March 16, 2008

(San Diego, CA) - Before an enthusiastic crowd at the University Center on campus, the USD men's basketball team (21-13) found out they will face the UCONN Huskies (24-8) of the Big East Conference in the first round of NCAA Tournament this coming Friday, March 21st, in Tampa, Florida. The games will take place at the St. Pete Times Forum. The Toreros, a No. 13 seed, will be playing the No. 4 seed Huskies for the first time ever in the West Region bracket. The game is the 2nd of the First Session and will start 30 minutes after the Drake-Western Kentucky 12:30 pm (ET) contest. The winner of the USD-UCONN game will take on the winner of No. 5 Drake (28-4) vs. No. 12 Western Kentucky (27-6) contest on Sunday, March 23rd. Four other teams are playing in Tampa as part of the Midwest Region - No. 4 Vanderbilt vs. No. 13 Siena, and No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 Villanova.

"It's great for our team to be able to play such a storied program as UCONN," said head coach Bill Grier. "It will be a great experience for us and we are looking forward to it."

San Diego, which earned the league's automatic bid by winning the WCC Tournament, will be joined in the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. This marks the first time that the WCC will be sending three teams to the tourney. USD heads into the tournament having won five straight and 13 of 15. More information, including ticket information, will be available on Monday.