PORTLAND, Oregon — Arizona men’s basketball’s road to the Final Four begins Thursday morning with Texas Southern, a team without a famous name but quality wins.
On Thursday at 11:10 a.m. MST on TNT, the second seeded Wildcats (31-3) face No. 15 seed Texas Southern (22-12) in the second round of the NCAA tournament West Region in Portland, Ore.
The Tigers, who went 16-2 in the SWAC, are 118th in the RPI but beat Michigan State 71-64 on the road and won 58-56 at Kansas State. MSU (23-11) made it to the NCAA tournament as a seven seed.
“I always like to watch Michigan State play,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said at the Wednesday press conference. “So when I saw [Texas Southern’s] name came up, I guess you probably get a sick feeling in your stomach because you know anybody that can go to East Lansing and can play that well against Michigan State, a team that's very well-coached.”
Arizona is 8-3 under Miller in the NCAA tournament, with three Sweet 16s and two Elite Eights. TSU is in the Big Dance in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1995 and the second time overall.
The Wildcats are 22.5 point favorites. No. 2 seeds are 113-7 against No. 15 seeds all-time, but Arizona, in 1993 to Steve Nash and Santa Clara, was one of those twos to fall.
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