Huskies Earn Fourth Seed In NCAA Tournament

Bracket [pdf] [html]

STORRS, Conn. (March 16, 2008) - The University of Connecticut men's basketball team received the fourth seed in the West Region of the 2008 NCAA Tournament and will begin play against 13th-seeded San Diego on Friday, Mar. 21, in Tampa, Fla. The Huskies and Toreros will be the second game of the first session, tipping 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Drake vs. Western Kentucky game that begins at 12:30 p.m.

First Session
12:30 p.m. Eastern: Drake vs. Western Kentucky
30 Minutes Following: UConn vs. San Diego

Second Session
7:20 p.m. Eastern: Vanderbilt vs.Siena
30 Minutes Following: Clemson vs. Villanova

Tickets for the first round game vs. San Diego are available to all UConn Club members and the general public. Tickets, priced at $66.00 each, can be purchased by calling the UConn ticket office toll-free 1-877-288-2666 (Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm).

UCLA, who begins play in Anaheim, Calif., against Mississippi Valley, is the No. 1 seed in the West Region, followed by second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Xavier.

The Huskies finished the regular season with a 24-8 overall record. They are making their 28th appearance in the NCAA tournament and have won the national championship in 1999 and 2004. UConn has an all-time record of 40-25 in NCAA tournament play with its last appearance coming in the 2006 Elite Eight where the team lost to George Mason.

This San Diego's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history and the first since 2003. The Toreros earned the automatic bid for the West Coast Conference after knocking off top-seeded Gonzaga in the championship game. They finished 21-13 overall and 11-3 in the WCC with two wins over Top 25 ranked teams (Saint Mary's and Gonzaga) as well Kentucky. The Toreros will enter the NCAA Tournament having won 13 of 15 games.

The winner of the UConn-San Diego contest will face the winner of fifth-seeded Drake and 12th-seeded Western Kentucky in the second round on Mar. 23.

Of UConn's 27 previous NCAA appearances, 15 of them have come under head coach Jim Calhoun in his 20-year tenure at Connecticut.

Stay tuned to UConnHuskies.com for more information.