The Big Dance is officially underway, and two Arizona teams are prepping for their moment on the hardwood in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Arizona Wildcats are entering the fray as a formidable No. 2 seed in the west region, slated to face off against Long Beach State on Thursday, March 21, in Salt Lake City, according to 12 News. They're coming off a commendable 24-7 season, complete with a Pac-12 regular-season championship, though they stumbled in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals against Oregon.
Meanwhile, Grand Canyon University (GCU) snagged a No. 12 seed and are heading to Spokane, Washington, for their opening match against St. Mary's Gaels on March 22, where they will fight tooth and nail to advance past a team they've only faced once before. The Gaels, who have been resting since March 12, haven't played since they clinched the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament championships, whereas the Lopes capped off their season with a Western Athletic Conference Tournament title for the second consecutive year, as reported by 12news.com.
Starting with the First Four on March 19-20 and burning through the bracket until the National Championship game on April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, March Madness 2024 is jam-packed with potential for upsets, Cinderella stories and nail-biting finishes with the schedule firmly in place, as published by NCAA.com. Fans of college hoops can catch all the action live across networks including CBS, TNT, truTV, and TBS, or click through for live streams of each game on NCAA.com's comprehensive tournament schedule.
Magic moments are to be expected when the Wildcats and the Lopes take to the court with Arizona historically bulldozing through Long Beach State in their eight prior encounters, the last of which was a dominant win for Arizona, 104-67 on November 24, 2019. The underdog Lopes are hoping for an upset against St. Mary's to propel them onto a clash potentially against No. 4-seed Alabama or No. 13-seed College of Charleston on March 24, detailed by 12 News.
NCAA.com highlights the full men's tournament schedule, from Selection Sunday to the championship game, ensuring fans won't miss a single buzzer-beater or upset as the tournament unfolds. As the rest of the nation catches March Madness fever, all eyes will be on Salt Lake City and Spokane this week to see if Arizona and GCU can dance their way into the annals of college basketball glory.
