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2008 ncca tournament bracket
2008 ncca tournament schedule
NCAA tournament bracket

OK, it's technically called the "opening round" of the NCAA Tournament, but we all know that Tuesday's game between Mount St. Mary's and Coppin State is the play-in game, with the winner to be fodder for No. 1 overall seed North Carolina on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.

Actually, Coppin State (16-20) has made history this season, becoming the first NCAA Tournament team with 20 losses. In fact, the Eagles, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, were 4-19 (losing 17 of 18) at one point this season before finishing 12-1. They will be making their first NCAA Tournament, appearance since 1997, when they made history by upsetting No. 2 South Carolina as a 15 seed.

"A lot of people could have quit in that situation," Coppin coach Fang Mitchell said of his players' early struggles. "These guys didn't quit. I was really proud of them for having that fight in them ... even though it seemed that the season was over for them.

"Now we're striving to be the first 20-loss team to win a tournament game now," Mitchell said, although the Eagles are betting underdogs for Tuesday night's game at WagerWeb.com.

The Eagles entered the MEAC tournament as the No. 7 eed and won four games by a total of just six points. Tywain McKee had 33 points in the upset of Morgan tate in the final, including the game-winning jumper with three seconds left.

That was the same Morgan State team that swept Coppin in the regular season, including a 28-point win at Coppin's gym.

McKee, the point guard, leads the Eagles in scoring (16.1 ppg) and assists, and no one else on the team averages in double figures in scoring. He is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.3 rebounds per contest. He has great range and hits almost 43 percent of his 3-pointers; he also shoots 86 percent from the line.