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Samford to face Kansas in NCAA first round
Bulldogs earn No. 13 seed in first NCAA appearance in 24 years
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford men's basketball team will travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to take on Kansas on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament, it was announced during the official NCAA Tournament Selection Show Sunday evening on CBS.
"Obviously, I'm very excited for our program to be on the national scene," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "Those that have been following our program know this is a special team. It's a special group of guys, the way they represent our university goes hand in hand with our university, how hard they work, how unselfish they are and the confidence in how they approach their business on a day-to-day basis."
This is Samford's third trip to the NCAA Tournament, having previously gone in 1999 and 2000. This is the first-ever meeting between Samford and Kansas in men's basketball.
Samford has posted the best season in its program history, boasting a record of 29-5 overall and 15-3 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs won the SoCon outright regular-season championship for the first time since joining the league in 2008. Samford punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 76-69 win over ETSU in the championship game of the SoCon Tournament on March 11, in Asheville, N.C.
Samford currently ranks fifth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 86.0 points per game. The Bulldogs also rank in the top 10 in the nation in bench points per game (5th-33.38 pg.), turnovers forced per game (6th-16.62 pg.), effective field goal percentage (6th-57.3%), three-point percentage (7th-39.3%), fast break points per game (7th-15.26 pg.) and winning percentage (8th-85.3%).
For fans who would like to purchase tickets in the Samford section, please contact the Samford Ticket Office at 205-726-2802.
"Obviously, I'm very excited for our program to be on the national scene," Samford head coach Bucky McMillan said. "Those that have been following our program know this is a special team. It's a special group of guys, the way they represent our university goes hand in hand with our university, how hard they work, how unselfish they are and the confidence in how they approach their business on a day-to-day basis."
This is Samford's third trip to the NCAA Tournament, having previously gone in 1999 and 2000. This is the first-ever meeting between Samford and Kansas in men's basketball.
Samford has posted the best season in its program history, boasting a record of 29-5 overall and 15-3 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs won the SoCon outright regular-season championship for the first time since joining the league in 2008. Samford punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 76-69 win over ETSU in the championship game of the SoCon Tournament on March 11, in Asheville, N.C.
Samford currently ranks fifth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 86.0 points per game. The Bulldogs also rank in the top 10 in the nation in bench points per game (5th-33.38 pg.), turnovers forced per game (6th-16.62 pg.), effective field goal percentage (6th-57.3%), three-point percentage (7th-39.3%), fast break points per game (7th-15.26 pg.) and winning percentage (8th-85.3%).
For fans who would like to purchase tickets in the Samford section, please contact the Samford Ticket Office at 205-726-2802.