Tag: Oakland University

NCAA Tournament Expansion Means Less Cinderella Teams

Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, is the ultimate soft power player. He does not produce pithy soundbites. He rarely raises his voice. Instead, he speaks opaquely, often requiring something like a college sports Kremlinologist to interpret his intentions. He has also been at it for long enough that he is well practiced […]

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After Oakland University Upset Kentucky, Students Bask in the NCAA Spotlight

Before Thursday night, if you were not familiar with Oakland University, you were not alone. Not far from the campus, even locals at a Detroit bar, who were watching the team shock No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round of the N.C.A.A. Tournament, were asking if “that Oakland was in California” or the Michigan […]

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What’s It Like to Be Cinderella in March? These Schools Know.

When Oakland University’s 14th-seeded men’s basketball team defeated No. 3 Kentucky on Thursday night, delivering the first shocking upset of this year’s N.C.A.A. tournament, it cast a spotlight on the relatively anonymous university based in Rochester, Mich. And if history is any indication, the next few days and weeks — and perhaps longer — promise […]

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