Scores of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members turned out Wednesday afternoon to give a rousing send-off to the Men’s Basketball Team as they headed to New York City and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The players and Head Coach Donnie Jones boarded the Stetson Hatters bus about 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Behind them were two chartered buses filled with Stetson band members, cheerleaders and other students, as well as alumni, staff, faculty and administrators, including Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD.

The 16-seed Hatters will play the reigning national champion UConn Huskies on Friday at 2:45 p.m. in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The game will be televised on CBS.

-Stetson Today