UC Santa Barbara Heads East For NCAA First & Second Rounds
The 2007-08 Big West Regular Season and Tournament Champion, UC Santa Barbara, extends its postseason streak to 13 (10 NCAA, 3 WNIT) with its berth into the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, as announced by the NCAA selection committee. The Gauchos (23-7) drew a No. 13 seed and will face fourth-seeded Virginia in the first round of the Greensboro Regional Sunday, March 23 in Norfolk, Va. Tipoff at Old Dominion's Ted Constant Convocation Center is at approximately 6:30 p.m. (PDT). The winner of the Gauchos-Cavaliers showdown takes on the victor of the No. 5 Old Dominion-No. 12 Liberty contest in second round action on Tuesday, March 25. ESPN2 is broadcasting both first round matchups.
The Gauchos are making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after defeating UC Davis in the finals of the Big West Tournament to earn the conference's automatic berth. UC Santa Barbara also won the Big West Conference regular season title after posting an impressive 15-1 mark in conference play. Winners of 19 of their last 20 games, the Gauchos own a 7-11 record in 11 previous appearances in the Big Dance, including the program's first-ever Sweet 16 berth in 2004. Santa Barbara lost to Notre Dame 61-51 in its last NCAA appearance in 2005. The Gauchos are 0-2 as a No. 13 seed in the tournament, also earning that draw in 1997 and 2005.
The University of Virginia (23-9) is an at-large selection out of the Atlantic Coast Conference and enters Sunday's matchup with an overall record of 23-9 after losing to eventual champion North Carolina in the semifinals of the conference tournament on March 8. The Cavaliers, who are currently ranked 23rd in the current USA Today/ESPN Top-25 Coaches Poll, went 10-4 in ACC play and tied for third place in the league standings with Duke.
UCSB has split two previous meetings with Virginia, defeating the Cavaliers 78-66 in the Thunderdome on December 28, 2000, before dropping a 72-71 decision in Charlottesville December 2, 2001. The Gauchos have never faced Old Dominion or Liberty.
Ticket prices for Sunday's first round have been set at $25, which includes admission to both the Old Dominion-Liberty and UCSB-Virginia games. Tickets will be available beginning Tuesday, March 18 at 9:00 a.m. by calling the UCSB Athletic Ticket Office at (805) 893-UCSB.
UC Davis Takes On Gonzaga In WNIT Action
In its first year as a full-fledged Division I program and as a member of the Big West, UC Davis enters postseason action with a WNIT First Round meeting with Gonzaga. The two teams tangle Thursday, March 20 at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. Thursday's game time will be released Tuesday. The Aggies and Bulldogs are meeting for the second time this season and for the third time the past two years. Gonzaga has won the previous two contests, including a 71-58 matchup at The Pavilion on Dec. 6, 2007.
UC Davis (19-11) finished conference play with a 12-4 mark, earning the No. 2 seed in the Big West Tournament. The Aggies, who became only the second team in league history - and the first since Long Beach State in 1986 - to make the tournament championship game in its first year in the conference, beat UC Riverside in the semifinals before losing in the finals to UC Santa Barbara.
With a 13-1 mark, Gonzaga was crowned West Coast Conference Regular Season Champions, but lost to the University of San Diego in the conference tournament finals and missed out on the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
The winner of Thursday's matchup travels to Boulder, Colo. to take on the University of Colorado. The Buffaloes (16-13) earned a bye into the second round of the WNIT after finishing ninth in the Big 12 with a 5-11 record.
The WNIT awards an automatic berth to each of the nation's 31 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Tickets prices for this game are $10 reserved, $7 general admission adults and $5 general admission children and seniors. Tickets go on sale to the general public Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. through TicketsWest at (509) 325-SEAT, ticketswest.com or any TicketWest outlet.