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Kennesaw State Owls get ready for first March Madness journey
For the first time ever, the Kennesaw State Owls are heading to the NCAA Tournament and they say their team's unity will help them go far.
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State's men's basketball team is just hours away from officially starting their March Madness journey.
The team will be on their way to Greensboro, North Carolina Wednesday afternoon, hoping that their Cinderella story will come true.
This is the first time Kennesaw State University has made its way into the NCAA tournament and the excitement for the Owls has grown even more over the last few days as they gear up for their sendoff.
If you ask the players or Coach Amir Abdur-Rahmin what the secret to the team's success is, they'd give you one word: bone.
"We say BONE, Be One No Ego, it's about being one, and nobody's ego can ever take precedence or be more than the team. And they've done a phenomenal job of that," Abdur-Rahmin said.
The players have found a way to work together seamlessly, securing their way to make a historic first start in the NCAA tournament.
"Just watching us grow is really good and that feeling, you've got to see yourself, because you might not see yourself in a game so just playing it back to the times we lost those tough games really helps," KSU guard Brandon Stroud said.
The players also credit those tough games as part of their success.
They are 10 and 3 in games decided by five points or less this season including the win that secured their spot in the tournament - a 67 to 66 win over the Liberty University Flames in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
"It's crazy to look back at how many close games we've had but like the past couple of years, we've lost some close games so like that's the reason we're winning them now," KSU guard Chris Youngblood said, "We're more prepared for them, we've been in that position way too many times. So that's how we've been able to pull them off."
Now they're hoping those experiences and their dedication to the team will be their key to success as they take on March Madness.
"We bought into Be One No Ego, and now we're connected man, we don't care about who gets the credit, and us being able to sustain that throughout the entire season is why we're pretty successful," Youngblood said.
The send-off for the Owls as they head to North Carolina for the tournament will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Their first game is against No. 3 seed Xavier on Friday at 12:40 p.m.