The Alabama State men's basketball team will face Texas-San Antonio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. central time in Dayton, Ohio. The two teams will be a part of the newly created “First Four” games on the campus of the University of Dayton.
The Hornets emerged from the fourth seed in the Farmers Insurance SWAC Tournament to win the title and the league's automatic berth for the fourth time in school history and second time in three seasons.
“We're excited to have an opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament again,” Hornets' head coach Lewis Jackson said. “It's great for our players, Alabama State University, the community of Montgomery and people around the city and the state. Guys will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament again and that's big. That's as high as it gets, and we're excited about being in it.”
Alabama State (17-17) enters the NCAA's as one of the nation's hottest teams, being victorious 11 of their last 12 games. That lone loss, a 74-73 decision at Grambling on March 5, was avenged in the tournament championship game Saturday night with a 65-48 win over the Tigers. ASU finished (11-7) in conference play.
Now the Hornets look to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in school history and help the SWAC post back-to-back wins in the tournament, joining Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a 61-44 winner over Winthrop a season ago.
Texas-San Antonio's bid comes after winning the Southland Conference tournament. The league's freshman of the year Jerome Hill scored 25 points in the victory. Devin Gibson had an inspirational performance giving seventh-seeded UTSA (19-13) a thrilling 75-72 win over top-seed McNeese State on Saturday. The win gave the Roadrunners their first conference crown since 2004 and the school's third overall.
The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to Friday's second round in Cleveland against the nation's overall No. 1 seed Ohio State. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships. That game time from Quicken Loans Arena, will be announced on Monday.
Tip-off from UD Arena is set for 5:30 pm and can be seen on truTV.
