Men's Basketball Earns NCAA Tournament Berth, No. 6 Seed

BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers were selected for the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight event, as LSU was named a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region during the nationally-televised selection show on Sunday.

The Tigers will face No. 11-seeded Iowa State (20-12) in the first round on Friday at 6:20 p.m. CT at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc. This will be the first meeting between the programs.

The game will be televised by TBS.

The winner of the first-round game will face either No. 3-seeded Wisconsin or No. 14-seeded Colgate on Sunday.

LSU  has now advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, 2021 and 2022 (the 2020 tournament canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic), the first time LSU has gone to at least three-consecutive tournaments since the 10-year run from 1984-93.

The time and the selection of television network will be announced later this evening. All the games will be broadcast on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network beginning approximately 30 minutes prior to tipoff.

The Tigers are coming off a 1-1 performance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. LSU was one of seven teams selected for the NCAA Tournament this season. LSU was 9-9 in the league during the regular season, part of a five-way tie for fifth.

LSU last played a game in Milwaukee in the 2012 portion of the 2012-13 season against Marquette.

Here is the opening statement from Interim Head Coach Kevin Nickelberry Sunday evening after the NCAA Selection Show:

“Obviously, this time a couple of days ago, I didn’t think I would be sitting here, but in life, in the world, there’s a lot of things going on. There’s a lot of adversity in the world, so this is a tough situation for everybody, but right now I’m charged with the responsibility of getting these young men focused for the task at hand, which is the NCAA Tournament. I feel confident that this staff can lead these young men—even in these challenging times—to where they want to be.

“They’ve had a great year; these guys have earned the right to be here. Darius Days has had an unbelievable career. This is his third straight NCAA Tournament; it would’ve been four, I think, if not for COVID. He’s done an unbelievable job of being a leader this year. He’s earned the right with the other guys as really young team, youngest in the SEC, and one of the youngest teams in the country. This team was obviously heartbroken, but these guys are resilient. They know the task at hand. We’re going to love them up and make sure they know, at the end of the day, adversity will bring us together. We’ll play together, we’ll play for LSU, their families and more importantly, we’ll play with integrity and character. I can promise you that. We’ll go out and play for LSU, play for those letters on the front of our jerseys. Those guys are committed to that, they’re excited about this opportunity.

“My staff is excited about this opportunity. This is easy for us. This is what we do. Basketball is what we do, so yes, it’s been a tough couple of days, but at the end of the day, you’re asking us to go out and play basketball. We’ve been very successful this year playing basketball. I’m excited, I know the kids are excited. They’ve earned the right to be here, and I think they’ll do an unbelievable job representing the university even in a unique situation, but more importantly a special opportunity. Not a lot of teams get to go dancing, not a lot of teams get to go to the NCAA Tournament. You’ve got some guys who get the chance to go play in the NCAA Tournament, get a chance to go play a very talented Iowa State team. We’re going to get prepared like normal. We don’t have to make a lot of changes for a team that’s won a lot of games. This team is going to be ready to play, and we’re going to go out and play with heart and passion, but more importantly, we’re going to play for our school.”

2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

West Region

Portland, Ore. (Thursday)
1. Gonzaga vs. 16. Georgia St.
8. Boise St. vs. 9 Memphis

Buffalo, N.Y. (Thursday)
5. UConn vs. 12. New Mexico St.
4. Arkansas vs. 13. Vermont

San Diego, Calif. (Friday)
6. Alabama vs. 11. Rutgers/Notre Dame
3. Texas Tech vs. 14. Montana St.

Greenville, S.C. (Friday)
7. Michigan St. vs. 10. Davidson
2. Duke vs. 15. Cal St. Fullerton

East Region

Fort Worth, Texas (Thursday)
1. Baylor vs. 16. Norfolk St.
8. North Carolina vs. 9. Marquette

Portland, Ore. (Thursday)
5. Saint Mary’s vs. 12. Wyoming/Indiana
4. UCLA vs. 13. Akron

Milwaukee, Wisc. (Friday)
6. Texas vs. 11. Virginia Tech
3. Purdue vs. 14. Yale

Indianapolis, Ind. (Thursday)
7. Murray St. vs. 10. San Francisco
2. Kentucky vs. Saint Peter’s

South Region

San Diego, Calif. (Friday)
1. Arizona vs. 16. Wright St./Bryant
8. Seton Hall vs. 9. TCU

Pittsburgh, Pa. (Friday)
5. Houston vs. 12. UAB
4. Illinois vs. 13. Chattanooga

Indianapolis, Ind. (Thursday)
6. Colorado St. vs. 11 Michigan
3. Tennessee vs. 14. Longwood

Pittsburgh, Pa. (Friday)
7. Ohio St. vs. 10. Loyola (Chicago)
2. Villanova vs. 15. Delaware

Midwest Region

Fort Worth, Texas (Thursday)
1. Kansas vs. 16. Texas Southern/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
8. San Deigo St. vs. 9 Creighton

Buffalo, N.Y. (Thursday)
5. Iowa vs. 12. Richmond
4. Providence vs. 13. South Dakota St.

Milwaukee, Wisc. (Friday)
6. LSU vs. 11. Iowa State
3. Wisconsin vs. 14. Colgate

Greenville, S.C. (Friday)
7. USC vs. 10. Miami (Fla.)
2. Auburn vs. 15. Jacksonville St.

Teams on Standby
1. Dayton
2. Oklahoma
3. SMU
4. Texas A&M