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March Madness Begins For A Team That Almost Wasn't

NPR
Published March 14, 2017 at 12:52 PM EDT
New Orleans' Matthew Jiles, front, runs to grab the championship trophy after the team defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 68-65 in overtime in an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Southland Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2017, in Katy, Texas. (Joe Buvid/AP)
New Orleans' Matthew Jiles, front, runs to grab the championship trophy after the team defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 68-65 in overtime in an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Southland Conference tournament Saturday, March 11, 2017, in Katy, Texas. (Joe Buvid/AP)

The University of New Orleans will appear in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament for the first time in more than 20 years when its team takes on Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday night. But as NPR’s  Tom Goldman ( @TomGoldmanNPR) tells Here & Now‘s Robin Young, the school came close to dismantling its basketball team, making tonight’s game even more special.

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