Love and basketball are taking center stage early in March Madness — in a way that would make Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps, stars of the 2000 film titled “Love & Basketball,” proud.

The love story of Alabama State Hornets guard Amarr Knox and Southern Jaguars guard DaKiyah Sanders began before March. On Feb. 6, Knox proposed to Sanders and they later announced the engagement on social media on Feb. 14.

The newly engaged couple spent the following month breaking barriers and etching their names into the history books with their performances at the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments, respectively.

On Tuesday, Knox made the game-winning shot that lifted his team over the St. Francis Red Flash. He led Alabama State with 16 points in the 70-68 First Four victory.

The win marked the historically Black university’s first win in an NCAA tournament. Alabama State also became the tenth HBCU to win an NCAA tournament game and the seventh to pick up its first-ever tournament win since 2000, according to ESPN Research.

The following day, Sanders dished four assists and grabbed three rebounds in Southern’s 68-56 First Four win over the UC San Diego Tritons. The win marked the Jaguars’ first in the women’s NCAA tournament and first from a Southwestern Athletic Conference team in the big dance.

The couple met at Alabama State, where Sanders spent four seasons, before transferring to Southern for the 2024-25 season. Knox enrolled in 2022, sharing two years together.

Southern will match up with the top-seeded UCLA Bruins in the first round of the women’s tournament on Friday (10 p.m. ET ESPN). Sanders, a Birmingham, Alabama native, averages 4.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Southern in the 2024-25 season.

Knox averaged 14.4 points for Alabama State. The Hornets’ season came to an end in the round of 64 against the top-seeded Auburn Tigers, 83-63.