Viejas Arena is the only San Diego State representation in this year’s March Madness tournament. The action started on March 19 with team practices for the 8 schools playing their first round matchups here.

SAN DIEGO — The first game hosted at Viejas will start at 10:30 am PST with #16 Long Island University taking on #1 Arizona. All eight teams got a 40-minute block to practice and get used to the floor, starting with LIU.

After the four games on March 20, the winning teams will face off in the second round on Sunday, March 22. Here’s what every team’s star players and head coaches had to say about their matchups and expectations for the tournament.

#16 Long Island University Sharks (24-10)

LIU will be taking on the #1 Arizona Wildcats; it’s the second time the two teams have played in school history. The Wildcats won that match-up 62 to 61, which the Sharks will look to vindicate from their 1951 predecessors. This is LIU’s eighth NCAA tournament appearance and the first since the program rebranded to the Sharks. It’s long-shot odds for Long Island, but if Sienna’s performance against another one-seed in Duke tells anything, it’s that Arizona should not let off the gas.

One of the offensive leaders of the team, Greg Gordon, is shooting 56.5% from the field, and spoke about the importance of pace in the game.

“We get up the court pretty fast. We take pride in our defense,” Gordon said. “We’re going to do our best not to let anyone get comfortable and establish any property in our paint.”

Former New York Knick, now head coach Rod Strickland, is excited for the opportunity for a smaller D1 school to take on the big dogs… or cats in this case.

“I can see it every day… since we got the bid. You can see the excitement,” coach Strickland said about his team. “So it feels good to be able to lead young people to get to somewhere where they’ve never been before.”

Tipoff is at 10:30 am and will be the first game at Viejas.

#1 Arizona Wildcats (32-2)

The Arizona Wildcats are the number one seed for a reason. Arizona has been nothing short of dominant this season with just two losses. They currently sit at number 2 in the AP top 25 poll. This is the second time in five seasons that Arizona has been a #1 seed with Coach Tommy Lloyd at the helm. They are 6-1 against top-10 teams this season, and are the first team ever to record 12 wins against top-25 ranked teams before the NCAA Tournament starts.

Anthony Dell’Orso, who’s averaging 9 points per game off the bench, shared how the team is preparing for their first-round matchup.

“Even though they’re a 16 seed, they’re still a great team,” Dell’Orso said about Long Island University. “They’re able to win and own their spot here. We don’t take anyone lightly. It’s a business trip, and we’ve got to give every team the utmost respect.”

Factoring in a slow start from a fellow 1-seed in Duke on the first day of round one, Arizona knows that being favored does not mean the game is already won. Coach Lloyd funnels that message down from the top.

“They’re really scrappy, and they have hoopers,” Lloyd said. ” They’re committed to a style of play that’s going to be aggressive, mostly man-to-man defense and really good in the gaps and really handsy.”

Tipoff is at 10:30 am

#9 Utah State Aggies (28-6)

The Utah State Aggies will call Viejas Arena, usually enemy territory, a neutral site for their round of 64 matchup against Villanova. The Aggies have put together a team with heavy emphasis on physicality. This is Utah State’s 26th NCAA tournament in program history, and the fourth straight year they’ve made it. Their last game in Viejas Arena was a loss to the Aztecs 89-72, but they will get a chance at a double last laugh after beating SDSU in the Mountain West Championship.

MJ Collins Jr., who led the Aggies in scoring against San Diego State in the conference championship, is confident in the team’s game plan.

“We pressure the ball, get into the other team and rebound,” Collins Jr. said. “We’re great at scoring the ball, averaging probably like 70, 80 points. So if we can get 20 of those off turnovers, then you know, the game will pretty much take care of itself.”

Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun is preaching that the team needs to stick to its guns.

“We’ve got to be who we are,” Calhoun said. “I think NCAA Tournament time, it’s about playing to your strength, playing your identity.”

#8 Villanova Wildcats (24-7)

This is Villanova‘s first March Madness since 2022. It is also the Wildcats’ first with new head coach Kevin Willard, who took the job coming from Maryland. Coach Willard’s 24-win season is the most for a first-year coach in program history. Villanova features a freshman guard, Acaden Lewis, who is the third freshman in program history to be named to an all-BIG EAST team.

The young guard says America’s Finest City is a nice change of pace from Philadelphia.

“The vibe’s a lot nicer than Philly, to be honest,” Lewis said. “You walk outside, it’s a little nicer. And I went by the pool yesterday, just chilled, hung out with my guys. Everything’s just been nice since we got out here.”

Coach Willard says now is the time to lock in, though.

“My message, really just to enjoy it at the start. But then once we hit Tuesday… now it’s back to business,” Willard said. “We’ve been really good on the road. You know, this is a road game for us. Let’s just get back to really focusing on every possession and block everything else.”

Interestingly, this is the Wildcats’ first March Madness game in the Pacific time zone. How that will test their road success will be seen on March 20.

