Most pundits thought that San Diego State’s resume was good enough to punch its ticket into the NCAA Touranment. All that was left was to figure out who its dance partners would be and where they would be dancing.
We know now.
The Aztecs (22-10, 9-7 in the Mountain West) received a seven seed in the South Regional and will play 10-seed Oklahoma in Philadelphia. The game will be played Friday.
If SDSU advances, it will play either No. 2 seed Georgetown or No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast.
San Diego State will be one of five teams out of the Mountain West in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico, UNLV, Colorado State and Boise State also earned berths. The Lobos will be a three seed in the West region, the Rebels earned a five seed in the East region, the Rams are an eight seed in the Midwest region and the Broncos will play in one of the First Four games in Dayton on Wednesday.
The Sooners (20-11, 11-7 in the Big 12) finished fifth in the Big 12 this season and lost in the conference tournament quarterfinals to Iowa State. Oklahoma is coached by former UNLV head coach Lon Kruger, who is taking his fifth program into the NCAA Tournament.
This will be the Sooners first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2008-09 season, when they were led by current Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin.
The Hoyas (25-6, 14-4 in the Big East) finished with a share of the Big East regular season championship, but lost in the conference tournament semifinals to long-time rival Syracuse.
Florida Gulf Coast (24-10, 13-5 in the Atlantic Sun) finished second in its conference. But the Eagles defeated regular season champion Mercer to get into the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State was placed in Kansas’ bracket, with the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight being played in the Dallas area at Cowboys Stadium.
The other teams in SDSU’s half of the bracket include No. 6 seed UCLA out of the Pac-12, which will play No. 11 Minnesota out of the Big Ten. The Aztecs defeated the Bruins, 78-69, in Anaheim in December.
SEC team Florida is the No. 3 seed in the South region and will play No. 14 seed Northwestern State out of the Southland Conference.
For more info: Visit our San Diego State Aztecs Examiner, Jamie Kiskis. Visit our College Basketball Examiner, Shawn S. Lealos. Follow me on Twitter.
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