If coach Brian Barone had any visions of delirious students meeting his team off the bus and forming a celebratory phalanx, after achieving the first NCAA men’s basketball tournament appearance in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville history, he was quickly disabused of such visions upon returning to campus following the Cougars’ Ohio Valley Conference title win Saturday night.

“There’s nobody here. It’s spring break,” Barone said with a laugh earlier in the week.

Much more attention will be paid to Barone’s team starting Sunday night, when the Cougars will find out their First Four opponent for a Tuesday game, which is expected to be played in Dayton, Ohio. A win in that game would put the Cougars into the March Madness field of 64.

Regardless of the outcome, Barone’s team already has accomplished something no previous SIUE team has since the program went Division 1 in 2008.

“It’ll be tough, we know that. But we have a group of guys who want a game plan and who want to go at it,” Barone said. “We won’t know who we play until 5:15 p.m. Sunday night, and then we’re probably going to have to get on a bus for Dayton right after. It’ll be crazy. It’ll be unique.”

The Cougars (22-11, 13-7 in the OVC) gained the automatic NCAA tournament bid with a 69-48 win over Southeast Missouri State in Evansville, Indiana. After playing in the Great Lakes Conference for 15 years, the Cougars went D-1 in 2008, with Barone at the helm the last six years. After going a combined 28-61 record his first three years at SIUE, Barone has compiled a 58-41 record the last three seasons, and now the Cougars are in the Big Dance.

Make no mistake, the odds will be heavily against the Cougars in the first round, even if they win their First Four game Tuesday. But March Madness history is filled with shocking early-round upsets, which helps explain the tournament’s national popularity. Everybody has a chance of going all the way.

Six years ago, Barone placed a pair of scissors behind a glass frame, with instructions to break it and use them to cut down the nets once the Cougars made the NCAA tourney. Finally, Saturday night, Barone cracked the glass – in front of an ESPN audience to boot.

“We really didn’t talk about the scissors much over the years. But we put them up over our exit sign in the locker room in the tournament games,” said Barone, a former captain at Marquette. “The way our room is, guys wouldn’t necessarily notice them. But it was nice to get them out of that case finally.”

Guard Ray’Sean Taylor, a Collinsville High School graduate, is the all-time leading scorer at SIUE and the centerpiece of the Cougars team that will make its first appearance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. SIUE Athletics

The star player of the Cougars is a product of Collinsville High School, 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard Ray’Sean Taylor. A fifth-year senior, Taylor is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,950 points and was the OVC player of the year.

Taylor was injured his freshman year and didn’t even play for the Cougars until his third season. Now, he’ll be on a national stage, with a chance to impress NBA scouts for a possible career there. Taylor was overlooked by some colleges, including SIU Carbondale, coming out of Collinsville. That, no doubt, is to their regret now.

“This school is the one that’s given me the chance to grow as a person and a player,” said Taylor, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in sports psychology once his playing days are over. “We’re enjoying the moment right now. But we feel like we can beat anybody. We’re not worried about what (pundits) say. We’re a good team.”

Not only will Taylor be moving on from SIUE when the tournament is over, but questions are already swirling about whether Barone will stay on with the Cougars or be lured away by an offer from a bigger, richer program. In the college coaching rat race, that’s how it works; Win consistently at a small program, and the bigger ones figure to come calling at t some point.

Brian Barone watches from the sidelines during the OVC championship. Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

What does Barone have to say about that?

“I mean, if the (Chicago) Bulls came calling tomorrow, I’d have to say ‘well, sorry guys.’ But I’d love the fact that, if conversations take place – not because of ego – it would mean our team had success,” said Barone, 47. “Even more so, I think we’ve had success the right way with the right kinds of kids. Obviously, it’s always an honor to be respected in this profession and to where people might say, ‘hey, other people would want you.’ Where I’ve been fortunate, this year especially, is I’ve chosen to appreciate the ‘now’ more than ever. Everything in this new NCAA world now is ‘what if?’

“What if this player goes there (in the portal) or what if this school might pay a guy and he could leave right away? Mentally, I just had to choose to appreciate the heck out of today. I’ve learned that you don’t go anywhere where you can’t have success, and in my opinion, this is my wheelhouse. We’ve obviously had success, and my family has had success here as well. My mom and dad taught me to appreciate the people who appreciate you. So, that’s my approach right now. Coaches are very expendable right now. It’s important to know the grass isn’t always greener somewhere else.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.