Saturday's game, the Fighting Irish are coming off an impressive 98-72 win over Villanova. The Fighting Irish have appeared in eight elite eight, including six in the past seven years. They look to continue this streak Saturday in the Spokane Regionals.
The second matchup on Saturday will see eleventh-seeded Central Michigan face second-seeded Oregon. The Ducks entered the NCAA tournament hot after capturing the 2018 Pac-12 conference championship. Oregon’s two seed is the best in program history and they also have a school record 32 wins this season. They rank eighth in the NCAA in scoring with 82.6 points per game and first in three-point percentage 40.6%. Head coach Kelly Graves is no stranger to Spokane, having coached Gonzaga from 2000-2014 where he had two sweet 16 appearances as well as one elite eight appearances. In 2017 Graves led the Ducks to its first-ever sweet 16 and elite appearance. He looks to advance to the elite eight on Saturday.
Eleventh-seeded Central Michigan is coming off an impressive 30-4 season record and captured the Mid-American Conference Championship with an impressive 96-91 win over Buffalo. Just like Oregon, the Chippewas entire starting lineup is averaging ten points per game. Head Coach Sue Guevara was named the MAC coach of the year and is the all-time winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 206-146. In 2018 Sue lead the Chippewas to their second MAC Tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2013.
All four of these teams will take to the court Saturday, looking for that one shining moment to advance to the Final Four in Ohio.
All games can be seen on ESPN starting Saturday starting at 1 pm PST/4pm EST