The third journey to the NCAA Tournament in Weber State’s program historical past will probably be a brief one, distance-wise.

After winning the Big Sky tournament, Weber State (21-9) will journey south to No. 4 seed BYU (24-6) for an NCAA Tournament first-round recreation at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at Smith Fieldhouse.

“We’re excited about being able to play for an extra week,” WSU head coach Jeremiah Larsen stated. “This has been a wonderful experience with our players and they’ve been working so hard.”

BYU is the host of a regional pod that additionally consists of Georgia and No. 5 Arizona State, who face off at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The two winners play once more at 7 p.m. the next night time.

While WSU’s journeys to the NCAA Tournament are a current growth, BYU is making its twelfth straight look and thirty sixth general. The two haven’t met since 2021 when WSU took the Cougars to 5 units, however BYU holds a 57-0 benefit within the all-time collection.

“Any time we get to do this, it’s a fun experience and we’re going to cherish every moment of it,” Larsen stated.

In the 64-team bracket, every of the 4 areas has eight groups which are assigned seeds.

Another such crew is Utah State (24-6), a No. 6 seed who will open with Minnesota on Friday in a regional pod hosted by No. 3 Creighton.

TV assignments are forthcoming however all video games are carried on the ESPN household of networks, which means any match not carried on cable TV will probably be accessible on ESPN+.

Weber State’s path to the NCAA Tournament was a troublesome one. Seeded No. 4 within the Big Sky match, the Wildcats obtained down 2-1 in opposition to No. 1 Sacramento State within the semifinals and trailed the fourth set 18-12 earlier than rallying for a five-set win.

The subsequent night time within the match closing, WSU beat No. 3 Montana State in 5 units. In the three units Weber State gained, the Wildcats trailed 23-19, 16-11, after which 12-8 within the fifth.

“I’m still kind of pinching myself that we’re here. I’m just so happy for our players,” Larsen stated. “We went through so much this year with injuries, and dealing with emotions and self-doubt and fear, and we put it together for the last week of the year at a perfect time.”

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