CAA Men’s Basketball Champion Charleston has earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship and will face No. 5 seed San Diego State on Thursday in Orlando.

The Cougars enter the NCAA Tournament tied for the nation’s best record at 31-3 and is the CAA’s highest-seeded team in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship since UNCW was also a No. 12 seed in 2017. Charleston won 20 consecutive games from Nov. 14-Jan. 21, captured the Charleston Classic title, and has been ranked or receiving votes in 16 consecutive AP polls prior to cutting down the nets in Washington March 7 in a 63-58 victory over UNCW.

Charleston is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018, when the Cougars fell to Auburn by four in the First Round. The Cougars are in search of their first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Maryland in a 12 over 5 game at the Memphis Pyramid in 1997. The CAA is aiming for its first March Madness victory since James Madison defeated Long Island in the 2013 First Four in Dayton.

San Diego State is 27-6 on the year and won the Mountain West Championship on Saturday in Las Vegas. The Aztecs went 15-3 in Mountain West play and are playing in their third-straight NCAA Tournament. San Diego State ranks 10th nationally in defensive efficiency and ninth in three-point defense (29.3%). The teams are undefeated against a mutual opponent (Colorado State) this season.

Thursday’s game will tip at Amway Center at 3:10 p.m. on TruTV with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, and Lauren Shehadi on the broadcast. The winner of the Thursday First Round game would play the winner of the game between No. 4 Virginia and No. 13 Furman on Saturday in Orlando.