ROCK HILL, S.C. — The cheers of Winthrop players and fans when the school's NCAA matchup popped up Sunday were as loud as could be. Coach Gregg Marshall's disappointed smirk after seeing the Eagles seeded 15th told a different story.

Winthrop will meet No. 2 seed Tennessee (21-7) in the NCAA's opening round Thursday in Greensboro, N.C. Marshall expected his club's sixth NCAA trip in eight years, along with last year's strong performance in a 74-64 tournament loss to Gonzaga, would've earned stronger consideration from the selection committee.

"I'm don't understand it. I thought we'd be higher," he said. "But I'm not in that room. Now, we've just got to go prove it."

The Eagles (23-7) needed a wild floor scramble to save their 51-50 tournament final victory over Coastal Carolina on March 4 to win the Big South. Winthrop, 0-5 in the NCAAs under Marshall, is hopeful its latest NCAA trip will be its tournament break through.

Winthrop guard Chris Gaynor says the team has some added motivation with their seeding. "When it came up on the TV screen, yes, we were happy to be there, but it was a little disappointing," he said.

The atmosphere at the Winthrop Coliseum was festive, with about 1,000 Eagles supporters on hand. Marshall, dressed in a black turtleneck and pants, signed autographs and got the fans pumped for CBS Sports TV cameras as the scoreboard clocked counted down the time until the bracket announcement.

Winthrop had three losses in the Big South, including two to state rival Coastal Carolina and its new coach, former UT _coach Buzz Peterson that left some wondering if Marshall's conference reign was done. "We were not ready to pass the torch in the Big South quite yet to Buzz-ball," Marshall happily told the crowd.

Imagine how good the Eagles would feel about an NCAA victory.

Torrell Martin, Winthrop's leading scorer, thinks a more relaxed, experienced and knowledgeable club will make the trip this time.

"I wouldn't say we had butterflies, but there was nervousness and excitement last year," Martin said. "We're definitely more mature. We're ready."

The school's tournament history doesn't paint a hopeful picture. When the Eagles made four-straight appearances from 1999 through 2002, their closest loss during that stretch was 71-67 to Northwestern State in the 2001 play-in game. The other three defeats (to Auburn in 1999, Oklahoma in 2000 and Duke in 2002) were by an average of nearly 37 points each.

Still, coming close a year ago didn't appear to register with the committee, Marshall said.

Several tournament teams with lower power ratings than Winthrop's No. 72 received higher seeds from the NCAA selection committee.

Pacific, Big West champions, entered the week with an RPI of 101 and gained a 13th seed. Xavier, a 14th seed, had an RPI of 100 before winning the Atlantic 10 tournament title. Sun Belt champs South Alabama also received a 14th seed despite starting the week No. 73.

"When they start putting out the RPI what does that mean? Is that just to throw you a curve? Are you supposed to be able to follow it in any resemblance?" Marshall said. "There were teams with lower RPIs, I've got to go see who they beat to get higher seeds than us."

"But the bottom line is it doesn't matter unless your play backs up your claim," Marshall said. "I think we're a little higher. Now, we've got to go prove it."