Photo from Google Images
Costal Carolina University finally beat Winthrop 76-61 in the Big South Conference Championship game to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 21 years. (Most of the CCU roster wasn’t even born before 1993.)
As a Chanticleer alumni, (the proud and fierce rooster that dominated the barnyard in the Canterbury Tales), there are two things that all students have in common; we had the best college experience (we went to college where you vacation) and we do not like the Winthrop Eagles.
The rivalry runs deep between the two South Carolina programs. It hurts to type this, but Winthrop owns the Big South in Men’s hoops with ten conference titles (Coastal now holds 4 titles). Coastal lost a 51-50 heart breaker to the Eagles in 2006 and again in 2010 64-53.
As a student attending games, I remember making fun of previous Winthrop head coach, Gregg Marshall, with my neighbor Courtney. I’m glad we never played a drinking game for every time Marshall threw a tantrum from the sideline or we would never made it to halftime. It was like watching a little kid constantly complaining to the refs “he’s touching me”. Currently, Marshall is the head coach of Wichita Sate who just had an undefeated 34-0 season. I’d love to see the Chanticleers end that steak during the big dance.
Coastal has only made two NCAA appearances in school history. In 1991 as a 15th seed and lost to Indiana 69-79 and again in 1993 as a 16th seed to lose to Michigan 52-84.
The Carolina Shag is the dance in the south and most southerners refer to dancing as “shagging”. With selection Sunday less than a week away there is already a party down south and for all Coastal alums across the country. We’re going shagging!
Here’s some beach music by the Embers to get you in the shagging spirit.