Picking a bracket? These teams have Evansville connections in the NCAA tournament

EVANSVILLE — Filling out NCAA tournament brackets is supposed to be fun whether you're a die-hard fan, a casual observer, or you simply enjoy picking teams based on mascots.

Although there is plenty of regional rooting interest between the likes of Indiana, Purdue and Kentucky, it can be a bit overwhelming parsing through the field of 68 teams from conferences big and small nationwide. So, you might consider some of the former Evansville-area standouts in the field — you're in luck if you love an underdog.

Here's a look at a handful of connections between the Evansville area and March Madness.

College basketball:The CBI tournament bracket is out. Check out who USI will play.

Vermont (15 seed)

1:45 p.m. Friday vs. No. 2 Marquette (CBS)

Evansville’s East Side is well-represented by the Catamounts.

Robin Duncan received First Team All-America East honors this season as the line of Duncan brothers nears an end. Ernie and Everett Duncan also played for the Catamounts after they all starred at Harrison High School. Robin averages roughly seven points and as many rebounds.

He also brought another former Southern Indiana Athletic Conference star into the fold this year: Dylan Penn, a 6-3 senior guard from Memorial.

Penn on Saturday was named the conference tournament’s most outstanding player, a year after winning the same award in the ASUN for Bellarmine. NCAA rules kept Bellarmine out of the tournament, leading Penn to the transfer portal to fulfill a dream.

It's quite a storybook ending.

“Last year I won the tournament and the next day, I couldn’t even really enjoy it the way I wanted to,” Penn told reporters after the championship win. “I've kind of been thinking about this opportunity for a year, just to have an opportunity to get back to the tournament. Right now I'm just blessed that I came here and blessed that we were able to achieve one of my goals.”

Xavier (3)

11:40 a.m. Friday vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (truTV)

Castle graduate Jack Nunge is finally going dancing.

The sixth-year senior 7-footer will compete in the NCAA tournament for the first time as he completes his college career. Nunge averages 14.1 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds for the No. 15-ranked Musketeers. He's in his second season with Xavier after starting his career at Iowa, where he was mired by injuries.

And he’ll get to do so alongside his younger brother Bob Nunge, a 6-6 sophomore who also attended Castle. Bob is a walk-on after spending last year as a practice player.

Perhaps more magic is in store this March for the Nunges. Xavier won the NIT championship last season thanks to Jack’s heroics scoring the game-winning basket in the final seconds.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16)

First Four: 5:40 p.m. Tuesday vs. No. 16 Southeast Missouri State (truTV)

The "812" will be on display in the tournament's opening game as Reitz graduate Owen Dease and the Islanders compete in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

Seriously: He has the area code tattooed on his neck.

Dease, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman, had a career-best performance during the Southland Conference championship game last week with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists as he went 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. At Reitz, he scored over 1,000 career points and helped the Panthers win back-to-back conference and sectional championships.

The Islanders play SEMO, which earned the Ohio Valley Conference’s automatic bid at Ford Center. The winner will play No. 1-seeded Alabama at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama. A&M-CC also made the NCAA tournament last season when Dease was redshirting.

Northern Kentucky (16)

8:20 p.m. Thursday vs. No. 1 Houston (TNT)

Noah Hupmann is following in the footsteps of his late father Sascha, who made a pair of NCAA tournaments with the University of Evansville Purple Aces in the early 1990s.

Hupmann, a junior listed at 7-1 just like Sascha, has appeared in 18 games this season. He was a standout at Day School, averaging 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 7.7 blocks as a junior when he was an IBCA Underclass Small School All-State selection. Then he transferred to Covington Catholic (Ky.) for his senior year.

NKU won the Horizon League tournament and is making its third NCAA appearance at the D-I level.

Northwestern (7)

6:35 p.m. Thursday vs. No. 10 Boise State (truTV)

The first non-player connection on this list is Harrison High School graduate Chris Lowery. He’s in his first season as an assistant for Northwestern and has been in the college coaching ranks for more than 25 years.

He spent the previous 10 years at another purple school, Kansas State, after being Southern Illinois’ head coach for eight seasons. In high school, he starred for the Warriors to bridge the gap between future NBA players Calbert Cheaney and Walter McCarty.

Lowery was named the Big Ten’s inaugural Howard Moore Assistant Coach of the Year this season. Northwestern is making its second NCAA tournament appearance ever.

Anybody else?

▶ Memphis (8) has the oldest player in college basketball — who also formerly starred for the Purple Aces. DeAndre Williams, 26, is set to cap his final season of eligibility as he averages 17.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.5 steals and a block per game. He spent the tumultuous 2019-20 season at UE. Memphis plays at 8:20 p.m. Friday versus No. 9 Florida Atlantic.

▶ Auburn (8) is still led by former University of Southern Indiana coach Bruce Pearl, who spent nine years on the West Side and propelled USI to a Division II national championship. The Tigers will play Thursday against No. 9 Iowa. Ironically, Pearl was an assistant at Iowa before he took over USI’s program.

▶ Clemson, coached by Evansville native Brad Brownell, earned a top seed in the National Invitational Tournament. Castle graduate Alex Hemenway is a senior guard averaging about seven points as the team’s best 3-point shooter. He recently returned from an injury. The Tigers will face OVC regular-season champion Morehead State.

▶ On the women’s side, no players from the Courier & Press coverage area made this year’s NCAA tournament.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: NCAA Tournament: Evansville connections to 2023 March Madness