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‘Cats, Cougars Going Dancing

Posted at 6:59 PM, Mar 16, 2014
and last updated 2014-03-17 00:13:06-04

PROVO, Utah – We already knew that Weber State was going to the NCAA Championship Tournament, by virtue of their Big Sky championship victory over North Dakota. What we didn't know until Sunday, is whether or not BYU's second place finish in the West Coast Conference tournament was enough to earn them an at-large big.

Turn out, it was.

And the Cougars didn't just eek out a spot in the field of 68. They earned a surprisingly high 10-seed and a match-up against No. 7 Oregon in the West region. BYU and Oregon met each other during the regular season in Eugene, with the Ducks winning by four points in overtime. The Cougars will be shorthanded in Milwaukee on Thursday in the rematch after starting guard Kyle Collinsworth suffered an ACL tear in the WCC title game.

Weber State lost in the conference tournament championship in 2012 and 2013, but got back to the Big Dance this year thanks to a 21-point win over North Dakota on their home floor on Saturday night.

The selection committee was clearly not impressed by the Wildcats, however, as they landed the 16-seed in the West region against No. 1 Arizona. The Wildcats vs. Wildcats match-up happens Friday in San Diego.