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BOULDER — Tad Boyle's Colorado Buffaloes were named a No. 5 seed Sunday in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships and will play No. 12 seed Georgetown in a first-round game Saturday, March 20.
The winner will face either No. 4 Florida State or No. 13 UNC-Greensboro on Monday, March 22, in the second round.
The tournament tips off Thursday with the First Four, and all rounds will be played in the greater Indianapolis metropolitan area. Times and television are still to be determined. All games will be broadcast on either CBS, TNT, TBS or TruTV, as well as the Colorado Basketball Network.
Colorado's seed is its highest since the NCAA began seeding the entire field in 1979. The Buffaloes' previous best was a No. 8 seed, achieved in their last two appearances (2014 and '16). The game will be the first-ever meeting between Colorado and Georgetown.
The 22-8 Buffs, who finished third in the Pac-12 regular season with a 14-6 conference mark, are coming off a 70-68 loss to Oregon State in Saturday's Pac-12 tournament championship game. Colorado won six of its last seven and nine of 12 overall. Colorado's 22 wins are tied for the fifth best in program history and Boyle-coached teams now own six of the top seven win totals in program history.
Georgetown (13-12) is coached by Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas finished in eighth place in the Big East regular season with a 7-9 record, but won four straight games in the Big East tournament, including wins over Villanova and Creighton, to capture the tourney title and the league's automatic bid.
It will be the fifth NCAA appearance for the Buffs in Boyle's 11 years in Boulder and 15th overall in program history. It is also the ninth postseason appearance under Boyle in 10 years of postseason opportunities (the 2020 postseason was canceled by the Covid-19 pandemic).
Prior to 2012, Colorado had advanced to just two NCAA Tournaments in 42 years (1997 and 2003).
Colorado has an all-time 10-16 record in the NCAA Tournament, and has won just two NCAA openers in the last 58 years — 1997 vs. Indiana and 2012 vs. UNLV.
Michigan is the top seed in Colorado's region followed by No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Florida State. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are scheduled for Mar. 27-30 with the Final Four set for April 3 & 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Colorado was one of five teams to earn an NCAA berth. USC is a No. 6 seed, Oregon is a No. 7, UCLA is a No. 11 (and will play in the First Four) and conference tourney champ Oregon State earned a No. 12 seed.
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