Who will the Orioles players be following in the Big Dance?

I've chosen a March Madness-themed post over a St. Patrick's Day-themed post for today. Feel free to chime in on your favorite Irish Oriole in the comments section. In the meantime, check out the college hoops loyalties of some members of the Orioles roster based on where they attended college.

Matt Angle has to be feeling good about March Madness as his Ohio State Buckeyes are the tournament's number one overall seed.

Brian Roberts split time between UNC and South Carolina, but the Durham, N.C., native maintains his Tar Heel loyalties and tends to attend a game or two in Chapel Hill during the off-season.

Joe Mahoney had a solid spring in Orioles camp. Now the former Richmond student will get to see if his college can make good as a popular 5-12 upset pick.

Jake Fox is focused on winning a roster spot behind Matt Wieters, and based on his numbers, he's clearly locked in. Hopefully he can take a break to watch his Michigan Wolverines end an extended tournament drought. Or to cheer against those Uncle Toms at Duke.

Jason Berken's college made the "First Four," but is unlikely to appear in the "Final Four." Berken's a Clemson guy.

Other Orioles with college affiliations:

Mark Reynolds - Virginia. Here's hoping Reynolds didn't watch the ACC tournament, or at least not the final 42 seconds of regulation.

Luke Scott - Oklahoma State. I wonder if Luke had any thoughts about Oklahoma State's win over Harvard in the opening round of the NIT?

Matt Wieters - Georgia Tech. Tourney talk is fun, but so too is guessing who the next coach will be.

Craig Tatum - Mississippi State. Tatum's school fell short of the tournament but still had plenty of fight in 'em.

Brian Matusz - San Diego. Not much to talk about for the Toreros on the hardwood this year other than a victory over one of last year's Sweet Sixteen darlings, St. Mary's.

Jeremy Guthrie - Stanford. Guthrie always has the Cardinal women's team to brag on.

Jake Arrieta - TCU. Basketball? The undefeated Horned Frogs won the Rose Bowl. And you expect them to care about basketball?

Jeremy Accardo - Illinois State. Accardo's ready to party like it's 1998.Unfortunately, his Redbirds are not.


Mark Hendrickson - Washington State. Sure, his Cougars aren't in the NCAA tournament, but he's the only guy in the clubhouse who can watch March Madness and say "Been there, done that."


-34-