Kennesaw State Is Dancing: Owls Win First C-USA Title, Draw Gonzaga
By faNILy Team ·
Kennesaw State is going back to the Big Dance.
The Owls beat Louisiana Tech 71-60 on Saturday in Huntsville, Alabama, to win their first Conference USA tournament championship and lock up the league's automatic bid. On Sunday, the selection committee made it official: KSU is the No. 14 seed in the West Region and will open against No. 3 Gonzaga.
How they got here
Jaden Harris led the way in the title game with 18 points, and Amir Taylor added 17, according to WSB-TV. It's the Owls' first C-USA tournament crown, and it turned a 21-win season into a ticket to March.
KSU heads into the tournament at 21-13 under third-year head coach Antoine Pettway. Winning a conference tournament means stringing together wins in a handful of days with everything on the line, and the Owls handled it, finishing the job with an 11-point win in the final.
For a mid-major, the automatic bid is everything. There's no at-large safety net. You win the week or you go home, and KSU won the week.
The matchup
- Who: No. 14 Kennesaw State vs. No. 3 Gonzaga
- When: Thursday, March 19, 10 p.m. ET
- Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
- TV: TBS
It's a tall order. Gonzaga comes in at 30-3 as the West Coast Conference champion, making its 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, according to KSU Athletics. It's the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The winner gets the winner of BYU vs. Texas/NC State on Saturday, March 21.
Been here before
This is KSU's second NCAA Tournament trip. The first came in 2023, when the Owls, also a 14 seed, fell 72-67 to No. 3 Xavier in the first round. Owls fans will remember how close that one was, and they'll be hoping for one more possession's worth of luck this time.
Why this one matters around here
Two NCAA Tournament bids in four seasons is a real statement for this program, and this one came with a conference tournament trophy attached. And in the NIL era, March is the biggest stage a mid-major player gets. A strong showing on national TV can turn a name only local fans know into one the whole country recognizes.
That visibility matters for athletes building their own brands, and it matters for fans who want to follow players before everybody else catches on.
faNILy is a Georgia company, and we've got a soft spot for the Owls. We'll be watching Thursday night, and we'll have more on how KSU's run plays out.
How to follow along
- Catch the game Thursday night on TBS.
- Follow KSU's official athletics accounts for travel updates and fan events.
- Keep an eye on the players' own social channels. Tournament week is when a lot of athletes give fans their best behind-the-scenes looks.
Go Owls.