New Jersey’s college basketball teams make run for upcoming NCAA tournament

March 1 begins the quest for New Jersey's college basketball teams to show up in those famous March Madness brackets.

News 12 Staff

Mar 2, 2023, 12:08 AM

Updated 640 days ago

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The first day of March means that March Madness is just around the corner. It is the signature event for college basketball’s billion-dollar enterprise.
March 1 begins the quest for schools to show up in those famous brackets.
The Fairleigh Dickinson University team is trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years. They won their first ever tournament game that year but didn’t quite get to reap the benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the following season - a devastating impact for a small school like FDU.
The team hosted Saint Francis of Brooklyn Wednesday night. It begins the Northeast Conference Tournament. The last time standing gets an automatic berth to the tournament.
The FDU athletic director tells News 12 that seeing smaller schools like the Saint Peter’s Peacocks in Jersey City do well in the tournament in years past gives him home for his team.
The Saint Peter’s team made it all the way to the Elite Eight last year – further than anyone ever thought the team would go. That run earned $8 million for the conference in which Saint Peter’s plays.