Eagle Staff Report
For the third straight season, the Texas A&M men's basketball team will open the NCAA Tournament against a team from the state of Utah.
On Sunday, No. 5 seed A&M (23-9) gained its fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid and was put in the South Regional in Spokane, Wash., against the Western Athletic Conference regular-season champion Utah State Aggies (27-7). The game is scheduled for Friday, 25 minutes after the conclusion of the Purdue-Siena matchup, which begins at 1:30 p.m.
The two winners will meet on Sunday at time to be determined.
Duke (29-5) is the No. 1 seed in the region, which finishes up in Houston.
"It will be nice for our guys to see a different part of the country," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "I really thought we'd be a four seed, but I'm happy to be a five. That just shows you how hard it is.
"Utah State has been in postseason play 10 straight years and is a special program. They certainly won't be afraid of the NCAA Tournament environment, especially after losing a close game last year to Marquette."
Utah State's last game was a loss to New Mexico State in the championship of the WAC Tournament held in Reno, Nev.
"Whenever I boast about the NCAA Tournament, they always remind me that we haven't won very many games, but it is because you get awfully tough draws," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "We certainly have a really tough opponent. I have seen them in the past and I know how much talent they have and how well-coached they are."
The 69-63 loss to New Mexico State forced Utah State to sweat it out on whether they would get an at-large berth.
"These kids deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament. What they have done this year, nothing against the NIT, but with what this group has done, it would have been a letdown," Morrill said. "They deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament and they are. There are some happy, happy Aggies right now."
In the two previous tournaments, A&M was matched up against and defeated BYU in the first round.
The last time A&M made the Sweet 16 it played in Texas. The Aggies lost to Memphis, 65-64, in San Antonio in 2007.
It is A&M's highest seed since the No. 3 seed the Aggies had in 2007, when they were also in the South Regional.
"We're very blessed. Today was completely different for us this year. We were on pins and needles the last couple of years," said Donald Sloan, A&M's leading scorer, who was the only player not from Kansas or Kansas State named the All-Big 12 Tournament team. "We've played a tough schedule and we've earned everything we've gotten this year. We're a confident team."
Six other Big 12 teams gained berths into the tournament.
Kansas, the No. 1 team in the nation, is the No. 1 overall seed and opens with Lehigh in the Midwest. Kansas State is No. 2 in the West and tips off against North Texas. Baylor gained the No. 3 seed in the South and will also play a Texas team, Sam Houston State, the Southland Conference champion.
Oklahoma State, a No. 7 seed, goes up against ACC Tournament finalist Georgia Tech in the Midwest. Texas also plays an ACC opponent, going up against Wake Forest, with the East's No. 1 seed Kentucky the likely next opponent if the eighth-seeded Longhorns win.
Missouri, which finished poorly, dropped to a No. 10 seed and goes up against Clemson in another East matchup.
The other No. 1 seed was Syracuse, which was sent to the West Regional.
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NOTES -- A&M is one of just 12 schools to make the last five NCAA Tournaments. A&M, Pittsburgh and Texas are the only teams in the 2010 field who have won at least one NCAA game in each of the previous four tournaments.
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