Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. at Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio.
TV: ESPN.
Records: Florida A&M 21-13; Niagara 22-11.
Reid Hanley’s quick look: The good news is these two teams are in the NCAA tournament. OK, it’s in Dayton, and the winner has to go to Chicago to play mighty Kansas. FAMU is familiar with play-in games, having won in 2004. The Rattlers are tired, getting home at 4 a.m. Sunday from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament and flying to Dayton at 6 a.m. Monday. Adrenaline will be flowing as the teams try to show they belong. FAMU is led by Curie graduate Rome Sanders, who started his career at Northern Illinois. Niagara is led by forward Charron Fisher, who averages 21 points and eight rebounds despite standing just 6 feet 3 inches. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions have five players averaging in double figures. Joliet native Mike Gillespie, who coaches Florida A&M, said he was “surprised” to be booked into the play-in game. “We did exactly what the NCAA asked,” he said. “We won three games in the tournament, won the tournament, got 21 wins. You’d think that would be good enough not to have to play the play-in game.” The Rattlers have five players from Chicago and one from Rockford.
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More local talent
In Monday’s NCAA tournament special section, we highlighted Chicago area players taking part in March Madness. Here are a few more:
Gordon Watt, Purdue
The Evanston High graduate started 31 of 32 games for the Boilermakers with averages of 7.4 ppg. And 4.8 rpg. He hit 48 percent of his field goal attempts.
Colin Falls, Notre Dame
The 6-foot-5-inch senior guard from Loyola Academy started 29 games this season and was the No. 2 scorer for the Irish at 15.4 ppg.
Jonathan Peoples, Notre Dame
The 6-3 freshman guard from St. Joseph averaged 6.4 minutes in 25 games.
Jerel McNeal, Marquette
The 6-3 sophomore guard from Hillcrest High averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the Golden Eagles.
Rome Sanders, Florida A&M
The 6-8 senior from Curie started all 34 games for the Rattlers and is the team’s top scorer at 15.3 ppg. and second-leading rebounder at 5.9 rpg. He hits nearly 65 percent of his field goal attempts.
Darius Glover, Florida A&M
The 6-5 senior guard from Westinghouse High averaged 10.8 points and 5.8 rebounds this season while starting 25 games.
Joe Ballard, Florida A&M
The 6-0 sophomore guard from Westinghouse High played in all 34 games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Quinton Strothers, Florida A&M
The 6-8 sophomore forward from Young appeared in only eight games, making two of his four field goal attempts.
John Williams, Florida A&M
The 6-6 sophomore forward from Glenbrook South did not score in 11 game appearances.
Mike Gillespie Sr., Florida A&M
The former Joliet Catholic High School and DePaul standout has spent the last five of his 32-year coaching career in Tallahassee, where he has a 79-89 record. His son, Mike, is one of his assistant coaches.
