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For the fourth consecutive game, Cal Poly won when it wasn't expected to, so its March will stay alive. The Mustangs defeated Texas Southern 81-69 in the first round Wednesday night. The team is now 14-19 -- but still alive in the NCAA Tournament.
In fact, Cal Poly has an above-.500 NCAA Tournament record in program history.
Because Wednesday was the team's first appearance ever in the Big Dance. It made the most of it, taking advantage of a Texas Southern team that had little interest in defense and couldn't find any answers outside of stud senior Aaric Murray.
Aaric Murray has 35 points and his Texas Southern team will lose by 15. Biggest guy on floor. Two rebounds. Nice player, but come on man.
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelCBS) March 20, 2014
Murray -- who'd spent previous time at La Salle and West Virginia -- finished his college career with 38 points.
Chris Eversley had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Cal Poly.
"The only people who don't believe we're Cinderella is our team," Eversley said on truTV afterward.
Cal Poly's 81 points were a season high; the team averaged 62 points per game entering the game. The 19 losses ties an NCAA record with the 1955 Bradley team as having the most Ls but winning an NCAA Tournament game.
Now Cal Poly moves on to play Wichita State at 7:10 p.m. ET Friday in St. Louis.
Four wins in a row.
It's been a wild turnaround. The team dropped nine of its final 11 games in the regular season. But this is what March can provide. Get hot in the league tourney, play against another No. 16 in the first round, and earn a nice win to carry you into the offseason.
