March 15, 2009

Tar Heels Earn No. 1 Seed In NCAA Tournament South Regional
The University of North Carolina men's basketball team has earned a No. 1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will open play on Thursday against No. 16 seed Radford (21-11) in Greensboro, N.C. The Tar Heels (28-4) are a top seed for the 13th time, an NCAA record.

Carolina and Radford will play on Thursday in Greensboro, with the winner set to play on Saturday against the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Louisiana State (26-7) and No. 9 seed Butler (26-5). UNC hopes to advance to the Sweet 16 in Memphis, Tenn., the following weekend.

UNC is one of seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams to make the 2009 NCAA Tournament field, joining Duke (No. 2 seed in the East), Wake Forest (No. 5 in the Midwest), Florida State (No. 5 in the East), Boston College (No. 7 in the Midwest), Clemson (No. 7 in the South) and Maryland (No. 10 in the West). Michigan State, another Tar Heel opponent in 2008-09, is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest.

Duke Claim No. 2 Seed In NCAA Tournament East Regional
The Duke University men's basketball team earned the Atlantic Coast Conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by claiming the 2009 ACC Championship on Sunday and was then awarded the No. 2 seed in the East Regional by the selection committee.

The Blue Devils will play Binghamton on Thursday at approximately 9:40 p.m. in Greensboro in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Duke-Binghamton winner will face the winner of the Texas-Minnesota game, which is slated to tip at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of the East Regional pod in Greensboro advances on to the Sweet 16 in Boston (March 26-28).

Duke is 11-6 in their 17 games during the 2008-09 season against teams in the 65-team 2009 NCAA Tournament field. The Blue Devils have wins over Florida State (3), Maryland (3), Wake Forest, Boston College, Michigan, Purdue and Xavier. 

Wake Forest Receives At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament
Wake Forest has received an at-large bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will be seeded fourth in the Midwest Region, as announced by the NCAA on Sunday evening. The Demon Deacons will open Tournament play on Friday, March 20, vs. 13th-seeded Cleveland State at American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Wake Forest enters the NCAA Tournament with a 24-6 overall record. The Deacons finished 11-5 in ACC play and received the No. 2 seed in last week's conference tournament.

The Deacs will be making their 21st all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and their first since the 2004-05 season. Wake Forest is 27-20 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The Deacons have advanced to the Sweet 16 round 10 times, to the Elite Eight seven times and to the Final Four once (1962). 

Seminoles To Play Wisconsin In First Round Of NCAA Tournament
The Florida State Seminoles will take on the Wisconsin Badgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will take place in Boise, Idaho on Friday.

The Florida State Athletic Ticket Office will begin accepting ticket requests on Monday morning at 8:30 am for the 1st round of the NCAA East Regional Men's Basketball Tournament to be played in Boise, Idaho. The ticket office will accept requests from current Seminole Booster members and Men's Basketball season ticket holders by phone at 888-FSU-Nole or in person at the Seminole Ticket Office at Doak Campbell Stadium. Deadline for submitting a ticket request is Monday at 5:00 pm. Requests for tickets will not be confirmed until Tuesday morning once the overall ticket demand is determined. There is no limit on the number tickets a booster or season ticket holder may request; however, if demand exceeds supply, then limits will be placed on orders, before credit cards are processed.

Should Florida State win on Friday, boosters or season ticket holders who purchase tickets for the 1st round, would have the option to purchase tickets for Sunday's 2nd round also to be played in Boise.

Clemson to Meet Michigan in NCAA Tournament
Clemson #7 Seed in South Regional at Kansas City, MO

Clemson will face Michigan in the first round of the South Regional of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO on Thursday, March 19. The time of the game will be announced on Monday.

Clemson is the seventh seed of the South Regional and Michigan is the 10th seed. The winner will play the winner of the Oklahoma vs. Morgan State game on Saturday, March 21 at the same facility.

This will be the third all-time meeting between Clemson and Michigan. The Wolverines hold a 2-0 lead in the series. An 11th ranked Michigan team defeated Clemson at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa, FL in December of 1987 by a 93-88 score, and downed Clemson at the 1998 Maui Classic by a 59-56 score. 

Boston College To Play USC In NCAA Tournament
Boston College was selected as the seventh-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional and will play USC (Southern California) on Friday, March 20 at 6:20 p.m. (Central time; 7:20 Eastern time).

USC is the 10 seed in the Midwest Regional.

The team's first-round meeting will mark the second-ever meeting between the Eagles and the Trojans. The only other contest was the teams' 2001 NCAA Tournament second-round meeting, which USC won 74-71. 

Maryland Lands No. 10 Seed in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
The Maryland men's basketball team will make its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament when the Terrapins face the California Golden Bears on Thursday in a first-round game in Kansas City.

The Terps (20-12) earned the 10th seed in the West Regional, while the Golden Bears (22-10) are the seventh seed. Tipoff is set for approximately 2:55 p.m. ET from the Sprint Center.

The winner of the Maryland-Cal matchup will advance to Saturday's second round and face the winner of the game between second-seeded Memphis and 15th-seeded Cal State Northridge. That game will tip off at either 3:30 or 5:50 p.m. ET.