Who? The Red Foxes of Marist.
What? If we lived in a more literate world, Marist's teams would be the Reynards. Marist decided to go with Red Foxes instead, adding Shooter in 1979. (I liked him with the sailing hat.)
Where? Poughkeepsie, New York, the second capital of New York State.
When? March 5th, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and someday I will go there and be duly awed.
Why? They won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.
How? Overtime against Niagara in the semi-finals was enough drama for the Red Foxes, as they led Fairfield wire to wire to take a 61-35 win. Marist hit precisely half (24-48) of their field goals, and were led by Corielle Yarde's 16 points.
Surprise? Not at all. The Red Foxes were the unanimous preseason favorite and won the conference.RPI (as of 3/5): 48
SOS (as of 3/5): 110
Record: 25-7 (17-1 Metro Atlantic)
Good wins: Maybe Auburn (at Hofstra's tournament) or South Dakota State (in Cancun).
Bad losses: At Manhattan.
Who's running this show? Brian Giorgis, since 2002. Before Marist, he was a very busy high school coach at Our Lady of Lourdes, coaching six different sports in his time there.
Extra, Extra! The Poughkeepsie Journal, which I will sing the praises of for their coverage of Marist.
This Marist team has not been as strong as previous Marist teams. They're not as balanced as previous teams, but neither do they have a star as dominant as Rachele Fitz. Senior guard Corielle Yarde has carried the burden for the Red Foxes, averaging 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. But they might be starting to come into their own as a team; Yarde hasn't led the team in scoring since February, and hasn't led alone since January. And Brian Giorgis is not a coach I want on the opposing bench if I'm in the tournament...