While the SEC got smoked for its poor NCAA Tournament showing, several mid-major programs rose up in the Round of 64 to truly put the madness into March. We’ve got eight of the 32 teams remaining as double-digit seeds, and among the most impressive performances was 12th-seeded Grand Canyon’s 75-66 domination of Saint Mary’s.
The Lopes’ (short for Antelopes) tone-setter was unquestionably Tyon Grant-Foster. He played all but one minute of the game, led all scorers with 22 points and got to the free throw line at will, where Grand Canyon outscored the Gaels 28-7. Talk about imposing your will on an opponent. And really, in retrospect, we shouldn’t be surprised at Grant-Foster’s fortitude on the Big Dance stage.
While you drink some of his highlights below, check out the backstory.
We’re talking about a senior who began his top-level collegiate career at Kansas, transferred to DePaul, went through serious medical hardships, didn’t play for two full seasons, and just came back in 2023-24 to lead the Lopes to a 30-4 record so far and the Round of 32. Seeing Grant-Foster celebrate and hearing him reflect on his journey afterwards was extremely inspiring.
My only gripe with Grand Canyon last night was the fact that NCAA Tournament organizers kept pushing back the late games and made everyone stay up until the wee hours of the morning to watch one of the greatest performances of the entire opening round. I’m certain most people didn’t make it through the night. You can only get so far when you’re amped up and binge-watching college hoops for almost 48 hours straight to that point.
The good news is, Grant-Foster and the Lopes live to fight another day. Next up for them is Alabama, who redeemed the SEC somewhat with a wild 109-96 shootout of a win over Charleston. The Bama-Grand Canyon tip-off is at a much more manageable time of 7:10 p.m. ET. Star guard Mark Sears and the Crimson Tide better buckle up, because the Lopes are playing with house money, and have a motivating leader in Grant-Foster who the entire squad can so easily rally around. That’ll be one of the most anticipated contests before the Sweet Sixteen.
Is the next stop the NBA for Tyon Grant-Foster? It’s at least a possibility if he keeps balling out during March Madness.
