Cal State Fullerton will learn its first opponent Sunday for its fourth appearance in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
The Titans will watch CBS’ tournament selection show at Roscoe’s Famous Deli in Fullerton, which begins at 3 p.m.
Cal State Fullerton earned its first tournament berth since 2018 with a 72-71 victory over Long Beach State in the final of the Big West Championship on Saturday night in Henderson, Nevada, overcoming a 14-point first-half deficit and not allowing the Beach to get off a shot on the game’s final possession.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN projects that the Titans will receive the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region and face top-seeded Kansas on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects that Cal State Fullerton will receive the No. 14 seed in the West Regional and face third-seeded Texas Tech on Friday in San Diego.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No. 1 seeds are 143-1 against the No. 1 seeds in first-round play, with UMBC defeating Virginia in 2018 for the lone victory. No. 3 seeds are 122-22 against No. 14 seeds, with the most recent victory coming in 2021 when Abilene Christian defeated Texas, 53-52.
UCLA and USC are expected to receive two of the 68-team tournament’s 36 at-large bids.
Lunardi and Palm both project that the Bruins will receive the fourth seed in the Midwest Region and face 13th-seeded New Mexico State on Thursday in Portland, Oregon.
Lunardi projects the Trojans will be the seventh seed in the Midwest and face 10th-seeded Loyola of Chicago on Thursday in Indianapolis. Palm projects USC will receive the fifth seed in the West Regional and face 12th-seeded Virginia Tech on Friday in Milwaukee.
The Titans were picked to finish seventh in the Big West Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll and eighth in the media poll but finished second behind Long Beach State with a 11-4 record in conference play. Saturday’s victory over the Beach improved their overall record to 21-10.