Welcome to The Dance, Winthrop Eagles

The Winthrop Eagles are becoming the Gonzaga of the Big South. The Eagles defeated Coastal Carolina - a team that was expected to finish eighth this year in the conference - in today's final to advance to the program's fifth Big Dance in six years and ninth in the last 12. Perhaps the Eagles learned a lesson in 2008-09. After getting to the second round of the NCAAs the year before, coach Randy Peele (right) scheduled ambitiously and was beaten down by it. Winthrop finished 11-19 and never had a sniff at dancing last year. So in 2009-10, the school scheduled down, perhaps hoping to catch fire in the conference tournament and get in the way the system permits. It worked, and they'll be back. Player to know: Nobody on Winthrop was consider a preseason all-conference play, and with good reason, as this is a five-as-one kind of club. But Reggie Middleton leads the team in points (10.4), assists (3.0) and is second in steals with 53 this year, prior to today's game. The ...