SAN DIEGO — In its inaugural Division I season, UC San Diego has earned its first NCAA men’s basketball tournament berth in school history and will face Michigan in the opening round of March Madness.
UC San Diego, the Big West champion, is the 12th seed in the South Region, and Michigan is the fifth seed. They will play in the first round on Thursday at Ball Arena in Denver. The game will be televised on TBS and starts at 7 p.m.
UC San Diego (30-4) beat UC Irvine, 75-61, in the Big West championship game Saturday at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada, to earn an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament.
Michigan (25-9) won the Big Ten Tournament, downing Wisconsin 59-53 in the championship game and earning an automatic bid.
It will be the first meeting between Michigan and UC San Diego in men’s basketball.
UC San Diego is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. This is the first year it is postseason eligible after waiting four years for reclassification from NCAA Division II.
San Diego State will face North Carolina in a First Four game of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, because they are two of the four lowest-seeded at-large teams in the 68-team field.
The Aztecs (21-9) are the 43rd overall seed in the field of 68, three spots ahead of the Tar Heels (22-13). Both teams are considered 11th seeds in the South Region.
“I’m really proud of our group,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “To make it to the NCAA Tournament again is a tremendous accomplishment, especially due to the fact that we lost 90% of our scoring and minutes from a year ago.
“To have this young team come in play with such heart and energy and play their way into the NCAA tournament, it’s a tremendous credit to them and the coaching staff I have here with me.”
San Diego State reached the Sweet 16 in last season’s NCAA Tournament but has lost each of its top seven scorers from a season ago. Six are no longer with the team, and Reese Waters has not played this season due to injury.
The Aztecs scored 2,742 points last season, but just 232 of those points 8.5% have suited up for the team this season.
San Diego State lost two of its final three games entering the NCAA tournament — 74-67 at UNLV March 4 and 62-52 to Boise State in a Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship quarterfinal Thursday. The Aztecs have multiple wins over Top 25 teams and those receiving votes, including No. 4 Houston, Creighton, New Mexico and UC San Diego.
This is the fifth consecutive season the Aztecs have reached the NCAA tournament.
TruTV will televise the 6:10 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time game.
The San Diego State-North Carolina winner will face Mississippi Friday at 1:05 PDT in Milwaukee.
