Owensboro Will Be Represented in NCAA Tournament

The brackets are set and the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will kick off officially this Tuesday night before the field of 64 is unleashed. You'll see two Owensboro natives in the tournament, one a standout player, the other a journeyman head coach. 

Mississippi State 6-10 senior forward Aric Holman played high school basketball at Owensboro High School where he helped lead the Red Devils to their first state title in 35 years in 2015. He was also one of the first recruits then newly hired Mississippi State head coach signed when he came to Starkville. Holman is all-around player who can dominate inside and outside. He hit five three-pointers in the Bulldogs' SEC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Tennessee last Friday night.

The Bulldogs are the 5th seed in this year's East Region and their first round match up will be against the 12th seed Liberty University. The game will be played this Friday (3/22) in San Jose, California.

Old Dominion Head Coach Jeff Jones had a standout career at Apollo High School before playing point guard at the University of Virginia. Virginia is the third number one overall seed in this year's tournament. Jones led the Cavaliers to two NCAA tournaments with a Final Four appearance in 1981. He bypassed the NBA to start his coaching career at Virginia, first as an assistant and then as a head coach for eight years. The Cavaliers reached the Elite Eight in 1995.

Jones went on to coach at American University where he led the Patriots to two NCAA tournament appearances before landing at his current post with Old Dominion in 2013. The Monarchs defeated WKU on Saturday night for their first big dance appearance with Jones at the helm.

Old Dominion is the 14th seed in the South Region and they will take on 3-seed Purdue in Hartford, Connecticut this Thursday (3/21).

Don't forget to make your bracket predictions before Thursday at noon in our Million Dollar Bracket Challenge game and good luck!