UC San Diego (20-15), the winners of the Big West Tournament, were seeded 16th in the West Region. The Tritons will meet Southern University (20-14) in a play-in game at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus at 7 p.m. Wednesday. If the Tritons win that game, they will play No. 1 seed and No. 1 ranked UCLA (30-2) Friday on the Bruins’ court.

After the State men’s basketball team fell in its first-round matchup against Boise State in the Mountain West tournament, it was a real possibility the 2023 national runner-up Aztecs would be left out of March Madness.

Tritons will play Big Ten tournament champions Thursday in Denver, while the Aztecs face UNC in First Four game Tuesday in Dayton.