HARFTORD, Conn. -- SMU senior guard Sterling Brown sat on a couch with a nylon net draped around his neck, eating chips, waiting anxiously while someone turned up the TV volume.
The Mustangs, fresh off a 71-56 win over Cincinnati in Sunday's American Athletic Conference championship game, celebrated for roughly 30 minutes before filling a room to learn their seed for their fourth NCAA tournament in the last 30 years.
At first, most of the players celebrated once they heard their school name called on national television. After all, the feeling of missing out on the tournament altogether was fresh, too.