SWAC champ TSU to face Cal Poly in first round of NCAA Tournament

NCAA March Madness: Texas Teams

Texas Southern gathered in the player's lounge at H&PE Arena Sunday afternoon to learn their NCAA Tournament destination.

About halfway through the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, loud chants of "TSU! TSU! TSU!" began to echo from players and support staff to celebrate the school's first NCAA appearance in 11 years.

"It was a proud moment for Texas Southern," senior guard Ray Penn said.

The Tigers (19-14), winners of the Southwestern Athletic Conference's automatic bid, will face Big West champion Cal Poly (13-19) in a First Four play-in game at 5:40 p.m. CT Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio.

The winner of the game, matching No. 16 seeds, will face No. 1 seed Wichita State (34-0), the nation's only unbeaten team, in the second round of the Midwest Region Friday in St. Louis.

TSU clinched the fifth NCAA appearance in school history by beating rival Prairie View A&M 78-73 in the SWAC championship game.

"Once you go into the NCAA Tournament your record goes out the door," said second-year TSU coach Mike Davis, who also led Indiana and UAB to the NCAA Tournament. "We have to make sure we stay focus and realize what got us to this point."

Texas Southern University basketball team members Vicktor Arnick, sitting front left, Victor Haywood, and Raymond Penn, sitting front right, react as they hear they will play Cal Poly while watching the NCAA Tournament selection Sunday, March 16, 2014, in Houston. TSU will face Cal Poly on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. less Texas Southern University basketball team members Vicktor Arnick, sitting front left, Victor Haywood, and Raymond Penn, sitting front right, react as they hear they will play Cal Poly while watching the NCAA ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close SWAC champ TSU to face Cal Poly in first round of NCAA Tournament 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

The Tigers won the SWAC regular-season title in Davis' first year last season but were ineligible because of NCAA sanctions.

This time, Davis said, the Tigers took a little longer to "get our chemistry together," standing 6-6 in SWAC play on Feb. 17.

"Then we understood what we needed to do to win basketball games," Davis said.

Led by 6-10 center Aaric Murray, the SWAC Player of the Year, the Tigers have not lost since and bring a nine-game winning streak into the Tournament.

"I think we can go and win some basketball games if we continue to play hard and play together," Davis said. "This is a lifetime memory for them."

Cal Poly struggled to end the regular season, losing nine of its last 11 games. The Mustangs, however, won three games in as many days at the Big West tournament – upsetting No. 2 seed UC Santa Barbara and No. 1 seed UC Irvine – to earn the school's first NCAA bid.

Cal Poly is led by Chris Eversley, a 6-7 forward who began his college career at Rice. Eversley is averaging a team-best 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.

Murray said the Tigers can't look ahead to a possible second-round date with Wichita State.

"We can't think about them," he said. "We want to win our next one and then our next one and see how far we can go."

Stephen F. Austin (31-2) received a No. 12 seed and will open against fifth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth in the South Regional in San Diego.

The Lumberjacks, winners of the Southland Conference's automatic bid, have a 28-game winning streak. Their only losses this season were to Texas and East Tennessee State, both in November.

SFA is making the second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

VCU is making its fourth straight NCAA appearance, which included a trip to the Final Four in Houston in 2011.