UT-Arlington entered the Southland Conference Tournament with a 15-1 conference record and a No. 1 seed, but while NCAA dreams seemed a reality, their overall 24-8 record is good enough to earn them an 8 seed in the NIT against Washington, with a first round tip off scheduled for 9 p.m. CT on ESPNU Tuesday night.
Texas-Arlington missed a chance to go dancing in the NCAA Tournament when they failed to capitalize on their top seed in the Southland Conference Tournament, losing to underdog McNeese State 92-72 in the semifinals. Washington faced a similar situation in a weakened Pac-12 Conference, losing to Oregon State in the semifinals as well.
If UTA scores the upset and advances, they'll face the winner of No. 4 Northwestern and No. 5 Akron, and could face either the No. 2 seed Dayton or No. 3 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals.
Here's a look at the first round match-ups:
Region 1
No. 1 Washington Huskies vs. No. 8 Texas-Arlington Mavericks
No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats vs. No. 5 Akron Zips
No. 3 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 6 LSU Tigers
No. 2 Dayton Flyers vs. No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes
Region 2
No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 8 Savannah St. Tigers
No. 4 Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders vs. No. 5 Marshall Thundering Herd
No. 3 La Salle Explorers vs. No. 6 Minnesota Golden Gophers
No. 2 Miami Hurricanes vs. No. 7 Valparaiso Crusaders
Region 3
No. 1 Seton Hall Pirates vs. No. 8 Stony Brook Seawolves
No. 4 Mississippi St. Bulldogs vs. UMass Minutemen
No. 3 Drexel Dragons vs. Central Florida Knights
No. 2 St. Joseph's Hawks vs. No. 7 Northern Iowa Panthers
Region 4
No. 1 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 8 Bucknell Bison
No. 4 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles vs. No. 8 Nevada Wolf Pack
No. 3 Stanford Cardinal vs. No. 6 Cleveland St. Vikings
No. 2 Mississippi Rebels vs. No. 7 Illinois St. Redbirds
For a complete look at the 2012 NIT Bracket, click here.
For all your March Madness coverage, check out SB Nation's college basketball page, and check out SB Nation's NIT Tournament Storystream here.
