San Diego State earns spot in NCAA tournament, will face North Carolina
San Diego State will play in the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season. The Aztecs heard their name called during the March Madness Selection Show on Sunday afternoon, erasing doubts about whether they would get to play in the tournament.
San Diego State is matched up with North Carolina in the South Region of the bracket. The Aztecs and Tarheels were both given 12-seeds as two of the last teams placed in the tournament. They’ll face off in a first four matchup in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 6:10 Pacific Standard Time. The winner of that game will advance to Milwaukee to take on five-seed Ole Miss on Friday. Tip time on Friday is set for 1:05 Pacific Standard Time.
The Aztecs were seeded fourth in the Mountain West Conference tournament and drew fifth-seeded Boise State in the quarterfinal round. San Diego State took both regular season meetings from the Broncos and led by 11 points late in the first half on Thursday before allowing Boise State to own the second half. The Broncos held the Aztecs to 25 percent shooting in the second half and outscored them 13-3 over the final seven minutes of the game to emerge with a 62-52 victory.
Boise State went on to defeat top-seeded New Mexico in Friday’s semifinal round before falling to Colorado State in last night’s championship game. The Broncos, like San Diego State, entered Sunday with uncertainty around their chances for an at-large bid in the tournament. Their dreams came to an end on Sunday when the committee omitted them from the bracket, ending a run of three straight seasons playing in the tournament.
By winning on Saturday, Colorado State locked up their automatic berth. The Rams surged in the second half of the season, earning the two-seed in the conference tournament, leading to last night’s victory. Colorado State will get to avoid heading to Dayton, Ohio for a first four game by taking the automatic bid. The Rams were placed in the West Region and given a 12-seed. The Rams will take on AAC Champion Memphis on Friday in Seattle.
New Mexico and Utah State, the two teams from the Mountain West that were safely in the NCAA tournament prior to the conference tournament, learned their seedings on Sunday. New Mexico earned the 10-seed in the South Region and will play seven-seed Marquette on Friday in Cleveland. Utah State was placed in the Midwest Region and given a 10-seed. The Aggies will take on seven-seed UCLA on Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.
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-770033d1c5c4820fdbde4ecf2452e810.jpg "Bodie De Silva")
Bodie DeSilva has been covering sports in San Diego for more than a decade. He previously covered San Diego State athletics for Scout/Fox Sports.