#12 University of Northern Iowa Panthers (23-12)

This is the ninth time Northern Iowa has been to the big dance, and they will be taking on the five-seed in St. John’s University. UNI is coming off an incredibly strong showing in the MVC tournament and is playing its best basketball at the right time. With a -1.1 rebound margin on the season, they know exactly where they need to focus to keep up with Rick Pitino’s side.

The Panthers’ sophomore guard Will Hornseth spoke about the team pushing through midseason injuries.

“That just gave opportunities to other people to fill different roles, to try stuff out, and really fill out our team,” Hornseth said. “I think that’s a real advantage, that different players have played different positions and we’re more versatile because of it.”

Head Coach Ben Jacobson said that the focus is on continuing their disciplined approach. They’re particularly strong in the assist-turnover ratio.

“[That] really paid off for us in the Valley tournament, playing four games in four days,” Jacobson said. “We didn’t turn it over much.”

#5 St. Johns Red Storm (28-6)

Rick Pitino is in his third season now as St. John’s head coach. The college basketball legend has earned the Red Storm a number five seed for the third time in program history. Many speculated that they were ranked too low. Coach Pitino said that speculation of his team playing any differently because of that is just noise.

“We know we have to play so hard to beat Northern Iowa. And because we’re a 5 seed, [we’re] in San Diego, overlooking the ocean,” Pitino said. “We’re not going to play any harder than any game this season.”

The tone of that message implied that his team couldn’t play harder if they wanted to. Coach Pitino is revered by coaches, including his opposing coach Ben Jacobson, for getting the best out of his players.

Star player Zuby Ejiofor spoke about this phenomenon.

“Coach Pitino is the ultimate competitor. And he’s going to bring out the best in each and every one of us,” Ejiofor said. “He’s going to hold us accountable in the right way throughout the entire season. He doesn’t change.”

The Johnnies of Queens, New York, will be facing the University of Northern Iowa. A team coach Pitino is familiar with from his time at Louisville. It should be noted that no team on the floor tonight looked like they were having as much fun during practice as St. John’s.

#13 California Baptist University Lancers (25-8)

One thing to know about Cal Baptist is that their practice had extremely high energy. Their team was all smiles, but still moving intently. The Lancers are 25-8 and made the NCAA Tournament after a gritty WAC championship win. A phenomenal late-game performance from key player Dominique Daniels Jr. made it possible.

He sank three straight three-pointers when the team was trailing Utah Valley with less than two minutes to go. Daniels Jr. is one of the players who would be a household name if he were 6’4″. Even so, the 5’10” has been making a lot of noise, as one of the nation’s top scorers and a huge part of the Lancers’ success.

“Not getting any offers out of high school definitely hurt me when I was younger,” Daniels Jr. said. “So, I had to do a lot of rethinking. I almost quit playing basketball around the time COVID started. I prayed, and the Lord told me to keep going. So I kept going.”

Teammate Jayden Jackson shared in the praise of the senior guard.

“He’s one of the most humble guys I’ve ever met,” Jackson said. “He’s not flaunting anything or anything like that, and he’s always been a team-oriented guy.”

Head Coach Rick Croy also had nothing but great things to say about Dominique and his story.

“People come watch this guy play, and they go, ‘man, I could be great too.’ And he does it with such character,” Croy said. “It’s been really amazing to be around.”

From spectators to media members, everyone seemed to be paying attention to the 5’10” athlete when he threw down dunks with ease.

“He’s about 185 pounds at five and a half percent body fat, and he is a dynamo,” Croy said. He packs so much power in that frame.”

#4 Kansas Jayhawks (23-10)

Coach Bill Self knows his assignment in handling CBU’s Dominique Daniels Jr. The four-seed Jayhawks have a 23-10 record and are ranked 17 in the AP poll. However, they are fresh off a loss against Houston in the Big 12 tournament. They lost that game 69-47, but have the chance to build momentum back against Cal Baptist. Kansas is 9-6 all-time as a number four seed in March Madness, and has dealt with NCAA Tournament woes in recent years.

“We obviously didn’t finish the way that we hoped we would, but still it’s a new lease for everybody,” Coach Self said. “We couldn’t be more excited to be here and have an opportunity to move forward.”

Freshman guard Darryn Peterson has been on a tear this season and is the team’s leading scorer with 19.8 points per game. He and his teammates buy into the clean slate philosophy.

“Everything that happened preseason and during the season, it’s over with now,” Peterson said. “The wins and the losses, the ups and downs… It’s a new season. Let’s go win six in a row.”

Nate Tubbs

Nate Tubbs is a recent graduate of Journalism at San Diego State University. In his time at SDSU, he wrote and photographed several different sports for Aztec Link, the school’s NIL collective. He also co-hosted a weekly podcast featuring Aztec athletes, sharing their stories and goals for the season. Tubbs is passionate about photography, storytelling, and most of all, San Diego sports.