MBB seeded No. 5 in NCAA Tournament’s West Region
The University of Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team will begin its quest for a fifth national championship on Thursday night.
Seeded fifth in the 2022 NCAA Tournament’s West Region, UConn (23-9) will face off against No. 12 New Mexico State, which secured its 10th Western Athletic Conference Tournament title over the last 16 competitions. The Huskies and Aggies will partake in opening day action at KeyBank Center (6:50 p.m. ET, TNT), with the winner facing the victor of No. 4 Arkansas’ tilt against 13th-ranked Vermont.
The No. 5 seed is UConn’s best ranking since they began their trek to 2011’s national championship in the third seed, which likewise came in the West. Victories over Bucknell and Cincinnati came in Spokane before they respectively topped San Diego State and Arizona in Anaheim’s regional semifinal and final rounds en route to the Final Four wins over Kentucky and Butler in Houston. The Huskies last held a fifth seed in the South portion of 2003’s bracket. Back then, UConn topped BYU and Stanford before falling to eventual Final Four representative Texas in San Antonio.
Thursday will mark the first-ever meeting between Connecticut and New Mexico State, whose best showing in the modern NCAA Tournament format (since 1985) was a regional semifinal finish in 1992. They’re seeking their first postseason win overall since the 1995 NIT’s second round.
The Aggies (26-6, 14-4 WAC) are back on the bracket after a two-year absence (including the canceled 2020 edition), clinching their return ticket through a 66-52 victory over Abeline Christian in the WAC Tournament final in Las Vegas on Saturday night. New Mexico State is coached by Chris Jans, who is in the midst of his fourth season in Las Cruces. The Aggies are led by forward Teddy Allen, a Nebraska transfer who led the WAC in scoring (19.3 per game) and fifth in rebounding (6.8).
The West Region is topped by No. 1 Gonzaga, which also topped the most recent edition of the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll and will face 16th-seeded Georgia State in another Thursday matchup. Others ahead of Connecticut include Duke and Texas Tech, major conference runner-ups who ranked second and third respectively. West Region action officially gets underway on Wednesday, when Notre Dame and Rutgers will do battle for the bracket’s 11th seed. The winner will face No. 6 Alabama on Friday.
West Regional First Round Schedule
| Date | Location | Game | Time (ET) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, 3/16 | Dayton, OH | No. 11 Notre Dame vs No. 11 Rutgers (First Four) | 9:10 p.m. | TruTV |
Thursday, 3/17 | Portland, OR | No. 8 Boise State vs No. 9 Memphis | 1:45 p.m. | TNT |
Thursday, 3/17 | Portland, OR | No. 1 Gonzaga vs No. 16 Georgia State | 4:15 p.m. | TNT |
Thursday, 3/17 | Buffalo, NY | No. 5 UConn vs No. 12 New Mexico State | 6:50 p.m. | TNT |
Thursday, 3/17 | Buffalo, NY | No. 4 Arkansas vs No. 13 Vermont | 9:20 p.m. | TNT |
Friday, 3/18 | San Diego, CA | No. 3 Texas Tech vs No 14 Montana State | 1:45 p.m. | TNT |
Friday, 3/18 | San Diego, CA | No. 6 Alabama vs ND/RU | 4:15 p.m. | TNT |
Friday, 3/18 | Greenville, SC | No. 2 Duke vs No. 15 CSU Fullerton | 7:10 p.m. | CBS |
Friday, 3/18 | Greenville, SC | No. 7 Michigan State vs No. 10 Davidson | 9:40 p.m. | CBS |
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
