THE DFW SPORTS MIX 03 28 13 By Don Arnick

68 teams were pick to play in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. You have your returning fave like North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, Louisville, to name a few of the recognized schools. And then you have Florida Gulf Coast. A school that is barley new in its 16 years of existance in the town of Ft. Myers, Florida. When they started , the classrooms were in portable trailers and had some sports programs. But as time went along, the campus grew with sports programs as the basketball program was leading the way. They built a basetball arean on campus with the intent of going to division one. Six years ago, they got division one status for basketball. Andy Enfield was hired as the baskeball coach, his job was to put together a basketball team to compete in the division one level. Recenty, they got their invite to the tourmanent, as the 15th seed. The team they faced was the number two seed Georgetown Hoyas. Many people felt that this was going to be a blow out win for Georgetown. At the end of the game, everyone was shocked at the result as Florida Gulf Coast wins 78-68 over Georgetown. A win that puts the upstart program on the map. Yes, they would be happy with the upset win over Georgetown. They would be happy with the memories of beating a number 2 seed team. But this group is greedy, and they took down San Diego in the second round 81-71. Well, this group is coming to Dallas to play in the southern regional finals. Who got this quartet in their bracket. Kansas, Michigan, Florida, and the upstars Florida Gulf Coast. Who knows what happens to FGC after the regional finals is over.
But their spot in the history of the NCAA Tournament is in place, as the ultimate cinderella team. And a reminder about what this tournament is all about. Giving the small schools a fighting chance in this survival sports game.