Golden Lions Clinch Spot In Final 64


The NCAA national title tournament’s final 64 march madness bracket is now set.

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions clinched the final spot with a 61-44 win over Winthrop Tuesday night. The win snapped a 17-game losing streak by teams from the SWAC in the NCAA tournament. Allen Smith led Arkansas Pine-Bluff with 14 points, reaching double digits for the third time in four games. The opportunity to compete in the March Madness bracket marks a huge turnaround for a team that lost its first 11 games to open the NCAA basketball betting season.

The loss snaps a three-game winning streak in March Madness play for Winthrop, which drop to 1-9 all-time in the tournament. After ranking last all season in three-point shooting percentage, the inability to score from beyond the arc is what eventually was the Eagles undoing as they went just two for 21 from long distance, in comparison with the Golden Lions’ six for 16 mark from downtown. Charles Corbin led all Eagles’ scorers with 13 on five for eight shooting, but was the only Winthrop scorer to shoot over 50 percent from the field.

The play-in was the first official game of this year’s national title tournament. The qualification in to the 64-team bracket is a huge accomplishment for a small school not expected to compete against some of the best teams in the country. Arkansas Pine-Bluff will meet top seed Duke in the first round.

Comments are closed.