Who's playing at Nationwide Arena in NCAA men's tournament
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The NCAA has announced whose potential road to the Final Four includes a stop at Nationwide Arena.
Eight teams will play in Columbus on Friday and Sunday headlined by the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers who won the Big Ten regular season and tournament.
Schedule
#1 Purdue vs. #16 Texas Southern or Fairleigh Dickinson, 6:50 p.m. Friday (playing in First Four in Dayton on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m.)
#8 Memphis vs. #9 Florida Atlantic, 9:20 p.m. Friday
Purdue/Texas Southern/Fairleigh Dickinson winner vs. Memphis/Florida Atlantic winner, Sunday
#7 Michigan State vs. #10 USC, 12:15 p.m. Friday
#2 Marquette vs. #15 Vermont, 2:45 p.m. Friday
Michigan State/USC winner vs. Marquette/Vermont winner, Sunday
Printable 2023 NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket
About the teams
Purdue
Seed: No. 1, East Region
How they made it: 29-5 overall, 15-5 conference; Big Ten regular season champions, Big Ten tournament champions
Biggest wins: #2 Marquette, #3 Gonzaga, #5 Duke,
One thing to know about the Boilermakers: Led by 7'4" center Zach Edey (Naismith semifinalist for college basketball player of the year)
Marquette
Seed: No. 2, East Region
How they made it: 28-6 overall, 17-3 conference; Big East regular season champions and Big East tournament champions
Biggest wins: #3 Xavier, #3 Baylor, #6 Creighton
One thing to know about the Golden Eagles: First time making consecutive NCAA tournament since 2013
Michigan State
Seed: No. 7, East Region
How they made it: 19-12 overall, 11-8 conference; at-large selection
Biggest wins: #4 Indiana, #8 Iowa
One thing to know about the Spartans: Eight Final 4 appearances under coach Tom Izzo
Memphis
Seed: No. 9, East Region
How they made it: 26-8 overall, 13-5 conference; American Athletic Conference tournament champions
Biggest wins: #1 Houston, #9 Auburn
One thing to know about the Cougars: AAC player of the year Marcus Sasser missed tournament final due to strained groin. His status is questionable for the NCAA Tournament
Florida Atlantic
Seed: No. 9, East Region
How they made it: 31-3 overall, 18-2 conference; Conference USA regular season champions and Conference USA tournament champions
Biggest wins: Florida
One thing to know about the Owls: First NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002
USC
Seed: No. 10, East Region
How they made it: 22-10 overall, 14-6 conference; at-large selection
Biggest wins: #2 UCLA, #9 Auburn
One thing to know about the Trojans: Led by senior Boogie Ellis who averages 18 points a game
Vermont
Seed: No. 15, East Region
How they made it: 23-10 overall, 14-2 conference; America East regular season champions and America East tournament champions
Biggest wins: Ball State, UMass Lowell
One thing to know about the Catamounts: Won 15 straight games (third-longest streak in NCAA)
Fairleigh Dickinson
Seed: No. 16, East Region
How they made it: 19-15 overall, 10-6 conference; Northeast conference tournament champions
One thing to know about the Knights: Most improved team from last year (4-22 record)
Texas Southern
Seed: No. 16, East Region
How they made it: 14-20 overall, 7-11 conference; Southwestern Athletic conference tournament champions
One thing to know about the Tigers: Worst record out of the 68 tournament teams