“Obviously, we’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Head Coach Jay Smith. “They have a Player of the Year candidate in Kyle Korver. He’s a very good player.”

The team was excited about its match-up with Creighton, which is considered a Mid-Major, similar to CMU. The Blue Jays play in the Missouri Valley Conference, which is similar to the MAC.

“I like it,” said junior guard T.J. Meerman. “We’re both Mid-Majors. They’ve been talked about a lot this year. It’s going to be a good matchup. They’re the (No.) 6 seed, so we respect them and plan on going to play like we’ve been playing all year.”

The team found out about its bracket position in Rose Arena following a pep rally that included the Rose Rowdies, the cheerleaders and pep band, player introductions and speeches from Smith, University President Michael Rao and Athletics Director Herb Deromedi.

“It is awesome to see how many people came here to cheer and show support,” Meerman said.

CMU’s three seniors: Robinson, J.R. Wallace and Mike Manciel all spoke to the crowd.

“We’re not done any time soon,” Manciel said. “I have six more games left in my career.”

The drama was built during the selection show. The CMU-Creighton game was the last of the 32 matchups to be announced. Smith said it may have been fitting.

“It’s almost like that’s the way they picked it,” Smith said. “All year, they’ve picked us to be near the bottom. We kind of hung around all year. Nobody gave us what we really deserved.”

Robinson said he was nervous about having to wait so long to find the matchup.

“It was nerve-wracking,” Robinson said. “But they saved the best for last.”

A plethora of CMU students were on hand and were excited about the Creighton draw.

“Creighton is probably the best six seed we could have played,” said Drew Ellis, Portland sophomore. “We’ll show the world what Mid-Majors are capable of.”

The team and fans both wanted a game to take place in Indianapolis, the nearest of the eight first round sites to Mount Pleasant.

“We were hoping for Indianapolis,” said Seth Longton, Monroe junior. “We were going to go.”

Smith said he was pleased with his team’s position in the tournament. If the Chippewas were to win, it would set up a potential matchup with No. 3 Duke, which will play No. 14 Colorado State.

“I said 10 or 11,” Smith said. “I thought that was what we would get. I think that is a good position for us.”

Unlike the Chippewas, the Blue Jays (29-4, 15-3 MVC) have garnered major national attention for much of the year. The team is ranked No. 19 in The Associated Press poll, and has defeated tournament teams such as BYU, Notre Dame and Southern Illinois. The team defeated SIU 80-56 in the Missouri Valley Championship.

“We’re satisfied with the match-up,” Robinson. “It will be a battle of the Mid-Majors and we’re excited about it.”

Creighton is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, the Blue Jays engineered a double-overtime upset victory over Florida, before losing to Illinois in the second round. The team is led by Korver, who was named Second Team All-American by www.espn.com. The strong-shooting senior averages 17.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

The team’s balanced attack also includes Larry House, Mike Grimes and Brody Deren. The Blue Jays are ranked No. 2 in www.espn.com’s Mid-Major Top 10 poll.

“We’re going to go get ready and prepare, we have a lot of work to do,” Manciel said. “We’re confident to do it.”

Arizona is the No. 1 seed in the West bracket, while Kansas is No. 2.

Wallace had a message for CMU’s faculty members.

“I need all of the professors to help us out,” Wallace said. “I don’t plan on being at class for the next couple weeks.”

One-hundred tickets will be available to students, however the price is unknown. Interested students should call the athletic ticket office at 774-3045 or (888) 347-3872 before Tuesday. Tickets will be sold for both the Thursday and Saturday sessions.

If the Chippewas were to lose on Thursday, the Saturday tickets would be refunded.