It's been a pretty good calendar year for Texas A&M women's basketball head coach Gary Blair. Not only did he win a national championship last March, he got inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and now gets to host the Aggies first-ever home playoff game.
↵Well, the first two may be bigger deals than the last, but it's still pretty cool. From Robert Cessna with the Bryan/College Station Eagle:
↵↵↵It will be A&M's first NCAA tournament game at Reed Arena, an indicator of how far the program has come. The last time A&M hosted an NCAA game came in 1994 at G. Rollie White Coliseum when the 13th-seeded Aggies caught a break and played host to fourth-seeded Florida, which was forced to hit the road because of a Rod Stewart concert.
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At least Rod Stewart didn't have to bump them this time! Oh, and not to be outdone, Blair gets his own quip in, trying to bring butts into the seats:
↵↵↵Can we sell this place out on spring break?" Blair said. "Nobody can afford gas to get out of town anyway, so let's sell this place out."
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HI-larious, isn't it?
↵Still, what a nice accomplishment for the Aggies, getting to host a game like this. Baylor and Brittany Griner cast an awful big shadow, so A&M has been sort of in the back seat this season, but they're coming together and could make a nice run trying to defend the title. As long as they don't have to play Baylor again, they might actually get a chance to win another, too.
↵For more info on the women's NCAA tournament, check out the bracket here and more news from SB Nation's college home here.
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