INDIAN-LSU WALTZ SET FOR THURSDAY

Barb Garner hasn't had a normal day since last weekend, and likely won't now that the Southeast Missouri State University Indians are headed to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City for their first round of NCAA tournament play.

She and her husband, Southeast Coach Gary Garner, have been on "pins and needles" for days, waiting to hear where the team would play in its first-ever NCAA tournament game.

Southeast Missouri State University will play Louisiana State University Thursday. Game time has yet to be announced.

"My heart was pounding," she said. "The anticipation is part of the fun."

For years now, she and her husband have hoped to watch their team's name listed on the brackets of the NCAA Tournament. On Sunday they did.

People erupted into cheers and screams as the team pairings in the tournament were announced. Hundreds of fans, dressed in red and black, packed into banquet rooms at the Drury Lodge Sunday evening.

Local radio and television crews reported live during the hour-long event.

Garner said people were cheering so loudly that she didn't hear much of the team's reaction, but she did hear a few players say they could win the game over Louisiana State University and then play Texas.

Garner said she hasn't had a normal day since the team captured a win over Murray State last weekend and earned a place on the NCAA bracket. "I don't think it will be very normal now," she said.

She plans to work at the university's financial aid office today and then head to Salt Lake City with the team on Tuesday.

And plenty of fans will be headed there with her.

Jackie Brandtner and Flo Johnson weren't certain Sunday night that they'd travel all the way to Salt Lake City, but there were giving it some careful consideration. Brandtner was disappointed that the team wouldn't be playing closer to home so that more fans could attend the game.

"We feel like the kids are ready to play. As someone who follows them, we feel like we help them when we are there," she said.

But with hundreds of cheering fans crowded around television sets and projection screens in a room flooded with red and black, Brandtner was certain the team knew they were supported.

"I'm happy for the team and the coaches that so many people are here," she said.

Mayor Al Spradling III, who declared the week "March Madness in Cape Girardeau," said it didn't matter where the team played.

"It's just an honor to be able to compete," he said.

Spradling, who is an ardent SEMO fan, will watch the game from Biloxi, Miss., where he will be for the weekend. "I'm sure we'll be getting that LSU feed," so seeing the game won't be a problem, he said.

The university's athletic department is still taking names of people who want tickets to the event at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake. Tickets range from $90 to $120 for a pass to first- and second-round play.

Joyce Penny, athletic department ticket manager, said the university didn't have time to put together any sort of travel package because no one knew exactly where the team would play.

But the university does get 350 tickets, with an option for 100 more, so that administrators, players' families and fans can attend the game.

The list of fans wanting tickets had about 200 names by 5 p.m. Sunday "but that will drop because of the location," Penny said. The majority of tickets will go to university officials and players.

For information about NCAA tickets, contact the Athletic Department Ticket Office at 651-2113.

TICKET INFORMATION

WHO: Southeast Missouri State University Indians v. Louisiana State University Tigers.

WHAT: NCAA tournament, first-round play.

WHERE: Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

WHEN: Thursday. Game time to be announced by CBS today.

HOW TO GET TICKETS: Call the Southeast University Athletics Ticket office at 651-2113 for information. Names are being added to a list for the 350 tickets that Southeast will receive. Most of those tickets, however, will go to university officials and players' families. Ticket price ranges from $90-$120 for admission to first- and second-round play.