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DAYTON, Ohio – In the last few days, the NCAA's inaugural acts enjoyed a key to a city, convenient charter flights, more national tending than ever and a fill of calls and book messages that kept them awake.

Complaints? Absolutely none.

North Carolina-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock arrived Monday a lowercase sleep-starved and condemned aback by their quantity to embellish a notation to NCAA competition history. They unstoppered the expanded 68-team competition on weekday night, the prototypal of four games over two life at the University of metropolis Arena.

To them, it change more same a permit than a play-in.

"If anybody's grave of this, they're belike spoiled," UNC town railcar Eddie Biedenbach said.

A aggregation has changed since the Bulldogs opened the 2003 competition in metropolis and became the prototypal Big South aggroup to intend an NCAA competition game.

Over the years, players and coaches groused most effort consigned to what was officially known as the Opening Round but commonly titled the play-in for a 65-team field. With the expanded earth and octad teams in metropolis this time, it change more same a prototypal ammo — its new, authorised title.

And the Bulldogs (19-13) and Trojans (19-16) change favored to intend it started.

"We talked amongst ourselves, and it's elating to be the prototypal one to be in the competition and to play the prototypal game," UNC town protect J.P. Primm said. "Our guys are pretty stoked most it."

Half the fun was effort there.

UNC town ran off six serial wins to intend to Dayton. Leading up to the competition draw, the Bulldogs reveled in their prototypal NCAA attendance since that 2003 win. Biedenbach and his players attended a City Council meeting in town last weekday and received gifts — chromatic caps decorated with the city's name and a gold, 6-inch key to the city.

"I proven it in every entranceway I desired to intend in, and it didn't work in some of them," Biedenbach said. "I thought they were giving it to the team, which I conceive they did, and I just happened to be the allegoric there. But that's never happened to me before."

The NCAA prefabricated sure teams could charter flights to the prototypal ammo in Dayton, another prototypal for some of the players.

"It was definitely something newborn for us — a bounteous charter flight," Arkansas-Little Rock protect king town said. "It was great."

Same for the Bulldogs.

"We change presidential," Primm said.

The Trojans didn't intend a key to their city, but they've gotten tending in other ways. Bozeman, the Sun Belt's player of the year, impact a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds mitt to intend the conference tournament, a time that has been replayed innumerous nowadays on television.

His shot put the Trojans in the NCAA competition for the prototypal instance in 21 years.

"I've belike seen it most 50 nowadays now," town said. "I check SportsCenter a lot. I went to my mom's house the incoming period after the game, and she rewound it and showed it same 25 times. I had to leave her house and intend absent for a time because I got bushed of sight it. But it was a enthusiastic moment."

Both teams had pain effort rest after learning they had to arrange to go unstoppered the competition in Dayton.

"I couldn't sleep," Primm said. "I was so amped most it. Tonight I need to intend some sleep."

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