Bryant fans to cheer on Bulldogs as they leave for Cleveland
Mar 18, 2025
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WPRI) — After taking home an America East Conference title, the Bryant Bulldogs are the only Rhode Island team in this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
The 15-seed Bulldogs are matched up with the 2-seed Michigan State Spartans in one of the last games of Round 1, tipp
ing off at 10 p.m. Friday in Cleveland.
It'll be Bryant's second time playing on the national stage since moving into Division I, having first made the tournament in 2022.
"That's what excites me, is that it gives our university, our program, our athletic department a chance to show itself on a big stage. And we did that, you know?" said head coach Phil Martelli Jr., who was just named the National Associate of Basketball Coaches' Mid-Atlantic District Coach of the Year.
"Every restaurant, every bar, every fitness center, every whatever ... those TVs are on," he added. "People are seeing that and they're going, 'Oh, what's Bryant? Who's Bryant?'"
The Bulldogs will head west on Wednesday, and a big sendoff celebration is planned at Bryant's Smithfield campus. The team is scheduled to leave for the airport around 9 a.m.
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