The Emporia State men’s basketball team huddled around a single computer in the HPER building—one seed left, one last chance to save the season.
Seven of eight seeds had been announced in the South Central Regional on the Internet NCAA Tournament Selection Show. All that was left was the No. 7 seed.
Meanwhile, Donta Watson sat back away from the crowd in a gray sweatshirt, saying very little as he his team’s season — and his college career — hung in the balance.
“I was just hoping God was working his wonders,” Watson said, “and somehow He got us in there.”
It didn’t take long for his prayers to be answered.
After a short pause, the man on the screen announced ESU as the No. 7 seed, and the room erupted with cheers, fist pumps, and Wes Book pulling out his cell phone to call “Mama Book.”
Through the celebration, assistant coach Ben McCollum yelled out, “Let’s go practice,” and the Hornets had never been so happy to be able to do just that.
After sitting on pins and needles over the last 48 hours after an opening — round loss in the MIAA Tournament, ESU could finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing it had earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last four years.
“It feels good because if we hadn’t made it, I would have felt responsible, not only for our play down the stretch but also for our schedule,” ESU coach David Moe said. “I knew it was going to be close between us, Tarleton and Central Oklahoma.”
In the end, ESU’s better record paid off, earning the team a date with the No. 2 seed Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday in Warrensburg, Mo.
“I didn’t care if we were playing Southeastern School for the Blind,” Watson said. “We’re just glad to be playing.”
The Hornets were so anxious to get the results on Sunday night that they didn’t even watch through the entire show.
After realizing the program had been pre-taped, Jordan Fithian and Scott Elliott sat next to each other on the two computers, fast-forwarding through the show to get to the men’s South Central Regional.
Fithian found the correct spot two-thirds of the way through, and following the announcement of seven other teams, the players exploded after hearing their name on the final opportunity.
“We’re glad to be the last in,” Watson said. “It’s much better than being the first out.”
Southeastern Oklahoma enters as the No. 9-ranked team in the country with a 25-4 record. The Savage Storm won the Lone Star Conference’s North regular-season title and finished runner-up in the conference tournament.
It will be the seventh meeting between the two schools. ESU won the last matchup, 70-61, on Dec. 8, 2004, in White Auditorium.
Central Missouri will play host to the regional as the No. 1 overall seed, coming in with a 27-3 record.
Midwestern State (23-6) is the third seed, followed by Northwest Missouri State (23-6), Pittsburg State (18-12) and West Texas A&M (18-10).
St. Edward’s (24-5) rounds out the field as the No. 8 seed.
Ticket information will be available on Tuesday. Warrensburg is located 121 miles away from St. Joseph, Mo., where the ESU women will play Texas A&M-Commerce on Friday.