The 2015 NCAA Tournament tips off on Tuesday when the Hampton Pirates battle the Manhattan Jaspers in the "First Four" regionals. Watch the live stream starting at 6:40 p.m. ET via the links provided below.
There's good news and bad news for the winner of the Hampton-Manhattan game. The good news, the winner advances to the Round of 64 and gets the opportunity to play on the national stage; the bad news, Kentucky is waiting.
Manhattan finished with a 19-13 record and heads into the Midwest regional on a four-game winning streak after winning the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament. Jaspers coach Steve Masiello played for Rick Pitino's Wildcats as a walk-on, but he says he hasn't thought about playing his alma mater.
"It's the furthest thing from my mind, maybe because I lived it," Masiello told the Associated Press. "Hypothetically, if there was another 1 (seed) waiting for Hampton or us, maybe I would have. But because it's them, it's the last thing I'll think about."
For Masiello, his attention is focused solely on reaching the next round. His team, led in scoring, rebounding and assists by senior forward Emmy Andujar's 16.5 points, 7.6 boards and 3.4 dimes per game, must face a team 16-17 Hampton team that also won its conference tournament.
Hampton heads into Tuesday on a four-game winning streak after winning the 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament. Unlike Masiello, though, Pirates coach Edward Joyner Jr. admitted he's thought about the prospect of playing Kentucky in the next round.
"I'm going to give you the truthful answer -- I believe everybody has thought about that," Joyner said with a laugh on Monday. "I'd say 1 percent of me has thought about it. And I say (if we do), I'd probably have Jesus on speed dial. I hope he's hot that night, if we play."
