ASU, GCU, UArizona going dancing in 2023 March Madness tournament

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Three Arizona university basketball programs will be dancing this March! Arizona State, University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University will be heading to the NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness tournament.

The Lopes and Wildcats had already punched their ticket to the tourney after coming out as champions in their respective conferences. However, it was up in the air for the Sun Devils. Bobby Hurley and his team eagerly waited for their name to be called, and it paid off! The Sun Devils made the tourney, and Hurley celebrated by leaping into his pool!

The Sun Devils will be the second to last team in the field, returning to the “First Four” in Dayton, Ohio, as an 11 seed. Under Hurley, Arizona State has made it to the tournament twice but lost in the first four in 2017-18 and was defeated in the first round the following year. They will play their fellow 11-seed Nevada on Wednesday. If the Devils pull off a win, they’ll play six-seed TCU on Friday in Denver. “Just really excited for the kids. They wanted it badly. I think we put together the type of season that was more than deserving for this opportunity. There was just a lot of joy and happiness in my house today,” said Hurley.

Meanwhile, for the Lopes, they’ll already be in Denver. The Lopes are the 14 seed in the West Region and will go head-to-head against third seed Gonzaga on Friday. Grand Canyon is feeling comfortable and confident going into the tournament, especially coming off several upsets for a stunning Western Athletic Conference championship. “Nothing like watching the bracket up there, thinking you’re going to get called and you don’t. And then the jubilation from guys when your name is called. A lot of our guys it’s their first time going to the NCAA tournament. They’ve just been giddy since that buzzer went off last night,” said GCU head coach Bryce Drew. It’ll be the Lopes second NCAA appearance under Drew.

The Wildcats will be one of the heavy favorites in this tournament. They were placed as a two-seed in the South region after defeating UCLA on Saturday night to take the PAC-12 crown. The Wildcats will play 15-seed Princeton in Sacramento on Thursday. Then, if they win, they will play either Missouri or Utah State.