Seven Texas Schools Make the NCAA Tournament
There are some years that Texas teams are a little thin during March Madness, but this year we'll be well-represented in the NCAA tournament. There are seven teams in the bracket, and two of them are playing each other this week in Dallas.
First of all, congrats in Nac! Stephen F. Austin made the NCAA tournament by beating Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game Saturday night.
The Lumberjacks will be the 14 seed in the east region and will take on the 3-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders Thursday in Dallas. It's nice that we don't have to travel to Charlotte or Wichita, or one of the other regional host sites to cheer on the Jacks. A road trip is callin' to watch two Texas teams start the tournament in Texas.
Other Texas teams to make the field of 68:
South Region - #10 Texas will play #7 Nevada; Friday, March 16 in Nashville, TN
Midwest Region - #6 TCU will take on the #11 seed, which will be the winner of the Arizona State/Syracuse game Wednesday night. TCU plays that winner Friday, March 16 in Detroit, MI
West Region - #7 Texas A&M will play #10 Providence on Friday, March 16 in Charlotte, NC.
Also in the West Region, #6 Houston will play #11 San Diego State Thursday, March 15 in Wichita.
And if Texas Southern can beat NC Central they'll move into the #16 seed to take on #1 Xavier Friday, March 16 in Nashville, TN
Don't even try to figure out why Houston is in the West Region and TCU is in the Midwest Region, when both teams are from the South. And why Charlotte, NC is a West Region host site when its on the East Coast the last time we checked. Just accept, and if a team has a Tex in its name, cheer for it.
Now all we have to do is fill out the bracket. And prepare to get very little work done Thursday and Friday. Between spring break, March Madness, and St. Patty's Day, this might be the most unproductive week of the year at the office. Cheers! This will be fun.