SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — After a season of excellence, eight hopeful college basketball programs will hope to kick off the big dance with a win right here in San Diego.
Montana State, TCU, Texas Tech, Alabama, Arizona, Seton Hall, Wright State and Notre Dame will play their opening-round games on Friday afternoon or night in Viejas Arena.
On the eve of the games, the teams hit the floor for a shootaround in front of travelling fans and die-hard locals like Jeremy Kirby just happy to enjoy some quality basketball with his family on this St. Patrick’s Day.
"It's an opportunity to come see them practice and warm up. See all the fans from Ohio or New Jersey," said Kirby.
The school with the biggest target on their back will be number one seeded Arizona. The Wildcats dominated the PAC-12 this year and come into the tourney as one of the best teams in the country.
Tucson, Arizona to San Diego, California a quick drive for Wildcat super fans Camilla and Paco.
"We wanted to keep following them, and we're going to keep following them until New Orleans in the Final Four."
On Friday, the Wildcats will set a date with the 16 seed Wright State Raiders of Dayton, Ohio.
While an upset very unlikely, it has happened once before. Raider fans taking a red eye to Southern California after winning their play-in game in Dayton last night.
All the action starts Friday and there are still tickets available here.
Session 1
Game 1: 10:45 a.m. - Montana State (14) vs. Texas Tech (3)
Game 2: 1:15 p.m. - Notre Dame (11) vs. Alabama (6)
Session 2
Game 3: 4:27 p.m. - Wright State (16) vs. Arizona (1)
Game 4: 6:57 p.m. TCU (9) vs. Seton Hall (8)
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