Big West Tournament champion Cal State Northridge received a No. 15 seed and drew second-seeded Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  The Matadors and Tigers battle Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. with the winner advancing to face either No. 7 seed California or No. 10 Maryland in the second round of the West Regional Saturday.

Cal State Northridge (17-13, 11-5 Big West) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA's after clinching its first Big West Tournament championship with victories against UC Santa Barbara and Pacific.  The Matadors were led by Tournament MVP Rodrigue Mels, who scored a combined 51 points in the two wins at the Anaheim Convention Center.

This is CSUN's second overall trip to the NCAA Tournament, but first as a member of the Big West.  The Matadors made their first appearance in the field in 2001 as a representative of the Big Sky Conference, losing 99-75 to Kansas as a No. 12 seed.  It is the first meeting between Cal State Northridge and Memphis.

The Matadors won 11 of their last 14 games despite facing a number of adversities over the course of the season, including a 1-6 start and losses to starting guards Deon Tresvant and Josh Jenkins.  CSUN's depth proved to be advantageous in the latter half of the season, evidenced by the emergence of Mels, a reserve guard who led the team in scoring in five of the last eight contests.

Thursday's first round game will be televised nationally by CBS at 9:25 a.m. (PDT).