College of Charleston to face Auburn in NCAA First Round in San Diego

Courtesy: CofC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston men’s basketball team will make its fifth all-time appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship as the 68-team field was announced on Selection Sunday.

As the regular season and tournament champion out of the Colonial Athletic Association, the No. 13-seeded Cougars (26-7) will face No. 4-seeded Auburn (25-7) in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Region on Friday, March 16 at a time still to be determined at the Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl in San Diego, Calif.

“We are excited and happy to be in the NCAA Tournament,” College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant said. “We are battle tested. We have experience, size, depth and toughness. We’ve been able to win on the road and on neutral courts this season. We are built to win. I think this team has some destiny in them. We just need to come up with a good game plan and try to put our best foot forward.”

The Tigers, who received an at-large bid out of the Southeastern Conference, lead 3-0 in the all-time series with the Cougars and both schools last faced each other in the 2012 ESPN Charleston Classic (L, 51-55) at TD Arena.

The winner will face either No. 5 Clemson (23-9) or No. 12 New Mexico State (28-5) in the second round. Kansas (27-7) is the top seed in the Midwest Region.

The Cougars are 1-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and previously earned an at-large berth in 1994 (TAAC) and automatic berths in 1997 (TAAC), 1998 (TAAC) and 1999 (Southern Conference).

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ALL-TIME IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT (1-4)
1999 – No. 8 College of Charleston vs. No. 9 Tulsa, L, 53-62, NCAA First Round on 3/12/99 in Charlotte, N.C.
1998 – No. 14 College of Charleston vs. No. 3 Stanford, L, 57-67, NCAA First Round on 3/13/98 in Chicago, Ill.
1997 – No. 12 College of Charleston vs. No. 4 Arizona, L, 69-73, NCAA Second Round on 3/15/97 in Memphis, Tenn.
1997 – No. 12 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Maryland, W, 75-66, NCAA First Round on 3/13/97 in Memphis, Tenn.
1994 – No. 12 College of Charleston vs. No. 5 Wake Forest, L, 58-68, NCAA First Round on 3/17/94 in Lexington, Ky.

CofC Athletics contributed to the writing of this article.