Letter: A Day at the Dunk with ... R-M-Who?

When I went to Greensboro, N.C., for the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament last year, I thought life couldn't get much better.

I was wrong.

A few months ago, I realized this could be the year to fulfill the dream I've had since I was 7 years old: watching my college play in March Madness. I immediately reached for my phone to text Andrew Prezioso, The Collegian's online sports editor and basketball beat reporter, promising to drive him to the NCAA tournament if the University of Richmond was one of the 65 teams the Selection Committee chose.

We fulfilled our pact on Wednesday, when we embarked on an eight-state, 53-hour road trip with Emily Baltz, The Collegian's managing editor, to the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I., where we met up with Nick Mider, The Collegian's online editor.

Richmond's 80-71 loss to Saint Mary's College on Thursday was obviously not what I would have wanted, but I knew that no matter what happened, this season was a success. The Spiders had the most wins in school history (26), went to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004 with the lowest seed (No. 7) in school history and had the best regular-season finish in the Atlantic 10 during nine years in the conference (third).

They also played in the Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2002 and beat every team in the Atlantic 10 at least once. I would have liked to see the team's success continue in the NCAA tournament, but for me, just being at the NCAA tournament again was enough to keep me happy.

As soon as we exited the parking garage and I saw the Dunk, I could not stop smiling. Although there were still four hours until Richmond played, I was excited to see Villanova University play a team I'd never heard of until I filled out my NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket last year: Robert Morris University.

Within my first hour at the Dunk, the Colonials became my favorite underdog in the NCAA tournament. With a considerably large showing given the size of the school (about 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students according to the university's Web site), their fans were immediately endearing.

They wore colonial-style hats and t-shirts that said "March Madness" with the words "We're Back" below it. Some, like me, got in line to purchase the official NCAA tournament t-shirts for their school, but I heard one joke that there was no rush because the shirt for Robert Morris, a No. 15 seed, probably wouldn't sell out.

But given that the Colonials took Villanova into overtime before losing 73-70, their shirts should have been in high demand. Before the game, I told Emily that although I hoped the Colonials would pull off the upset, I was not expecting this wish to come true.

But as I watched the game, I started to hope. Karon Abraham's 3-pointer with 14:36 remaining during the first half gave Robert Morris a lead that it held during most of the game. The longer the Colonials held their lead, the more the crowd got behind them.

Their mascot did cartwheels while their cheerleaders did backflips, leading a rambunctious crowd that reached its most excited point when another Abraham 3-pointer went in off the backboard as Maalik Wayns fouled him. Abraham made the foul shot, completing the four-point play and putting the Colonials up by eight.

It was about 15 minutes after this play that I felt a tap on my leg. It was Emily, who loves Richmond basketball but had told me she wasn't interested in any other tournament games. She said, "Barrett ... I think I like basketball." I was thrilled that she was learning the joys of March Madness.

But our enjoyment of the game waned slightly as the Colonials accumulated fouls - some of which they deserved, but many of which they did not. The officials called Robert Morris for 31 fouls, compared with 19 called against Villanova.

As Jim Donaldson of The Providence Journal put it, the Colonials "likely would have won, had they not been playing 8-on-5, as officials Gary Maxwell, Richard Crawford, and Bruce Bell gave the 'Cats the benefit of just about every call."

No Wildcat benefited from the officiating more than Scottie Reynolds, who was 2-15 from the field but 15-16 from the foul line. He made two free throws with 1:48 left during regulation to tie the game at 55 and had two more that sealed the game with 9.1 seconds left during overtime.

As frustrating as it was to see Villanova win a game it deserved to lose, I did admire the players' actions during their post-game handshakes. Each Wildcat hugged Abraham, a 5-foot-9 freshman who finished his first NCAA tournament game with 23 points, an assist and a steal.

I always love watching unknowns stand out in the tournament, but it was even better to see Abraham and the Colonials in person. In the words of one Villanova fan who cut Emily in the line for the bathroom after the game: "Honey, did you see that game? I almost crapped my pants"