More March Madness for Winnipegger

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This article was published 16/03/2022 (1468 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For only the fourth time in March Madness history, a Winnipegger has made it to The Big Dance.

Seven-footer Todd MacCulloch, the pride of Shaftesbury High School who went on to play four seasons in the NBA, was the first to do it with the Washington Huskies back in 1998 and ‘99. Nearly 20 years later, another River City hoopster would make it to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament when former Kildonan East Collegiate student Emmanuel Akot qualified with the Arizona Wildcats — a No. 4-seed that was upset by the Buffalo Bulls 89-68 in the first round — in 2018.

Akot, a 6-8 guard now with the Boise State Broncos after transferring in 2019, is back in the 68-team event and determined to go on a run. In West Region action, No. 8-seeded Boise State (27-7) will meet the No. 9-seeded Memphis Tigers (21-10) in Portland, Ore., at 12:45 p.m. Thursday in a first-round tilt. The winner will advance to likely face the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, the Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-3), on Saturday.

A win over Memphis would be the first NCAA tournament victory in Boise State history. The Broncos have enjoyed a record-breaking year as their tournament seed, No. 23 national ranking, and 27 wins are all new highs for the program. They’re also coming off their first Mountain West Conference tournament championship after beating the San Diego State Aztecs 53-52 last Saturday. Memphis, coached by former NBA star Penny Hardaway, lost the American Athletic Conference title match 71-53 to the Houston Cougars on Sunday.

“It means everything to us. We work for this. We have confidence in ourselves. We’ve made history, but there’s still more we want to accomplish,” Akot, who turns 23 Thursday, said Wednesday.

“… We can beat any team in the country but (Memphis) is a very good team, too, so we have to come ready to play. When I was a freshman at Arizona, we played Buffalo and got destroyed. That taught me that when you come to the NCAA tournament, all these teams are good so you have to bring your best effort.”

A major reason for Boise State’s newfound success has been Akot — the highest-ranked prospect to ever suit up for the Broncos. The redshirt senior, who finished his high school career in Utah at Wasatch Academy, is averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 2.9 assists per game while shooting 39.7 per cent from long distance.

“Emmanuel is unbelievable, man. He’s our point guard. He’s extremely vocal. He’s our rock. He holds us together,” said Broncos forward Abu Kigab.

“Even in those games he wasn’t playing this year, you can hear him on the sideline. Just his voice and presence makes a huge difference. He has so many great qualities and the stuff he does on the court, the numbers don’t say enough about what he does.”

Akot’s most impressive skill might be his versatility as he’s one of the few players in the nation who can play and defend every position on the court. He rolled his ankle in the San Diego State game, but with the added adrenaline boost and the fact that it’s his birthday, Akot said there’s no way he’s going to let a minor injury slow him down. The Broncos have made their mark this season with their defence and rebounding and that’s the same game Akot expects the team to bring to the dance.

“The only difference between this tournament and all the other games we played is there’s millions of people interested instead of a couple thousand or hundreds,” said Akot.

“It’s the same process. It’s just a basketball game at the end of the day.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31