Excitement is peaking on the campus of Coastal Carolina University this weekend.

The men's basketball team is one win away from making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1993.

Towards the beginning of the season, CCU basketball fans were sometimes hard to come by. Today, it's a bit of a different scene on campus.

"March Madness, that's for us, that's for us," chants Jaquaris Brown, a CCU freshman.

That's almost the case. First, there's one more game against a familiar foe: Winthrop University out of Rock Hill, SC.

"It's kind of like, the rematch of the century," reflected Rachael Henry, a CCU junior.

Well, that's certainly one way to put it. But with CCU closing in on a nearly two-decade NCAA Tournament drought, while Winthrop has spent the past 11 seasons winning eight Big South Conference tournament championships and subsequently following those up with NCAA Tournament births, perhaps it is the rematch of the century. Either way, on the Conway campus students are acting accordingly.

When asked how excited they were about Saturday's game, a crowd of three CCU freshman roared, "I'm pumped, I'm pumped! I'm so excited! So pumped!"

"It's really exciting around here," described Kathryn Bryant, a CCU freshman.

"I'm super excited!" sang Amna Anjum, a CCU senior.

"I'm a huge college basketball fan and this is like a dream come true," admitted Alex Giangregorio, a freshman at CCU.

Can you tell they're excited?

"It's kind of a new excitement that we're not really used to having for the basketball games," said CCU senior, Claire Young.

Alex Giangregorio agreed. He said, "Last year, I went to a couple games and there weren't so many people there. But, going there this year, people are actually really in to it, the atmosphere is good. On ESPN last night they were saying how loud it was for such a small gym,"

Actually, Kimbel Arena on the CCU campus is one of the smallest in NCAA Division one play. But, fans don't seem phased.

"We're probably going to be a little extra crazy," predicted Justin Masters, a CCU freshman.

See? nothings getting in the way of these fans.

When asked if he was going to Saturday's game, Jaquaris Brown, exclaimed, "Yea, of course I'm gonna be there," then he paused for a moment and asked, "What time is the game?"

Well, almost nothing will get in their way. And it won't stop there, if the Chaunts make the NCAA tournament -

"I'll go," said Lorenzo Boyles, a CCU freshman, "I'll go this year if they win. I'll find a ticket and go. I'll find some way to get there."

Alex Giangregorio is also on board. "It would be awesome, I would have to go, there's no way I could miss it," he said.

Saturday's game is at 4:00 at Kimbel Arena in Conway. The box office is sold out.

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