Two CWOSSA Grads To Play in Men's NCAA Tournament

Two former CWOSSA 'ballers will be participating in the NCAA "March Madness" tournament this year.

That being said, not only are Bryson Johnson (Bucknell) and Jon House (Belmont) participating in this year's tournament, both could play an integral role in their teams' chances of pulling a first-round upset.

House is no stranger to this role, having been in similar circumstances as a freshman when his Bruins (a #15 seed) nearly knocked off the #2 Duke Blue Devils --- falling 71-70 after Gerald Henderson hit a go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left.

Look for House (#13) in this clip from that game in his Freshman season:



House has started all 34 games this season, and is averaging 5.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.7 APG for the 30-4 Belmont Bruins.  The Bruins had just one loss in conference play, while their other losses (Tennessee twice and Vanderbilt once) were all by single digits.

According to College Basketball Stats Site kenpom.com, the projected score in their first round game against #4 Wisconsin is a 3 point Badger win --- so definitely a game to keep an eye on.

Meanwhile, Bryson Johnson (a sophomore) will be making his first NCAA tournament appearance.  His Bucknell Bison are seeded #14 and draw a tough first-round matchup against Kemba Walker and the #3 UConn Huskies, who silenced some of their critics with a great run through the Big East Tournament.

Johnson's three-point shooting will be key if the Bison are to pull off an upset in their first round game; he comes into the tourney averaging 11.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.1 APG while starting all 33 of Bucknell's games.

Bucknell advanced to the tournament by winning the Patriot League Championship on Friday:



The #14 Bison are 11-point underdogs in their contest, but have plenty of experience against Big East foes this season.

They lost their season opener to Villanova (68-52) and then followed that up with a great effort on the road at Marquette.  Though the Bison lost 71-62, they actually led 57-45 with 10:32 left before a 24-0 Marquette run ended their thoughts of an upset.

Bucknell is no stranger to winning games (and pulling upsets) come tourney time.  In 2006, the #14 Bison shocked the #3 Kansas Jayhawks in first-round play.  The year after, they defeated Arkansas in the 8 vs. 9 game.

Good luck, gentlemen!