GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

GCU gets No. 15 seed, will face Iowa in 1st ever NCAA Tournament game

Mar 14, 2021, 3:32 PM | Updated: Mar 15, 2021, 8:30 am

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The Grand Canyon Antelopes are NCAA Tournament bound for the first time in school history.

After sharing the regular-season title with Utah Valley, GCU (17-6; 9-3 WAC) went on to win the conference tourney 74-56 over New Mexico State on Saturday night and clinched an automatic bid.

No. 15 seed GCU will be going up against No. 2 seed Iowa in the West Region of the Big Dance.

The ‘Lopes and Hawkeyes will tip-off on Saturday at 3:25 p.m. MST. The game will air on TBS.

Should GCU win its first ever NCAA Tournament game, the team would then play the winner of No. 7 seed Oregon and No. 10 seed VCU in the second round on March 22.

Other notable basketball powerhouses in the West Region include No. 1 overall tournament seed Gonzaga, No. 3 seed Kansas and No. 4 seed Virginia. No. 6 seed USC is also in the same part of the bracket as GCU.

First-year ‘Lopes head coach Bryce Drew will look for his team to repeat what he accomplished as a player in the opening round of the 1998 tourney when he hit a game-winning three at the buzzer to give No. 13 seed Valparaiso the upset win over No. 4 seed Ole Miss.

The 2021 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to commence on Thursday, with the National Championship Game slated for April 5.

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